Mandala Monday ~ When the Garden Gives You Yellow

I’m SO feeling a hint of autumn in the air right now!  And I’m sensing it in the garden too as things are starting to wind down.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s still lots going on out there, but I harvested the last of my beans in the veggie garden the other day, and my yellow beans were the inspiration for this week’s mandala.  The beans and all the other yellows that are happening in the garden…

Gosh, I love yellow, it’s such a bright and cheerful color!

💛

 

It’s a rainy start to the week here on this Monday, but our weather forecast for the week looks amazing! And by amazing, I mean… cooler temps. Yes! Oh, how I love the changing of the seasons!

I hope the weather is nice wherever you are, and that you can find joy and beauty in whatever season you’re in. Wishing you bright and cheerful things in the coming week!

 

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Mandala Monday ~ Garden Things

Over the past week or so, as I’ve been harvesting nice little handfuls of beans each day from my veggie garden, I’ve felt the idea forming to include them in one of my mandalas.  Since they have a slight curve to them, I was feeling a ‘pinwheel’…

In addition to the green beans, I also added herbs of basil (which I’ve allowed to go to flower for the bees – even though I stole them from the bees by picking them oops) and lavender; along with coleus, impatiens, and a bright gazania for the center.  So simple, but I love how it turned out!  Especially against the rustic look of the wood of my potting bench.  Rustic = needs a power wash and stain.

Here’s another variation without the beans and impatiens and using a yellow zinnia for the center…

 I like using my potting bench for laying out my mandalas because it’s easier and it’s more comfortable standing than squatting to the ground – I can’t really kneel on my ‘bionic’ knees.  But I actually prefer making them on the ground.  I like the vibes better, it feels like more of a natural expression and less of a ‘display’ and I like feeling more connected to the earth by sitting on the ground.

But don’t get me wrong… I enjoy making mandalas no matter where I am.  And I will make them in a house, and I will make them with a mouse, and I will make them here or there, I will make them anywhere!  

And with any thing –  I really like the idea of using my veggies and herbs for my mandalas. The more shapes, textures, colors, and scents, the more fun. I see more of these kinds of mandalas in my future…

 And also in my past…  Earlier this spring when I was harvesting my peas I played around with them too out on my potting bench and made a few mandalas, but I never got around to sharing them.  Sugar Snap peas (so yum), rosemary sprigs, cedar, clovers and heliotrope, with a chive for the center…

And then I switched out the chive for a yellow zinnia for the center and added orange/red impatiens which really brightened it up…

I love bright things!  Although, I actually prefer the look of the first one between these two.

I wish there was a way to preserve my mandalas (other than just with a photograph), but I guess that’s what makes creating them a good meditative tool – they keep you focused on enjoying, appreciating, and absorbing the present moment.

 

 

Wishing you many enjoyable and beautiful moments to absorb in this coming week, and as always…

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

Julie, Julie, Tell Me Truly, How Does Your Garden Grow?

With yellow bells

and pea pod shells

and tiny beans all in a row.

I’m just realizing that I haven’t posted anything about my vegetable garden yet this summer.  There’s been tons of stuff going on out there and I’m so thankful for how nicely everything is growing.  Well, I’ve had a few setbacks along the way, but for the most part, everything is flourishing.

Peas allow me to share a few of the highlights so far.  For instance, my peas…

I adore fresh raw peas straight out of the garden and never cook the ones I grow myself, I just pop them open and then pop them into my mouth, they’re so sweet and delicious!  🙂

They’re at the end of their peak now and I’m sad to see them go.  Here are a couple other photos I snapped of my peas as they were growing.  I only have a small amount of sunny space for planting, but I wanted more peas, so I planted them in two different areas this year.  Along the back side of the fence…

