This has been one of the strangest gardening season I have ever experienced. No one is quite sure whether it was the drowning we suffered for weeks upon end at the beginning of the season or the heat wave that came after and is still with us. Heat warnings again for the tenth day in a row, I think. I think it might have something to do with the lines in the sky that fan out to create the overcast. But hey, who an I?

End of July, and I am just now getting a few tomatoes. They remained gangly until just a couple of weeks ago, just after the cucumbers started coming in. I have a dozen sweet pepper plants and would be lucky to count a dozen blooms on, all of them combined. I had added things to the soil and still, no blooms. Got the cabbage out before the slugs got to it and made some kraut that turned out wonderful. Will be growing more this fall. Onions and potatoes look okay, so far. Got a couple of quarts of pods from the sugar snap pea vines and although they are shot this round there's time to plant more that will mature by the time fall rolls in. Cherry tomatoes are all crazy, wild, and all over the place, but not wanting to ripen. Jalapeno and the banana peppers came in gang busters, pulled a few and now the banana peppers are dead. Blooms all fell off and they dried up and I have no idea why. Jalapenos are hanging on and look like I might get a few blooms in the coming days. Habaneros look good but fruits are still small and slow growing. Melons are blooming but none coming in. Couple of pumpkins on the vine but two have already died and fallen off. Sage went wild but it never died off last winter. Dill came in gang busters and I got a two gallon cookie jar full of it dried. Sage and parsley lived all last winter so they both came out gangbusters early this year. Zucchini and yellow squash did great until a vine borer had it's way with them. I ate plenty and put quite a bit in the freezer, breaded and some just cubed for soups. 

The sunflowers were plentiful this year though, scattered about the yard wherever one of my feathered friends or tree rats dropped them. Some along flower beds and some came up right in the middle of the yard. And yes, I mowed around them and let them go to bloom for the birds. The cardinals have been feasting for about three weeks on a regular basis. I manage to save a head or two for the chickens who act like they have been given a steak. The new chicks really like them.

My favorite part of the sunflower is the flower head before it opens. I just find it fascinating and get excited with each new one that pops up.  

Sunflower bud Sunflower, beginning to open Sunflower, no fully opened Sunflower with a bug
Other volunteers in the yard were some ornamental gourds and this crazy luffa. I am not sure it is going to fruit and mature in time for the pods to mature before the first frost but I let it grow anyway. It came up between pavers I had laid for a temp patio and now that space is covered with the giant green monster.  Luffa Bloom
The Zinnias were popping but something is making them die off. No bugs, no blight, just start drying up, even when watered, and die off. Hoping I can fill the bed with them next year for more of a show. 
Pink Zinnia Orange Zinnia

I started some Echinacea but this is one my bestie gave me. Hoping I will get enough seed for it to all come back next year. The few I had started are still only a few inches high so I don't know what they might do before the frost comes. 

Echinacea Echinacea

Houseplants did well with a lot of care to make sure they didn't burn up.  I sold a few to put in next year's seed stash. 
Spider plants and Mother in Law Tongues Mother In Law Tongue Spider Plant
I am pretty sure this rubber tree was from a cutting in the fall of '22 and is now almost five foot tall. It's for sale if you know some crazy person like me who has a house full of trees in the winter or an office that wants to fill a sunny window.  Rubber Tree Aloe Swedish Ivy Habanero PepperPoblano peppers are a mild variety of chili pepper originating from Puebla, Mexico.
They are known for their slightly sweet and earthy flavor, with a heat level ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 on the Scoville scale
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