Garden Tour - August 2012

"And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,

You will find yourself a partner In the Glory of the Garden."

-- Rudyard Kipling

July 2012 was the all-time warmest, month in the United States since we began keeping records, but having (reliable) rain barrels this year helped us keep food/flower areas growing without racking up a huge water bill. The beautiful ed/yellow Rudbeckia (love that name) seen here in the top left part of the photo is a Tennessee Native plant. Native plants are wonderful choices for gardeners, as they are more likely to make it through extreme weather with a minimal amount of care. They also attract pollinators and other beneficial insects to your garden. This year I've truly mixed flowers, herbs and vegetables and have seen more bees and butterflies than ever before when I walk along beside the plants. It is a wondrous sight to behold!

The bushy flowers in the front are moss roses (Portulaca), and they begin to bloom well in Mid-July through frost in my garden; they also are drought tolerant and do not require a lot of water, so I can put the soaker hoses around the tomatoes you can see in the background.

I love watching lettuces going to seed! Lovely! Also in this square-foot bed I have some peppers, some flowers (of course) and a cucumber vine that has finally died thanks to the cucumber beetle. But at least I have identified the pest so I can be prepared next time.

I finally have a baby eggplant growing! The plant itself is beautiful and I hope the Rosa Bianca eggplants will be tasty.

I am sheet-mulching this area, and really want to put a Three Sisters garden here next spring. However, I am going to have to move most of my tomatoes out of the flower bed next year, as the blueberries and fig will be too large to accommodate so many plants. I am also toying with the idea of going ahead and using the front yard...if I can find a design I like. 

Here is a long shot of my front flower bed. I really love how this looks this year! In the August heat, it has exploded with color and texture. The rosemary on the left (against the wall) is a Blue Spires Rosemary, which can grow up to 5' tall; I planted it to replace a very prickly holly bush that wasn't very pretty and had grown totally out of control. Eventually, we should have a large rosemary shrub here and the fig tree at the other end that is growing nicely to bookend our blueberry "hedge." I really love how it's coming together!

Contrast that with the desperate plants in my side yard bed, which used to be almost full shade until we lost a hickory tree this year. I have been trying to keep things (at least) watered here, but as you can see, those shade plants don't enjoy the morning baking in the August sun. I am going to cluster the survivors into the shadiest areas at the end of September, but I do relish the opportunity to plant some lettuces and bulbs and maybe even some peas back here for spring. After all, there's no great loss without some small gain!

Oh, Eve she was a gardener, and God who made her sees

That half a proper gardener's work is done upon her knees,

So when your work is finished, you can wash your hands and pray

For the Glory of the Garden that it may not pass away!

(edited slightly by me!)