Need I say more? So amazing it startled me this morning when I caught it out of the corner of my eye. Motivation for a big update. 
Yes, almost the best time of the year. Fresh tomatoes. The Roma's are coming along nicely.
And the boxwoods still need a fine prune, but the overall form is there.
The hops are full of aphids so the lady bugs have shown up.
Weather has been pretty much the same so far all summer. A little rain almost every other day. And the temp hasn't broke 30 yet, so all good.
A rabbit! Wild I presume. The weather has been largely perfect for the garden. Could use a little more sun, but the temperature is perfect. Peas, beans, cucumbers and edamame are all looking good, at last. Replanted at least three times. With a little rain almost everyday, I am behind on pruning.
Got a lot done this weekend so the boxwoods and cedar hedge are looking amazing. Tackled the western hazelnut. Wow is it ever out of control. A major tree, not the shrub it needs to be. Still have a lot of fine tuning to do, but that is easy compared to the major clipper work. Cut through an extension cord.
Pruned back the oranges and olive hard. They are all coming back strong. A shot of liquid fertilizer really helped.
Got some pole beans from Helen and put those in today. Let’s see what happens. Started to empty the composter. Put a big pile on the potatos. Should be interesting to see what that does. Gave a handful of 10-10-10 all over the veg bed. The cherry tomatoes are really pushing. A potential 100 fruit on three plants.
Happy Pride! Don’t need the hit of thundershowers we are getting.
But, from a gardeners view, it’s a good thing. Got back from Venice and Berlin, so excited by some of the garden designs we saw – not to mention the art and architecture. And two weeks away means a lot of garden work. The Cornus Venus is done flowering. A million petals to clean up. Lawns to mow. And decided to put four more tomatoes in. A bit leggy from Home Depot so I trenched them in. Picked up a few other things, about a $60 trip.
Peonies are done, cherry tomatoes have little fruit just forming and good buds. Reseeded edamame and put in more cucumber seeds. And the patch of grass I am trying to mend is just being stubborn, so more grass seed down. So I can take some rain today.
Got the cherry tomatoes planted in the pots under the balcony today. Two are called Rafael and the other is just called Red Cherry. Also put in the leftover pansies and the yellow Asters that were in the front pots this spring. Should be pretty. Gave everything a shot of liquid fertilizer. All the pots should be happy.
Big day in the salad bar. Planted beefsteak tomatoes on the west side and a Better Boy on the east. Also got some cucumbers seeds in.
In the veg bed put in a pot of basil and a row of San Marzanos beside the potatoes. Some cuke seeds on the east side by the juvenile garlic. And the remaining Better Boy in front of the winter garlic. Jammed a few pole beans seeds left over from last year’s crop at the back against the stone wall. Spread some 2012 coriander seeds all about especially on Astrid’s bare soil. Will know what’s taken in a couple of weeks.
Still have to refill the hole were the crab apple was. Photo just cause.
$177 @ Fiesta Farms, yee ha! Ken and I did a run for the front planters. And of course I got tomatoes and the herbs for the balcony.
The planters should be amazing. Cannas, dahlias, lib…something. I reused the gerbera daisies, white pansies and have to put the yellow asters that were in there somewhere else, or perhaps the compost? With a shot of Miracle Grow they will be amazing in two weeks. Can’t wait.
Light showers have sent me in. I can use the break after moving 4 cubic yards of mulch yesterday. $290 delivered from Plant World. Took the full day, well, eight hours really and it still needs to be properly placed in the beds. It looks so good already with everything bursting.
Was out to hill-up the potatoes, plant peas, edamame, carrot tape, and hopefully bush beans. Nice neat rows this year. Half the garden is in so far. Have to get to the garden centre for herbs and tomatoes. It’d be nice to get more greens in tomorrow. It’s suppose to be light rain all day.
My Whiffletree order arrived yesterday. Just back from New York. Fabulous summer weather. Not so much here. Got two new columnar apple trees, rugosa roses and of course, orchard socks. And to my surprise and delight, Kevin dropped off a pyramidal boxwood! Yeah.
They are hilarious.
For the record:
Kevin’s encouraged me to move the crab apple and finish off the formal garden. Got it half dug out today. A really large root ball, but most roots are within the first 5 inches of soil. Will see if there is a tap root. A lot of digging ahead. Over cast, light drizzle and about 2°.
Cut back the cascade hops. Leaving just five or six sturdy stems and laced them through the fence. Wow have they ever adapted well. They want to spread. Could be crazy.
BTW I checked out the orchardpeople. Cool concept.
And peas are planted. Beautiful weekend. Sprayed BTK on the apple trees as I saw the first signs of caterpillars. Had to get it at East End. Tried Home Depot but only one person working. But I did get my potatoes there.
16 all together. Feels a bit early, but good to try. Started to dig the entire bed in front of the blueberries. Nope, I am a full convert to lasagna planting. With the layer of straw I put down for winter, it would take a machine to chew it up and dig it in. Should be fun. Home Depot $9, Easr End $27, Canopy $38 – front planters.
FarmerTO 