reaping the rewards of my lil' potager

"Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself."
~ Henry David Thoreau ~



" The first gatherings of the garden in May of salads, radishes and herbs made me feel like a mother about her baby - how could anything so beautiful be mine. And this emotion of wonder filled me for each vegetable as it was gathered every year. There is nothing that is comparable to it, as satisfactory or as thrilling, as gathering the vegetables one has grown."
~ Alice B. Toklas ~

i couldn't have said it better myself.

between what is growing in our vegetable garden, what we can

get at the market, and from our very own local farming co~op @

http://beaverdamcreekfarm.com...

( it has been such a great experience knowing our local farmer and having input into what they do.)

...we are well supplied with all the good things you could want for summer fixings.

including a dozen or so herbs...purple basil is one of my personal favourites.
both to look at and to use in various recipes.

so far our cucumbers have been plentiful, very tender and sweet.

our tomatoes have been very flavourful and delicious.

scallions, green beans, onions, and beets have been in small portions but really good.

we have more than enough loose leaf lettuce...we just go out cut what we want

and make a fresh salad for one or for a dozen or more.

peppers have been a great addition to many meals.

the blueberries are tart and sweet at the same time.

not a whole lot make it inside.

even the compost is in the giving mood.

we have this volunteer (squash) i believe.

having a potager is like having a little baby to tend to...constantly

checking to see how it's growing, seeing what new things it can do...looking for

signs of maturing.

the watermelon is flowering and upon closer inspection...

has a little melon growing on the vine...isn't it just the most

beautiful little watermelon you have ever seen...for me it is.

when you are growing flowers and vegetables...the most wonderful thing

happens. you get so many critters checking out what you are doing.

the ladybugs/beetles are mating in the corn stalks.

i love to drive by a field all planted with corn and watch it glisten

with the sun behind it...or watch it sway when a warm breeze blows thru.

i love the long green leaves bending down and making crevices for insects.

they are just beautiful plants to me and especially seeing them

growing in my own little field is such a blessing.

this beauty did me the favour of a visit while i was checking on the corn.

i always have at least one companion in the garden... most of the time

more...this time buster brown is keeping a watchful eye on me.

our boys have been doing well with their own little raised beds.

of course dad and i have been helping with the watering when needed.

and giving a little bit of advice here and there.
their abe lincoln tomatoes are ripening.

my humble thanks to my pollinating friend on the cantaloupe.

lima flowers and soon some beans.

the leaf from the beets is so pretty...don't you think?

one of my loose leaf lettuces flowering out.

we have planted as you know, lots of companion flowers.

the orange marigolds add such a sunny deposition to their little corners of the garden.

the boys planted this unusual flower amongst their veggies.

is this coxcomb? i love the colour.

miniature vining red morning glory is a spot of just the right

colour, as well as the lavender morning glory and the vining black~eyed susans.

when my dh finally tilled around the front yard picket fence...i

didn't have much time before leaving for a trip to fl to plant...so i

did what any gardener might have done...i sprinkled it with various seed.

i am getting things popping up all the time now and i really

am not sure what some of them are...maybe weeds for all i

know...but it is attracting little green flying creatures.

~click to see better~

and interesting heads like these.

i am a bit surprised at the green envy zinnias...i wish they were

a little more green...but i like where they are planted.

the purple zinnia seeds and bud turned out to be rather pink.

don't you think? i am still glad they flowered.

this might be early buds on poke weed...but the buds

and it's shadow caught my fancy.

i am not quite sure why the sunflowers give me so much

anticipated pleasure but they do...i check them regularly.

i planted more variety this year and in many different spots around the yard.

i also have had many self sown sunflowers this year.

blooming is all sizes and colours...they never cease to amuse me.

from the moment they show their petals...

...to the lasting moments of attracting lots of various bees...

...they delight me.

the hostas and oakleaf hydrangea are blooming profusely...

i love every stage of the hydrangea...right now up against

my red house they are really standing out and grabbing the attention.

summer is such a wonderful time of the year...i love it.
i am greatly rewarded.

summer blessings to you all.

pathways to a potager

we all know there are many paths to choose in life...
welcome to the pathway to a potager...meem's potager.

this is meems second spring/summer veggie garden.
although she planted some flowers last year,
'09 is more about companion gardening. she has enlarged
her beds and included delightful flagstone/ limestone pathways.
thus enabling more room for flowers that are great
companions for the vegetables.
still she includes her wonderful combination containers,
which i believe lend a certain expression of her layering effects.


of course this is the very early stages of the potager.
her veggies have not even been planted yet.
the society garlic just barely in the ground looks to be
trying to stand up just hardly a week after the worst freeze
this florida garden has seen in forever.




dusty miller and yellow violas are prominent
in the container that is keeping watch over the garden.


as we stand out in the garden and i'm getting a feel
for what she is trying to accomplish, meems says
let me go get my clippers while we are chatting.
dead heading all the while we are talking...i'm thinking i will
just take those dead headed seeds home with me and see
how they might do up in my garden.

yellow marigolds, purple angelonia, multi-coloured gazanias,
and society garlic line the outer edges of were the pole beans,
and some different lettuces will be planted.
it is all so exciting to see the beginnings of
this new garden especially since our time to plant
in tennessee is still months away.

i am learning so much from meem's years in the garden.
she is still learning and trying new things.
this is her first time planting ostica blue eye asters.
they are lovely.

these gazanias open with the sunshine and close up as it gets dark.

three varieties of blueberries, jewel, star, and prima donna

have made it in the ground along side a flowering

ground cover called golden globe.

there is a beautiful mosaic shallow bowl nearby

readily available for butterflies and birds.

meems made this herself, she is a very talented lady.

all the blue tiles makes it a stand out in her garden.

this particular plate came from a little antique shop up in tennessee.

pathway pavers lead from the front of meems

house to her potager.

even with all the plants that have damage from

the frosts her florida garden is so expansive i am only

going to focus on one area at a time...just wait til you see what's next.