Solstice + 5 Check-In

In just 5 weeks, the garden has morphed into a small jungle of greenery, with splashes of flowers and fruits beginning to form.

The flatpod "Helda" beans have not disappointed this year.  They are climbing along the top wire of our 8 ft. fence leaving dangling trails of delicious beans.  Various colors of morning glories are beginning to herald them into the world like bugles would a King.

The muskmelon A-frame seems to be working well.  There are numerous small melons developing, many of which will need slings attached to the wire to hold their weight pretty soon.

Tomato-and-Basil-Land is taking up the center of the South half of the garden.  The tomatoes are vining like mad, but we've only had a few handfuls of cherry tomatoes so far.  I've had an abundance of basil, so have made pesto, as well as a Belgian White Ale flavored with basil this past weekend.

Snake of Mugla eggplant and flower

Come, let's take a stroll down Pepper Alley!  Do not be intimidated by the Marconi Giants to your left.  They are friendly, sweet Italian giants.  I planted a couple basils between the peppers here.  Down the row are also Jimmy Nardello, Sweet Banana, and Chile de Agua.

And on the outside of the fence...

A couple Minnesota wildflowers: 

Rudbeckia (aka Black Eyed Susan), many of which have dark centers, but here is one in the "Irish Eyes" style, with green eyes and the most geometrically cheerful little spin to its flower petals.

And Monarda (aka Bee Balm) which puts on a stunning show for a month or so and then retires for the rest of summer.

Our hot day relief tub.  I am eager for this pillar of a medley of morning glories to begin blooming!  The fragrantly pungent Lantana in bloom at the base of the pot helps deter deer from destroying the bottom level of MG's.  There were a lot of hops cones this year, some of which went into beer.  More will be dried and frozen for later use.

A little desert-y community beside the shed.

View of the backside of the garden.  In the foreground is a caged-off Fig with some various CA natives planted around it.  We have a number of these caged communities around the yard.  They are crucial to allowing plants (even those that are deer resistant) get established in our yard which is also a sort of vacation destination for the local deer population.

Theodore Winkles doing his dayshift

We've been getting down to some serious tree cleanup, attempting to control the rapidly growing acacias.  The "Circle" area here is looking more open.  The large Toyon on the left is very happy about its increase in sunlight.  I was also delighted to discover an 8 foot tall Valley Oak tree that was nestled into the brush (between the Toyon and the wheelbarrow [what a great story about gifting Uncle Marven the wheelbarrow, Dad!  I think that wooden wheel is so funny, but it does work.  No flats so far!])

Charlotte went to town on the monster old Juniper shrub that has resided on the left there since the 80's and never stopped getting bigger, just more and more full of dead branches and debris.  Clearing that out opens up a nice area that we will surely have fun landscaping in the future.