The Lavender Allee

Mid-July in my part of Oregon means Lavender time. Within the last week the lavender has gotten its color and the blooms are opening up. I can't tell you exactly what variety I have pictured. Right after we bought this property I started to plant a long lavender allee up the side of a spur road. I purchased 5 plants the first year and then added many more the next 2 years. The problem became apparent as they matured and bloomed. While all 3 year's plants were labeled "Hidcote" I ended up with 3 very different varieties of lavender. I do believe that the first year's plants were a true "Hidcote". Unfortunately, I lost them all this past Winter with our  unusually long, hard freeze. The lavender that I had planted in year 2 all survived. They are a dwarf variety, with beautiful dark, deep purple blooms.

I was pleased to see many honey bees working the blooms but was upset that I could only find one bumble bee.

Just as I was about to put my camera away, I spied this little guy!

Today in the Vegetable Bed

Yesterday morning, as I was doing my morning tour of the vegetable garden, I spied some color underneath the gigantic leaves of the "Yellow Patty Pan" Summer Squash. When I lifted up the leaves I found this immature fruit and bloom. The first of the season! I thought it would be a few days before the bloom opened, but...

this morning I found this! How pretty. Unfortunately, there aren't any opened male blossoms, so this little squash is doomed to not pollinate and drop off. But, if you look closely at the above picture, you will see a much tinier squash to the right of the larger, blooming one. The plant has loads of these coming along , as well as male blossoms. Harvest time should start in just a few weeks.

Next door, the "Mars" red onions are doing just great. They continue to grow some everyday it seems.

Some of the largest are actually starting to form sizable bulbs. Not quite ready to harvest for hamburgers, but they are getting there.

And I discovered my first set tomato on the "Black Krim" plant. It was really tucked deep inside the foliage, low on the plant.

Lastly, yet another picture of the "Feringa" morning glory. Sorry, but I am just loving this plant and its two different colored blooms.

The Creeks in July

As I was out on a walk today I realized that I could still hear the sound of running water. It was quiet, but unmistakable. After further investigation I discovered that both seasonal creeks on our property are still running and it's mid-July. That is pretty amazing. In a normal year, we would be fortunate to just have some standing water left. But with our record rains in May & June we are reaping the benefit of actual running water on July 16th. Since the fields have turned brown now it is nice to know that the wild animals still have a good source for drinking water.

A Promise of things to Come

The day before a morning glory blossom opens it appears as a tightly wrapped bundle of color. They kind of remind me of tubes of lipstick. Here is a bloom of "Feringa", waiting to open the next morning.

The Second Tier

Today I finally found the time to add the second tier to my tomato cages in the vegetable bed. I was probably at least a week late on the job and a couple of them had grown a good 6" past the top of tier one. Once I get the second tier in place it always looks like it will be impossible for the tomatoes to ever grow enough to fill the second layer of cages. But I know from experience that come September, the second tier will be as full as the first.

On unexpected benefit of my work today was the discovery of the first set tomato of the year! This little guy, smaller than a marble, was lurking in a cluster of blooms on "Seattle's Best". Not surprising that a Pacific NW variety would be the first.

Vegetable Bed Inventory - 2010

Now that we almost at the midpoint of July, I though it would be an appropriate time to take a final inventory of everything that got planted. Today I will document the vegetable bed at the house and next Tuesday I will do the same for the big garden. Although the vegetable bed is small in size, its full-sun location is priceless. I can grow the heat lovers like tomatoes, squash, zinnias & morning glories here and they just thrive. It is such a treat as the big garden has a lot of trees and a lot of shade throughout the day.

Here is an overview of the garden. And here is its inventory:

Seed

Winter Squash (4) - "Delicata" - Seeds of Change

Pole Beans (15) - "Bingo" - Territorial Seed

Sunflower (1) - "Gloriosa Polyheaded" - Seeds of Change

Zinnia (18)- Mix of "Hot Crayon Colors" & "Berry Basket" - Renee's Garden

Plants

Winter Squash (4) - "Butternut" -

Summer Squash (1) - "Yellow Patty Pan" -Hayhurst Valley

Sweet Bell Pepper (1) "Gypsy" - Hayhurst Valley

Morning Glory (1) - "Feringa" - Log House Plants

Red Onion (17) - "Mars" - Hayhurst Valley

Yellow Storage Onion (15) - "Prince" - Hayhurst Valley

Tomato (1) - "Rose" - Log House Plants

Tomato (1) - "Seattle's Best" - Log House Plants

Tomato( 1) - "Momotaro" - Log House Plants

Tomato (1) - "Kellogg's Breakfast" - Log House Plants

Tomato (1) - Sweet Million" - Log House Plants

Tomato (1) - "Black Pear" - Log House Plants

Tomato (1) - "Persimmon" - Log House Plants

Tomato (1) - "Black Krim" - Unknown

The "Delicata" are way behind last year but have grown a lot in the last week's heat.

