Community Gardens

There is a community garden not far from our home.  We love to go there on the weekends and walk the dogs on the nearby paths.  I always have to stop and take a look at the beautiful vegetables and flowers.  This time of year, the gardens are amazing.  I absolutely love it.

We had the opportunity to meet a fellow gardener.  After complimenting him on the gardens, he came over to show his harvest and offered to give me two bitter gourds. I've never eaten them before, but he told me how to prepare them. Gardeners are some of the most generous folks you will find - generous with their knowledge and their harvest.  Aren't they beautiful?

Broccoli and Leeks

It's chilly this morning in the mid Atlantic.  The air is crisp and with the sun shining on the young plants,  I just had to take a picture.  Broccoli and leeks in the morning sunshine :)

A Garden Bomb

Sometimes you succeed and sometimes you don't.  That's just the way it is with gardening and you might as well be prepared for it.

This 4' x 8' bed is at the back patio and is full of dirt, compost, and some decaying leaves and chips.  I decided that I would broadcast lettuce and carrot seed to try and get a good harvest before winter.  So, I broadcast the seed and watered and watered and watered.  It's been hot so the babying was a necessity. Soon the seeds germinated and were "thick as hair on a dog's back."  I was pleased, so I continued to water them.  Eventually they grew to about 2" tall and I noticed they were fuzzy.  They were TOMATO SEEDLINGS! Argh!  We had tomato plants scramble across this bed for two years in a row.

I got rid of the seedlings with a hoe and planted some fall starts purchased locally.  Here we have green and purple cabbage, kale, and bunching onions.  You just have to roll with it.

Crepe Myrtle

Our white Natchez crepe myrtles are in bloom.  My husband fell in love with this variety when we visited the Victory Garden South in Georgia years ago.  I had to buy two for him when I found them on sale at a local nursery.  They're planted on the west side of the driveway as an understory for the maple.  Their big white blooms are attracting bees.  Love it!