And along the side of the house…

Oops hi Mom!  🙂

I found that the peas grew way better in the area along the back of the fence.  But even though it’s technically our property, it’s basically in the neighbors yard, so I don’t really feel comfortable puttering around over there.  It’s a rental property though and the tenants are rarely outside, so it’s been fine.  There is also a nice strip of sun back there behind our garage and I’ve entertained the thought of growing corn back there, but I’m not sure I feel completely comfortable doing that.  I’ll have to ponder it some more…

Another crop that is sadly nearing its end is my lettuce.  I can’t even say how much I’ve been enjoying eating fresh salads each day, and I will miss going out there and picking my lunch every day…

But there are other things ready for the picking out there.  I just picked my first zucchini yesterday!  I don’t have a photo of it, but I have this one of when it was first developing…

Since I snapped this, there are 4 or 5 others that will be coming ready soon.  Yay, I love zucchini!

A few other things that will be coming ready soon are my beans…

And my peppers.  My yellow bells…

And my jalapenos…

I’ve also got tiny cucumbers developing…

And tomatoes…

A few of these are starting to change color now. They’re a yellow cherry variety of tomato and I can’t wait to try them.

Oh, I almost forgot about my strawberries.  They’re one of the setbacks I mentioned.  The fruits have been really sub-par, much too tart and also misshaped, but the blooms are pretty…

Strawberry blossoms are such delightful little things, so even though I’m not getting any sweet strawberries to eat, I am fully enjoying their sweet looks.  😉

There are other sweet looking blooms in the flower bed and in miscellaneous pots on the patio too, but I’ll save them for another time.  Thanks for letting me share about some of the things growing in my vegetable garden.  Growing my own food truly is so rewarding, and tending to the little growing things nurtures my own soul at the same time.

I’m about to head out there right now for some more nurturing.  I hope you’re enjoying your weekend, may it be filled some nurturing too!

 

 

✿~Peace & Love~✿

All Good Things Must Come to an End…

One of those “things” being my garden.

I’ve never really liked that saying, and I don’t even believe it to be true.  Although, I suppose I must concede that there is a beginning as well as an end to all things.  Did I basically just contradict myself there?  Haha!  Oh well, I can say whatever I want.  Okay, let me rephrase… I don’t want to believe that all good things must come to an end.  😉

The entire growing season has been so weird this year, and it’s been hard to plan anything.  It’s November 4th and I’ve still got things growing out there, but with the temps continually dropping and the threat of snow in the forecast for this week, I figured I better get out there and put all of my garden stuff to bed for the winter.

But it’s hard when there’s still life happening out there.  Mainly, it’s my herbs that are still thriving.  They’re so lovely and aromatic, I hate the thought of yanking them out before their time.  I’ve got most of them growing in pots and so I got to thinking maybe I would bring them inside and try to keep them alive over the winter.  I’ve never done that before so it will be an experiment.  I like experiments.  Mwahahaha!  Besides what is there to lose, they would have died out in the cold anyway, at least this way I’m giving them a fighting chance.

There aren’t a lot of suitable spaces inside the house for bringing in a bunch of plants, but I cleared off a ledge along the basement stairway that may work out.  There’s a south facing window that brings in a lot of light, though not direct sunlight, but I don’t think they need direct sunlight when wintering them over.  I actually have no clue about that really, because I must confess that I haven’t read up on it.  At all.  Guess I should do that.  😉

Anyway, yesterday I brought in several of my pots and set them along that ledge.  I may also put up some sort of temporary makeshift shelving too, if I’m feeling particularly industrious later on.  But doing this has got me thinking that if I am able to winter them over and they do happen to survive, I may want to set up something more permanent for this type of thing in the future.

It has also got me thinking that I may need to invest in some more houseplants to enjoy during the winter.  I have a few, but not enough of them to satisfy my need for being around the lush green and growing things.  Oddly, although I have a green thumb in gardening, when it comes to houseplants… not so much, I often inadvertently kill them.  I’m not sure why that is.  Maybe I won’t be able to keep my herbs alive after all…

But here’s hoping!  😀

I was outside for hours yesterday tending to things in and around my garden.  It was supposed to be nice out, but it got super windy as the day went on, and that wind was blustery and cold.  {{{brrrr}}}

I gave all the plants I was bringing inside a good shaving.  I really hope I didn’t over-do it, they all look so sad now.  😦

My lemon thyme…

It’s such a sad looking little spud, but I’m going to use its fresh clippings to try out a recipe I found online for lemon thyme bars.  I love lemon!