The "Butternut" vines have fallen over and are starting to crawl .

The tomatoes have just gone crazy the last week. I desperately need to add the second tier to the towers as they all shot past the tops of tier one. Pictured above, left to right, "Black Pear", "Persimmon" & "Black Krim".

The Patty Pan Squash has really settled in. I love its big old leaves. So do the little brown finches who snack on them in the cool  of the morning.

The "Bingo"  Pole Beans are trying their hardest. They are squeezed right now between a huge tomato on one side and the self-seeded "Gloriosa Polyheaded" Sunflower on the other.

And I just LOVE the "Feringa" Morning Glory. How cool to have two different blooms on one plant.

Swallows

Each Spring we are fortunate to have swallows return to our area sometime in March. The first day that you hear their familiar chirp, and then tilt you head back and find them high in the sky, always is special. Every year it seems that their numbers increase and the battles over housing escalate. In response, we keep buying birdhouses and putting them up. We have 6 up this year and 5 were claimed. The newest swallow house was hung at the front of our house and can be viewed up close on the staircase landing. The indoor cats quickly discovered this and have greatly enjoyed "swallow tv" this year.

Here is an up close picture of that house. As you can see, the chicks in it have hatched. I caught this little guy waiting for one of the parents to return with some food.

This house is also hanging on the front of our house, at the opposite end from the green swallow house. It also is full of hungry chicks.

This house hangs on the side of our house, directly over one of the garage doors. The noise and cars don't seem to bother the swallows at all.

This house is also on the east end of our house. While you can't see anyone inside of it, each time the parents return with food it erupts with noise.

This house hangs on the shop building. It was the first house we ever put up and has hosted a family every year. If you look closely you can make out the chick in the entrance hole.

This year we are fortunate to have a pair of Barn Swallows. They initially tried to make their home in both garages but we asked them to look elsewhere! They finally picked one of the pillars the back patio. Over about two weeks they slowly hauled in mud and grass and built up their amazing nest. Their chicks just hatch a week or so ago. We have spied 3 bald little heads poking up when the parents return.

A finish..and a start

Yippee, we did it! The dahlias are all planted as of tonight. All 199 are in the ground - finally. I started planting on June 26th, so it took 16 days from start to finish. Not too bad! I clearly remember when they were all in pots and the whole project was in front of me.

The good news is all of the plants survived our recent heatwave just fine and are really looking good. Now the garden task transitions from planting to maintenance. Besides basic watering, I already need to start tying up the taller ones and start pinching out growing tips to help control height. No rest for the weary! Pictured below, "Alden Snowlodge" a beautiful miniature sized white cactus. It's one of my favorites so I have 4 plants of it this year.

Saturday at the Farmer's Market

Today Beth and I went down to the Lane County Farmer's Market. We got off to a bit of a later start for us, so by the time we arrived it was 11 Am and we were more then ready for some breakfast. Beth went with Steak & Eggs from Field to Table and I stuck with a traditional pasty from Cousin Jacks. Then I found room for a chocolate chip cookie from Provisions. Needless to say, neither of us had a beer from Nenkasi !

Since I was last at the Market, full size heirloom tomatoes have arrived.

I also found this beautiful bunch of "Red Torpedo" onions. I wasn't the only one to admire them. When we came back by 15 minutes later they were almost sold out.

The Groundworks Organic farm stand had the first corn of the season. It was an early dwarf variety called "Precious". I held off. I am patiently waiting for the first, full sized sweet corn. A few more weeks!

Almost every farm stand had huge baskets of Fava Beans.

And with the heat has come the arrival of Zucchini. I particularly admired the green variety on the left. It had beautiful ridges running up and down its length.