We had a most peculiar summer this year, though if I'd paid more attention to the almanac I wouldn't be so stunned, but I didn't so I am...For example, last summer I had a zillion ripe tomatoes by the end of July. I had another zillion by the end of August. I canned, I roasted, I dried, and I saladed tomatoes every day for weeks, or so it seemed.
This summer?
I have had perhaps 30 ripe tomatoes up til now. Lots of yellow pear tomatoes but very few that have been larger than that. The vines are loaded with fruit, but it's mostly unripe. Green. Unred. Unyellow. The only thing getting ripe in the garden in this cat. He looks about ready, don't you think?
One thing I will remember about this summer is the roses. The roses were enchanting. I feel faint with alliteration when I think about them: billowing, beckoning, burgeoning.
And let's not forget the mallows.
And this charming Rose of Sharon. It's called Bluebird. If you look carefully you might see why...
4 comments:
Things I will miss when summer leaves: Your gorgeous garden pictures.
So envious of that warm wet setting, but also of your skill - I doubt I could do so much, even in a tropical paradise.
Happy homeschool year 2010/2011 from dry, chilly Toronto!
That Is weird about the tomatoes, my friend in Vernon says the same thing. I somehow planted a LOT more cherry tomatoes than I meant to, I really do think they must have been marked as something else - a six pack of something else - because I never would have planted so many on purpose. Thankfully I still have lots of regular tomatoes to make into all sorts of things. Your Rose of Sharon is gorgeous.
Thanks Jennifer! Roses are such photogenic creatures, aren't they? I only wish I were so photogenic...
Heather, I did much the same with my tomatoes. I keep thinking that one day I'm going to be more organized about keeping seed packets and labelling things. Now I have about 12 different kinds out there and the only ones I can recognize are the Moneymakers and the Yellow Pears!
My tomatoes have gone berserk and because they were under cover they are blight-free (hurrah) and they have taken over. I'm afraid to go in unarmed!!
Tomorroow I go in to conquer, armed with as many bowls, buckets and baskets as I can muster up. The boys will stay close to me so as not to get lost.
Then I will attempt to make my first ever tomato sauce and I'm very afraid...I have no idea why! Probably the thought of spending too long blanching and skinning them. I may skip that step. I may skip all the steps and just freeze them.
Somehow I planted HALF of my plants as a small ripening variety...Latah. They ripen at once and are the perfect size of a golfball. I neglected to see the size at harvest when I bought the seeds. I was just excited that something would be ready before rain and cold and blight. So I have millions of golf-ball-sized tomatoes. Sigh.
Love your hibiscus too. We have the magenta one, still blooming and leaves are turning yellow, so pretty!
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