~

And here’s my sad looking chocolate mint…

I’m going to dry the clippings from this and use them for tea.  I’m also going to dry the clippings I snipped from my peppermint and spearmint plants to use for tea as well.  I do love me some mint tea!  ♥

~

Speaking of what I love… I also snipped two of my lavender plants to bring inside, the wonderful aroma was pure bliss!  I really hope they survive.  Gosh I wish lavender would grow as a perennial here…

If this project works out, I maybe consider growing all of my herbs in pots so that I can bring them inside over the winter.  Just look at how lovely the oregano that I planted inside my vegetable garden area still is…

I considered digging this up yesterday and putting it into a pot so that I could bring it inside too, but I thought that would stress the poor thing out so much that it would be a lost cause anyway.  Besides that ledge in the basement will only fit so many pots as it is at the moment without any shelves.

~

I also don’t have enough room to bring in this berries and cream mint that I planted in with my peas…

But I may go out there and snip some of it so I can dry it out for yet more tea.  😉

~

That is, if I can get out there before it snows.  I’m really not ready for snow…

And neither are the trees.  As of the other day when I snapped this photo, you can see that there’s still lots of colorful leaves on the trees…

Although they may have blown off now with that wind we had yesterday.

~

I guess all good things really must come to an end, whether I want to believe it or not.  But you know what?  Life is a endless circle, and so with every ending comes a new beginning.  And with that new beginning, there will most certainly be more “good things” to enjoy.   And I really do believe that.  😀

Peace & love…

✿~Gardening is my therapy~✿

Garden Update

We’ve had a few pretty chilly days here recently, a clear indication that the green and growing things are coming to an end, but my tiny garden is still hanging in there.  Here’s a little update…

My peppers are doing fan-freaking-tastic and producing away like champs! Keeping life spicy.  😉

  ~

And although my yellow bell peppers are not turning yellow, I’ve still been enjoying them green, and there are tons of them of them out there!

~

I’m sure nothing will come from them at this point in the season, but my tomato plants are still flowering…

~

I harvested one of my last two remaining celery bundles the other day, and even though they’re a bit spindly and a little more bitter than I’d like them to be, we chopped some up and put it in a salad and it tasted great!

~

Oh, and my little red strawberry pot ~ still doing its thing! ♥

Is it just me, or are strawberries one of the most delightful and cheerful little fruits?!  😀

~

My herbs are all doing really well.  I’ve let most of them go to bloom now, and my pineapple sage is so pretty…

~

  Other things are blooming out there too, like the hydrangea I bought for my mom this past spring.  I have yet to put it in the ground though, because it got too hot too quickly outside for planting, so I left it in its pot until fall.  Well, it’s most definitely fall now, so I better get it planted before it snows.  October is not unheard of for having snowfall here in Minnesota, and with the weird weather we’ve had this year, it could snow tomorrow.  But lets not go there just yet, lets stay in the moment and enjoy the beautiful blooming things at present.  Look at this gorgeous color…

It will be interesting to see what the color does once I get it in the ground because this particular variety changes color depending on how acidic or alkaline the soil is.

Just look at how the spent blooms become a completely different color…

Still quite lovely, in my opinion.

~

The bees are still busy out there gathering nectar like their lives depend on it.  Which I suppose they actually do.  😉  I snapped this photo of our dog Teddy when he took some time to “stop and smell the roses” er um I mean marigolds, and we were afraid the bumble bee who was there might sting his little nose, but thankfully it didn’t.  So cute, looks like they’re saying hello…

♥

And not only the bees, but the tiny hoverflies are busy out there too, I captured this one visiting my Alyssum that I have in a pot on the patio…

~

The squirrels are busy as well.  I’ve seen this little guy scurrying around all over the place, digging frantically in search of buried treasure.

