What's Going on in the Garden July 2021

The purple poppies have been stealing the show around here lately.

I’ve found tiny poppies in the crack between the house and driveway and in the gravel path.

You can’t really tell in the photo, but this poppy flower isn’t much bigger than a quarter. A sweet, delicate gift.

I welcome self-seeded plants, sometimes transplanting them, sometimes leaving them be — nature’s hand in my garden design. I like things wild and full. Abundant.

July is high summer and my garden is certainly looking a bit wild.

I’m always amazed by how empty it is at the beginning of the season and then how overgrown it becomes as the summer progresses. So many of my plants are bigger than I expect them to be. The wild bergamot is one.

The white delphinium I was waiting for last month has been amazingly tall and full with flowers, too.

I’ve never grown a delphinium as big as this one. I guess that’s why the variety is called Pacific Giants.

I harvested my first eggplant this week. We grilled it with zucchini (from my mom) and mushrooms (from the store) and ate the grilled veggies with pasta and pesto (made from basil from my mom while we let our basil get a little bigger).

We continue to eat peas, lettuce, kale, lots of herbs… We’ve been eating cherry tomatoes and the first larger tomatoes are starting to ripen.

Despite all of the abundance, I’m still waiting for some of my favorite flowers. Nasturtiums, zinnias, dahlias, sunflowers. They’ll bloom soon, I know. I direct sow nasturtiums, zinnias and sunflowers, so they’re always a little slower to arrive than if I’d bought seedlings or started my seeds indoors.

Everywhere I look there’s inspiration for my paintings. If only I could keep up.

a painting of purple poppies coming soon to the shop

Sadly, the Japanese beetles are here in full force. Worse than last year I think.

One morning I went out to the patio and collected 61 beetles just sitting on our table. I collect hundreds every day and there always seem to be more. A single flower can have dozens of beetles packed between its petals. The roses are hit hardest, but I’m finding them everywhere this year.

While I’m talking about garden pests, I need your help. Does anyone recognize this vine?

It tries to take over my garden every year. It spreads by underground runners and they even travel beneath concrete. I’ve found sprouts coming out of the cracks in the patio and even in the garage. The roots are yellow and some of the leaves higher up on the plant are heart-shaped. I pull it up whenever I find it, but it keeps tunneling under the fence from my neighbors’ yards. I’ve never seen it flower or fruit and my attempts at identifying it have been unsuccessful. Anyone know what it is?

And as long as I’m appealing to fellow gardeners, I wanted to let you know I’m planning on hosting a seed exchange later in the season. Start saving your seeds if you’d like to participate. Never saved seeds before? Here are some good resources from Seed Savers Exchange to get you started. I hope you’ll consider participating!

Last month I mentioned wanting to sketch out a plan of my garden to share with you today. I tried. And I have to laugh because despite using a measuring tape and graph paper, my sketch was an utter failure. I shouldn’t have estimated and rounded my numbers so much. Ah well.

I did end up making a video of the garden, something I’ve been wanting to do since last year. I hope you enjoy it!

One more bit of garden-related news… I wrote an article for the Summer 2021 Issue of 2 Million Blossoms magazine. The article is a celebration of my garden as inspiration for my art and food for my body and soul. The issue is now out.

The whole issue is gorgeous! I subscribed to the magazine last year and really enjoy it. If you like nature and gardens and are interested in pollinators, you should subscribe, too. I’m planning a giveaway of this issue for my Joy Letter subscribers next month, so stay tuned (and sign up for my Joy Letter if you aren’t yet a subscriber).

And because I can’t resist sharing more photos of sweet Fiona (don’t miss her in the video):

She is the sweetest girl and is settling in well. And in case you’re wondering, she’s learned to love peas, too. Clara’s a bit jealous, but is also happy to have a playmate.

What’s been going on in your garden lately?