What's this?

This bright and charming volunteer showed up in the middle of a large expanse of achillea (yarrow) in early July and it is still blooming. The largest of the daisy-like blossoms is at least 4 inches in diameter. What is this welcome interloper and where did it come from? I hope it's a hardy perennial and that it comes back next year, but if it does, I may move it out of the middle of the yarrow.

Veggies!

After a week away, I was thrilled to get home and see the vegetable garden thriving. A very little weeding was all that was necessary, and everything is progressing nicely. I have already been harvesting the swiss chard -- yum! If I take it frequently when it is small I can use the stems and all and it is tender and sweet. I should be able to harvest summer squash within a couple of days. Tomatoes and peppers are emerging and just need to ripen. The pole beans have blossoms which means that beans aren't far behind. And can you see the size of those onions? I actually don't know what I'm going to do with them all so I hope this variety stores well.

The peppers will be a bit of a surprise. I think I started three or four varieties from seed, then sent the seedlings off in 4" pots to a friend's greenhouse. Alas, the masking tape labels did not return with the mature plants. I randomly planted what I had, assuming that I would be able to figure out what is what eventually.

I have been an enthusiastic perennial flower gardener for many years. I originally didn't have much interest in growing vegetables, but a friend convinced me to try it. Because of the wet clay in my yard, I have to build raised beds for the vegetables. It's a lot of work but I'm gradually adding space each year. I have to say that I am completely hooked on the vegetable gardening now. There is very little I find as thoroughly satisfying as growing my own vegetables organically. I know exactly where each bite of food came from. And the taste! I love inviting people to dinner and telling them what parts of the meal came from my own garden. I am already planning to add more space next year, and thinking about what to grow more of (swiss chard) and what new things to grow (radishes). During the winter, I will pore over the seed catalogs to discover new varieties to try. I even got a second freezer to store the extras. Between the rise in food prices and the increasing safety concerns (salmonella, e coli, etc.) I think I'm coming out way ahead.

Bog Garden

If life gives you lemons... Well, I didn't get a lemon tree when I bought my house, but I did get a very wet back yard and heavy clay soil. There isn't much I can grow without digging out the clay and replacing it with better dirt and compost. I decided at one point that I should have a pond, so I started to dig. If you've ever dug up wet clay, you know that it sticks to the shovel. When you use your boot to scrape it off the shovel, it sticks to your boot. Soon, you are a couple of inches taller than you used to be as the clay turns your boots into platform shoes. Anyway, I dug a sort of oval shape about 6 feet by 10 feet and three to four feet deep. If anyone suggests that it's a good idea to do this with a shovel, I can disabuse them of that notion. Next time I want a big hole, I'm renting a big orange shovel with an engine! Anyway, I had this hole and I was researching what to do about a liner and a pump and all of that when it rained. The water didn't soak into the ground, it just filled up the hole and stayed there. That sort of put the kibosh on my plans to install a liner but I figured it would dry out before long. Now it's several years later, and the pond is a bog garden, filled with water lilies which I planted, and cat tails which I didn't plant. It has never been lined and has never dried completely out. I edged it with rocks and planted marginal perennials such as filipendula and water forget-me-not, which love the constant moisture. Did I mention that the frogs moved in right after it filled with water? They lay eggs each spring and sun themselves on the lily pads and rocks and eat any mosquitoes that hatch (we really don't have many mosquitoes at all -- because of the frogs?). Dragonflies swoop over the pond in the evening. I've even had a couple of visits from a great blue heron. In the early spring I've seen deer tracks in the mud under the water. So far, the deer have munched on the hosta that's way in the back of the back yard but miraculously have left the vegetable garden alone. I'm leaving the hosta there as a treat to them and a bribe to stay away from the veggies!
I will never have a formal pond with a fountain or goldfish. But I love my boggy pond and so do its residents and visitors. I don't need electricity and it pretty much takes care of itself.
By the way, can you quickly tell how many frogs are in the picture?
Five.