And then munching on his treasures amidst the branches of my tree…

Aside from a few instances, I’m so glad the squirrels haven’t been a problem in my garden this year.  Although, they did completely obliterate my sunflowers as they began producing seeds, but for some reason I didn’t really mind.  Hey, as long as they leave my veggies alone.

😉

Speaking of leaving, let me leave you with this…

Pumpkin!  ♥  I adore pumpkins!

  ~

✿~Gardening is my therapy~✿

Peace and love…

And pumpkins!  😉

In and Around the Garden

What a gorgeous day it is here!  It’s a bit cool, and there’s a definite chill of autumn in the air, but the sun is shining and the sky is a heavenly shade of blue, with puffy, peaceful clouds drifting by.  I’ve really enjoyed my time out on the patio this morning, just soaking it all in.

But with my coffee cup now drained, it’s time to get started on the day.  So now that I’ve opened up my laptop and am looking through some of the photos I’ve snapped this past week, I thought I’d share a bit of what I’ve been seeing through my camera lens in and around the garden…

I know I have already shared more sunflower photos in my last few posts than anyone would probably ever want to see, but if you’ll indulge me, I have just one more… I absolutely love the intricate spiral design that’s in the center of sunflowers!  I’d been trying to snap a picture of it before it blooms and the design goes away, but the hungry bees were always photobombing me.  Except on this one…

The amazing patterns seen in nature positively fascinate me!  ♥

~

Speaking of photobombing bees, I’ve barely been able to take a photo of anything containing pollen or nectar without them bee-ing in the shot.  😉  Like on this mint…

this Marigold…

and this Sedum that is just starting to bloom…

I don’t know what type of bee this one is, or if it’s really even a “bee” at all, but it had the body shape of a wasp so I didn’t want to get too close.  I was stung by a wasp recently (twice) and had a terrible reaction from it.   😦

~

I prefer the less threatening visitors like this delicate dragonfly, who joined me for coffee earlier this morning…

~

I’ve got a little squirrel who joins me some mornings too.  He’s a nervous, chatty little thing always sounding the alarm as he scampers around…

I can’t help but wonder if he’s one of the babies from the litter that I had living in my tree this past spring, but he doesn’t look familiar.  Even though they all look pretty much the same, haha!  He’s a cute little rascal anyway, and hasn’t been much of a bother to my garden (I’ve only suffered a few squirrel casualties this year), so I’m thankful for that.  🙂

~

The area where I snapped that picture of the squirrel is underneath the deck of the house next door, right next to my garden.  It’s a rental property that’s yard isn’t kept up very well, but it doesn’t bother me because I appreciate things growing wild and I love the bright, colorful Goldenrod that is growing wild there…

Not to be confused with the despicable Ragweed that is also blooming right now, which I hate because I am highly allergic to it.  It’s simply not fair that my worst allergies come when it’s my favorite time of the year.

~

The Goldenrod being in bloom is a sure sign of summer’s end, and I’m beginning to see little splashes of autumn color here and there.  Some of my Pineapple Sage’s leaves are turning purple…

Ahhh so lovely!

~

And the Crab Apple tree out on the boulevard is looking like autumn too, getting little tiny apples on it…

Very pretty, but I wish they were edible, they’re only the ornamental type.

~

In the vegetable garden…

 I’ve got tons of yellow bell peppers growing.  Although, I doubt they’ll have the chance to fully turn yellow before the frost comes.  But that’s okay, I’ll eat them green.  😀

~

And speaking of green, there is just one small cluster of green tomatoes remaining on the vine…

I’m not sure if these will have the chance to turn red before the cold weather comes either, but hopefully they will.

