Borscht!

The garden has had its ups and downs this year, *sigh*, but today was a major harvest day! We nibbled on cucumber salad, peas and our first pick of the bush beans.

 The pole beans have been interesting. They have dramatic red blossoms, and the pods grew to 9 inches long. When we cracked open the pods, the bean seeds inside were a beautiful reddish pink, but alas ... they tasted awful! Next year we will know to just plant the bush beans.

We also picked all of our beets, and some carrots, which we turned into yummy borscht soup.  It tasted all the sweeter knowing that the veggies came from our own garden!

Now all there is to harvest is more carrots, bush beans and tomatoes. I am still hopeful that some of our Japanese eggplant will survive the intermittent rains and grow into shiny aubergines. Last but not least, our pumpkin plants are in full bloom now, so we are excitedly looking forward to some Jack o'Lanterns this fall.

A week away in Hawaii and ....carrots, beans and cucumbers appear!

We left for a week of sunny summer vacation to chase our rainy June blues away. While we were away... there was sunny summer weather!

The carrots grew, the beans grew and the cucumbers got longer and fatter.  Cherry tomatoes grew fruit. A baby eggplant even grew.

The pumpkin vines are finally starting to flower as well.

The flowers in the garden also welcomed the warm summer sun. The hydrangeas are all abloom and the flower pots are doing well. The bumble bees are happily buzzing among the lavender rows.

Canada Day: 2 Yellow beans, a pumpkin blossom and a Chocolate Cosmos

Another rainy long weekend, this time for Canada Day :(
The garden is trying to do its best, and there are now several small cucumbers an inch long, and 2 yellow beans.

The pumpkin plants have also now decided to start blooming, and one very large blossom opened up today....  Jack O' Lanterns are almost a possibility.

In the flower pots, the Chocolate Cosmos has started blooming and the delicious subtle smell of chocolate can be detected when standing close by.

The lavender is also scenting the air with its relaxing smell  - if only for a few rays of sunshine!