Midwest Gardening 2020: Sunflowers

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It's been so hot, I only stay outside long enough to water pots and pick a few vegetables and then there is the weeds. Today I decided to only take photos of the sunflowers.... Boy, do we have sunflowers.

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I'm always amazed opening my photos to edit. 

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Why is it the eye doesn't see the finesse of the light or the details captured by the camera's eye? The veins in the leaves, the hairs on the stems, the sunlight caressing the edges...and bouncing across the stems. 

I'm always amazed. This little sun face stem hides under some giant brothers next to our flagpole in the front yard. 

The subject today is simply SUNFLOWERS and boy do I have some HUGE sunflowers. Many of these were grown from seed in the greenhouse, but I also sowed directly into the ground. Not everything germinated...just as well...wait until you see!

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These look tall and straight, as I am taking the photo 12 feet below. These Mammoth Sunflowers are in a raised planter by our stairs. It has been so dry---here...even with watering everything droops, but the flowers heads are huge and heavy also.

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From up 6 feet from the last photo, you can see the heads as tall as the garage. You

can see how they have drooped over. 

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I'm surprised a raccoon hasn't discovered these, heavy and full of seeds and accessible from the porch railings.  

Strolling to the backyard garden...another Mammoth Sunflower. 

I planted two giant varieties, one ....up to 12 feet, and this Mammoth up to 15 feet.

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This big baby is planted next to the cucumber trellis with some smaller versions underneath.

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Here's are our Better Boy tomatoes in front of the north wall of sunflowers and trellised green beans.  I ran support wires and ropes between the trellises to support the very tall sunflowers.

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I planted this smaller variety of Sunset Sunflowers, some are just now starting to form heads. This area has sun all day, and it's very hot. The blossoms don't last very long.

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Here's how pretty this flower head is, only the size of your palm.

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Okay, here is where you say OMG! That is a 6 foot tall step ladder, I'm using to pick beans...Yes those flowers are almost into the power/telephone/cable lines. Easily 15 feet high or more?

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Photo taken from directly underneath...!

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See the power lines?

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Lower are the 6-8' foot basic Sunflowers and they are still very tall.

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Above the Mammoth heads drooping again!

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Another angle, with the smaller flowers on the left are almost kissing the power lines.

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Here you can see the Fibonacci sequence of the seed patterns. Fascinating, spiraling in prime number sequence. 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, ....etc.

        

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We lost a few tops last week from a windstorm, our last rain. I've hung them up for the birds to feast on. Birds can't hang upside down on those huge swaying heads fifteen feet in the air. I'm sure these two on the grill canopy will gone soon.

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Hope you enjoyed my smiling sunflowers. Just waiting for the raccoons to figure out they are ready to eat! 

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Smiles, and have a great week!

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Sandi 

Midwest Gardening: Early August Vegetables

 

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Hi, All! 

I haven't been posting photos of the garden, mostly because I have been too busy cooking. I totally missed last months vegetable garden post...so I had to retake photos for today.

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This is our Island in the Sun of 4 Yellow Summer Squash plants. 

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This was today, August 9th pickings. We have been eating yellow summer squash every day. Tonight I will bake some on the grill stuffed with Italian Sausage, and fresh garden greenbeans, zucchini and tomatoes.

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Nice bunch of green beans and a yellow tomato. Perfect for supper.

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Cherry tomatoes are everyday, now.

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This is what the inside of the 'Island in the Sun' looks like.

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Our peppers are just beginning to ripen. Nice and red, Carnival Peppers come in orange, red, yellow, green and occasionally a purple one.

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Despite the heat they are quite thick and heavy. 

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I will use some for supper and later this week, I will can some summer squash in tomatoes and peppers and onions with herbs: Rosemary, Parsley, Thyme, garlic, and some basil-maybe.

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Our Beans are fighting it out with the 14 foot tall sunflowers. I don't know who is winning, the beans are almost as tall.  Some SF stalks have broken.The Sunflowers are a post of their own.