~

I harvested my onions the other day and was a bit disappointed because they were so small.  I’m definitely going to have to find another way to grow onions for next year because growing them in a pot is not working out so well.

I’m thankful for my little onions though, and I’m sure they’ll still taste good.

~

Oh, but the strawberries in my little red pot… they’re getting a second wind and filled with oodles of blooms and tasty berries!

Such a delight!  😀

~

Also a delight is that my English Lavender is finally blooming!

Better late than never!  Gosh, I love lavender soooo much, if only I could grow an entire field of it!    ♥

~

Well, I guess that’s about it for now.  Thanks so much for stopping by to read about what’s going on in and around my tiny garden.

Peace and love to you…

✿~Gardening is my therapy~✿

My Garden Missed Me

While I was off being footloose and fancy free on my mini vacation, my garden was back here missing me.  I heard it breathe a huge sigh of relief when I came home and went out to check on it.  Oh, wait… that was me.  😉

I missed my garden while I was away.  Putzing around, tending to it, admiring its daily progress, and spending time out there reflecting on the various life lessons it teaches me ~ about growth, strength, resilience, and beauty (just to name a few).  I had some of that on my trip too, being out in nature always speaks to my soul, but sometimes it’s in the simpler, everyday things that I hear those lessons the clearest.  Or maybe I’m just being overly dramatic about my garden.  😀

Anyway there’s lots going on out there!  I’ve had a wonderful harvest of green beans, and they’re still coming!  I must take another look at the seed packet for these because I definitely have a different variety than I had last year, and I want to make sure I get this same kind again.

I’ve also been enjoying a great harvest of zucchini.  There is so much happening on this one plant, it’s crazy!

I love it, so fun!  We had chilly autumn-like weather over the weekend and I baked up my first loaves of zucchini bread.  I flubbed it up and their bottoms stuck to the pans, but it still tasted delicious.  Before I went on vacation, I played mad scientist in the kitchen and experimented making new concoctions using zucchini, and I’m happy to report that I came up with a very yummy oven fried zucchini recipe!  One can never have too many zucchini recipes when the season comes around.  😀

~

The cucumbers are coming right along as well…

I’ve lost a few to the squirrels, but there appear to be plenty of them developing on the vine to be able afford to share a little.

Remember the baby squirrels I had living in my tree this past spring?  (if not, see “Amidst My Branches”)  Well, I’m pretty sure they’re the culprits.  And, they appear to be quite tame.  One of them came right up to me on the patio yesterday morning, I thought it was going to climb right up into my lap!  And another (or maybe the same one) poked around on the ground and then climbed around in the lilac bush right next to me while I was at my potting bench, not one bit nervous of me being so close by.  They must recognize me from my window when I gawked at them and photographed them.  😉  Anyway, they’re not being too much of a nuisance at this point, hope it stays that way.  They sure are cute little things!  ♥

~

I’m starting to see the first hints of red on the tomatoes…

Yes I know, technically it’s orange, but orange is the first hint of red.  😉

~

Not seeing any yellow yet on my bell pepper though…

But it’s still a bit too early for that.  I’m not getting very many blooms that are developing into fruit on this plant and I’m not sure why.  It started out with tons, but they all shriveled up and fell off in the early stages.  I may have to read up on what the deal is with that.  In the meantime, I’m just happy to have this one growing nicely.  🙂

~

And I’m also happy I’ve got more jalapenos developing…

I had someone steal the last ones that came ready, and it wasn’t a squirrel.  But I’m not going to go into that story, I’m just gonna be glad that more are growing out there.

~

Things are blooming out there too.  The Hosta are looking lovely…

as are the Phlox…

and the Bee Balm…

My sis bought me this plant last year and I’m so pleased it’s growing well.   Even if it’s slightly weird looking, it smells so wonderful and has such vibrant color!

