The Fruits Of Labor

What could be more rewarding than enjoying the fruits of one's labor?

This is our first ripe tomato, picked on August 9th. I'm sure our Southern friends have been eating them for weeks and weeks now. They taste SO good!



We're enjoying delicious beans, both pole and bush types, as well as yellow summer squash, both red and green lettuce, mesclun mix, radishes, parsley. Cukes yet to come. Some things were a wash-out due to the early rains, and had to be replanted. Would you believe we have NO zucchini?!!! Well, we do have some small plants (finally) that have survived both too much rain, and too many bugs. Maybe we'll have some zucchini before a frost kills them! We're usually begging friends to take some from us, but this year others have shared theirs with us :)



Another view of the vegetable garden. The space in the forground has just been cleared of mesclun mix that had grown too big...and weeds, which had grown huge! They really got ahead of us with all the rain we had in June and July.



My hubby planted gladiolus in the vege garden. They had to grow really tall to escape the weeds! We're still working on the weed patch to the left. The flowers looked pretty, in spite of the weeds. I planted them as a seed mix last August.



This is the little back patio. The containers and window boxes have done very nicely this summer.



The front porch is looking colorful too. You can see here where Ross and Kylie finished off the porch with these beams overhead a few weeks ago. Now it all needs to be stained.



This is the side porch. I found that trellis at a craft show and have finally decided on a home for it. I planted my new Regency clematis by it. I'm really pleased with the way these window boxes have filled out. They each have one ivy geranium, 3 petunias, and some alyssum. There's also a white million bells plant in the two on each side of the steps. Oh, and a vinca vine in all.



The coneflowers are looking lovely. They certainly give us a long period of bloom, along with the gloriosas. Both are rudbeckias.

The dead oriental poppy foliage is not so attractive!
The bumble bees really love these flowers, and in the fall and winter the birds love to eat the seeds.



And finally, my hubby planted sunflowers amongst the sweet corn, to give the birds something to eat. They look pretty in the field. And we're enjoying a bit of sweet corn too!

It's pouring rain here today and has been a very gray day. We actually need the rain, believe it or not. It's amazing how quickly the ground dries out. I do hope the sun comes out again tomorrow though. One rainy day is enough! We've had a lovely sunny week, with mild temperatures....perfect weather for gardening.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.