Midsummer blooms.

The other day I was watering my tomatoes, which are just ridiculously hard to please now that they're massive, and realized there are so. many. tomatoes!!! I realized that now that we're coming up on mid-July, my deck garden has really changed shape -- and size -- with all my work keeping everything healthy. The geraniums are full-bloom (I let them hibernate over the winter, and in the summer they get tall and lean, which is the way I like them -- wild-looking), the hosta just blossomed, and the tomatoes, like I mentioned, are well on their way to giving me too many tomatoes to know what to do with. So I decided to snap just a couple photos of le jardin. Just to feel happy about it. :D


Look at this monster!! One of the Black Pineapple variety -- the kind of tomato that I always think of when I think of the word 'heirloom.'


Dr. Wyche's Yellow... this is the plant that is going to give the most, I can tell. The third, Thai Pink Egg, has not produced anything yet. It was the weakest plant from the start, so we'll see if it's late, or if nothing will happen at all.


The hosta blossom just sprang up the other day -- hosta flowers are never my favorite, but it's still gratifying to see them. This one is pretty healthy, although some of the leaves on the plant were a little burnt in the sun this summer. Otherwise, the plant likes it there, so I'll have to give it a little bit of shade for next year.



And my very favorite mini success: the colander with a menagerie of succulents. Succulents are perfect for a container that is, by its very nature, filled with holes. Succulents in general are really hardy; they can stand not being watered, or even being in dirt, for a long time, and take root practically anywhere. The colander I filled with sandy dirt, and I wondered for a little while if these little guys were going to like it there, but they appear to be happy as can be. I've started a couple of others now, even one commissioned from my grandmother who liked the idea so much! I'm beginning to amass such a collection of unidentified succulents that I'm going to have to start doing some research. Regardless, hens and chicks remain one of my favorite kinds. ;)

...and I'm on my way to the store this afternoon to pick up ingredients for one of my favorite desserts eveerrrrrrrrr... ;D