~

There were a few garden casualties sustained while I was gone.  My cheerful little strawberry pot got completely obliterated in the heat wave we had.  My dear mom did all she could to try and keep it going, but it just couldn’t be helped.  I trimmed back all its foliage and am excited to see some new little growth sprouting out of it.  Also, one of the pots of petunias I had on the patio bit the dust.  I trimmed that back as well, but I’m not sure it’s gonna make it, I’ll have to wait and see if it perks back up.

Otherwise all is alive and well in my tiny garden, and for that I am truly grateful.  Time to head out there right now with my coffee for my morning “lesson.”  It’s a beautiful morning here, hope the weather is nice wherever you are too!  😀

~

✿~Gardening is my therapy~✿

What’s Going On in the Garden

I can’t seem to keep up with photographing and sharing about everything that is going on in my tiny garden lately because it changes daily, but I’m enjoying every minute of it and feeling so thankful that’s it’s all doing so well!

Since it’s raining this morning I thought I’d try and write an update.

I’ll share about the blooming things first…

It took a little longer than I expected for the buds to open, but my trumpet vine is blooming now and it’s so pretty!

~

And those “spindly” looking Stella de Oro lilies from the flower bed that I divided up and thought wouldn’t amount to much… well, they’re not so spindly after all, they’re lovely!  So bright and cheerful!

~

Another bright and cheerful bloomer is this yellow daisy.  At least I think it’s a variety of daisy, I planted it so long ago that neither my mom nor I can remember exactly what it is.  Either way, it’s a pretty yellow flower.  😀

~

Speaking of yellow flowers… my cucumbers are flowering.

And wrapping their tendrils around the trellis…

Since these photos were taken, I’ve noticed dozens of tiny little cukes forming on them now too!

~

My one zucchini plant has tons of yellow/orange flowers on it too, and is spreading out its giant “solar panels.”

There’s a lot going on underneath those giant leaves, and an abundance of fruits are developing.  I just picked this one the other day…

~

I’ve also been picking tons of green beans!  Oh, I’m so very pleased with my beans this year!

We steamed some and had them with dinner the other night, they were delicious!

~

We’ve also been eating up the peas.  There hasn’t been very many though so I’m a bit disappointed.  But we had such a weird spring weather-wise and then it got too warm too soon for them, so it’s not their fault.  😉  I’m entertaining the idea of doing a fall planting to see if I can get more, but I’ve never done that before so I don’t know how it would work out.  I took this photo one morning while they were still small when the sun was hitting them just right to see the little peas developing inside.  Cute, yummy little things!  ♥

Looking at them made me ponder about the things developing inside of us and how you catch glimpses of them when the Light reflects through us.  Me and constant metaphors hah!

~

Another thing we’re going to be eating soon are jalapenos.  These two are just about ready to pick…

~

The bell peppers are coming right along too, although it’ll be quite a while before they turn yellow…

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My one little row of carrots is doing well and their greens are filling out more every day, but there sure aren’t very many of them.

  Oh well no matter, I’ll just appreciate and enjoy them all the more being that there are so few of them.  😉

~

Speaking of only a few ~ I’ve only got five tomatoes growing on my two plants.  Those few are growing very nicely though!

~

I’ve only gotten a few strawberries too.  I’ve been getting lots of blossoms, but the berries have all ended up being very wimpy.  I think the pot is maybe too small.

But that red pot certainly is bright and pretty with those dainty little white flowers!  😀

~

I guess that’s about it for now on what’s going on in the garden.  The rain has stopped so I’m going to head out there and check on everything after the thunderstorm we had earlier.  Hopefully it’s alright.

~

I’ll leave you with this…  The hosta are beginning to bloom and I snapped this the other day when I noticed their buds glistening with the last droplets of the morning dew as the sun was coming up…

~

Have a beautiful, blessed day!

~

✿~Gardening is my therapy~✿

Pleased and Thankful

I’m just so very pleased and thankful with how well everything is doing in my garden right now.  I guess all of the rain we’ve had has been agreeable with it.  Every morning when I go out there to sit on the patio with my coffee, I am greeted with new little surprises.

