End of July Garden Update 2012

July is about to wrap up for the year, and the garden is in full swing.

All of the raised beds are full to bursting with healthy plants that are just about ready to start filling our dinner plates with fresh veggies.

The green beans that were slow to start have really pulled around, and we should be able to pick some this weekend or early next week.  Every one of us here loves garden fresh green beans and are happy eating them at as many dinners as possible.

This year we also experimented with  a purple variety of bean, and they are beautiful and also doing very well.  I love the purple blossoms!

The peppers are full of blossoms as well as a few small jalapenos that will be stuffed and wrapped in bacon as soon as they are ready.

The lima beans in my old wheelbarrow are starting to flower.

The Zucchini which was also really slow to start for me this year, and had to be replanted once, is doing very well.  Both my standard variety, and my chartreuse variety are already producing, and the yellow variety finally has a few baby squash.

Back in early June when I was worried none of my zucchini plants would grow, I decide to buy a few zucchini plants, our local veggie plants selection was very tiny and picked over, and all I could find was a mini variety made for smaller pots.  I planted two in a little pot and they are doing pretty well, they are a cute small striped variety.  Since my regular zucchini plants finally popped up, I ended up planting the other two mini variety under the rose bush, the only spot left at the time, and they are doing very well also.

This compact zucchini plant would be a great variety for someone whose garden space is limited to a deck or patio.

Here are the squash I picked today, I will be serving them steamed and drizzled with butter and a little sauteed garlic along side our Mexican Cornbread Bake .

Here is the first of our garlic harvest, this was the first time I have grown garlic here, and I planted it too close together, so they are small, but they smell delicious and they will be nice to serve along with our other garden veggies.

The early girl tomato is covered in green tomatoes, our heirloom varieties are also doing well.

As always the sungolds are doing great, and they will find their way into pasta and salads over the next couple of months.

Here is a sad little tomato plant that got hit with a burst of sun and got looked over in the last watering, I will give it some extra attention this week and it should come back around, but what is really funny are all the volunteer tomatoes that have popped up from last year's dropped tomatoes, they are growing right in gravel and doing very well.

I planted a bunch of flower seeds in an old kiddie pool, and the bachelor buttons are the first to blossom (cosmos and zinneas soon to follow), I love Bachelor Buttons, they are so easy to grow, and often reseed.

I grew a mixed variety this year with both the purple and blue as well as pink and white, I love this white and purple blossom.

The sedum is flowering all over the yard, we let it grow anywhere it lands in the gravel and its pink, white and yellow blossoms are so pretty this time of year.

The old stone face is nestled under the bird feeder among the creeping jenny which is a nice bright yellow now, I love the little daisy weed next to him.

The lavender is still keeping the bees busy.

My rose bush is also producing some beautiful blossoms, here is one peeking through the barberry.

Our blueberry harvest is also in full swing you can read about our blueberry harvest in my Bagpipes and Blueberries post.

I love being out in the garden with all of this colorful and green growth, we feel really blessed to be able to eat fresh produce from the garden.  My prayers go out to everyone in the country experiencing drought and to all the farmers who are facing such a difficult year.