It was especially wonderful the other morning when I went out there quite a bit earlier than usual and discovered dainty little dewdrops all artistically arranged around the edges of my cucumber leaves.  I tried my best to take a good picture, but in the dim lighting of the new day I couldn’t get it into focus very well.

The color is a bit off as well.  But it was such a cool effect to have the droplets only on the very outer edges like that, and all glistening, it was magical!

~

The dew also graced the ends of my celery leaves with a lovely sequined pattern…

Again, the color is a bit off and this photo lacks in capturing just how pretty it really was.  Sometimes pictures, much like words, are just inadequate in truly conveying what our eyes are seeing and how our heart is feeling at a given moment.  But I was altogether delighted by that early morning display of a bit of nature’s delicate beauty, and I felt thankful and special to be there to see it .  ♥

~

I unknowingly purchased a different variety of green bean seeds this year and was pleasantly surprised to find lovely little lavender colored blossoms on them rather than the white I am accustomed to.

Ah, so pretty!  Hopefully the beans will taste yummy too!  😉

~

And speaking of lavender, my French lavender is now blooming.  And smelling absolutely heavenly!  ♥

I’m still waiting for my English lavender (my favorite variety) to bloom, it’s progressing agonizingly slow.  It’s really hard waiting to have something you love and want so much.  Hmm… it suddenly appears there’s a personal metaphor lurking there for me in multiple ways in relation to this.  I’ll have to ponder on it…

~

But aside from pondering and metaphors, other things are progressing ~ in the garden.  My peas are blooming away and producing dozens of pods.  I really can’t hardly wait to eat them!

~

I was also excited to see a round little tomato developing on one of my plants.

Interesting fact:  I don’t actually even like tomatoes.  I like tons of things made with tomatoes though.  😉

~

But I do like jalapeno peppers, and this little fella is just one among many that are growing on my pepper plant…

Although, there are also some shriveled ones too, like the one right next to it.  Not sure why that is happening.  I’m noticing that on my bell peppers as well.  I’ll have to read up on it.  Hopefully it’s not a big deal.  Maybe it’s just a result from all of the rain.

~

I also like (make that love) zucchini!  Just found this bad boy starting to develop on my zucchini plant this morning…

Technically I suppose it’s a bad girl, as zucchini plants have both male and female parts and it’s the female part that produces the fruits.  Even though they look like male parts.  😉

Oops, did I just type that in my outside voice?  And am I leaving it like that?

~

I guess so.  Okay then, moving right along…

In addition to the edible delights I’ve got going on in my vegetable garden, there are also a few floral delights that I’m seeing around the yard that are out there doing their thing.

The buds on the new trumpet vine I posted about last time are looking even more plump now.  I imagine they’ll be opening up soon…

Hopefully that gross black ant crawling around on them isn’t a bad sign of anything.

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I just noticed yesterday that the Stella de Oro lilies that I divided up earlier this spring have buds on them…

They are quite spindly though, so I’m not sure they’ll amount to much this year, but I’m happy they’re surviving being separated, as they were very crowded and I had be a bit brutal with them to get them apart.

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The Astilbe in the flower bed has buds as well…

And the Astilbe on the side yard is already in bloom…

It’s such a pretty, light and airy looking plant.

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The yellow Loosestrife we have on the side yard is blooming too…

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And I have to share this photo I took of the Coleus I have planted in one of our patio pots.  The foliage is so bright and colorful!

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You know, at the end of each of my gardening posts I always write “Gardening is my therapy,” and that’s not just a saying, it’s really true.  Nature in general always gives me such a wonderful sense of peace, and joy.  It helps to center me, along with my faith.

I have many other things outside of gardening that are going on and sometimes when things are really pressing in and my heart feels heavy, even the joys of my garden can’t seem to bring complete relief, but even still… gardening really is a therapy for me, and I’m so very pleased with and thankful for my tiny garden.

Thanks for letting me share a bit of it with you…

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✿~Gardening is my therapy~✿