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Green beans are also just starting. I have to pick every other day now, so many are out of reach, we may have to back to bush beans.

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I picked tomatoes heavy last week, so there are just a few now, but will be more in a few days. Only our San Marzano's are done, but they did poorly from the beginning.

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What do you think these bags are for??? Remember I try to do everything Green in the garden.

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We have winter squash and small pumpkins all around the perimeter of the garden wherever there is fencing to crawl up on.

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This one is a Halloween Pumpkin or a squash, not sure. I pulled the top edge of the wire fencing out for  as a support ledge. I think we will have quite a few on the shelf, as they take off so late in the season. But, winter squashes take longer, you just have to keep the vines alive! 

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From 12 broccoli plants we have 5 that didn't completely bolt. Now they are 

finally producing some tight florets. YAY! 

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We've had two cuttings of Swiss Chard, this will go nuts with the cool weather.

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I need a Fairy Godmother to turn this pumpkin into a carriage and take me away, LOL. It is no where near done growing and that is my size 11 shoe! We have it on three of those melon supports, YOWZA.  This one is a FairyTale Pumpkin, it will be pale orange and apparently HUGE!

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Another Fairytale?  Pumpkin, not sure! 

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I still have great dill. We will have to have some salmon with dill sauce on the grill.

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Our Carnival Peppers and Green Peppers are just beginning. 

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I had enough hot peppers to make hot pepper sauce last week. I got 9 1/2 pt jars. I can't share the recipe---because it is one of a kind, too many alterations and I lost track. I'd say that it all depends on how hot your peppers are.

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This cucumber pot has given up, despite being watered whenever it needed it. 

Lessons we learned in this Year's 

Very Cool wet Spring to Extremely HOT June and July.

Plants which thrived had some shade each day. 

Broccoli definitely needs to be in More shade each day.

Zucchini had a bad year-we had them in three locations and they failed. Eight plants produced only three zucchini so far. 

Next year, maybe plant cucumbers twice to extend the season?

After 2 years of virtually no yellow summer squash---WE have tons this year from only four plants.

No more Cucumbers on the front porch, too hot.

What is growing super in your garden this year?

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Sandi 

Midwest Gardening: What's Flowering!

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Good Morning, Friends. 

I took these photos July 21 and then forgot about them. So this is a quick catch up for July! 

This Lily was just trying to open when I caught it in the lens, very striking.

July was simply HOT-HOT-HOT! Some of my plants were happier than heck, others simply bloomed and disappeared in the same day.

Liatris I started from bulbs. These are pretty versatile and will spread each year, behind it is small lilies, and beginning to bloom transplanted Giant Sedum, which goes from pale pink to dark burgundy in Fall. 

The Day Lilies seemed to have a tough time. Too hot and some shriveled before they even opened. Watering was continual...everything got watered in a cycle, and pots sometimes twice a day.

The pond was sometimes very hot. The front edge I planted with succulents. The roses quit blooming, I hope they are holding back for a fall showing.

On the stairs by the pond I had this long planter of Nasturtium seeds and 4 0'clocks, which I had never grown before. They are huge and blooming constantly.

On a ledge this poor hanging pot got attacked in the middle of night and fell, then the Potato Vine in front was chewed off as well as the red Caladiums. Here it is after a week recovering in a safe place.

This is the dryest, poorest soil on the property. I have Sweet Peas, Iris, small Day Lilies, and Sedum in here, plus weeds...always weeds. This area needs to be dug out and new dirt put in---later towards Fall. 

You can see how droopy and cooked everything seems to be despite watering. I have Sweet Peas, Iris, Del Oro Lilies and Creeping Sedum in here and a few Giant Sedum. This bed really needs total clean out and new dirt.

Across the  patio is the East fence with alternating veggies and flowers.  ZINNIAS have been very vigorous. Grown from seed as well as transplanted from starts, Zinnias have been a real success.

Sunflowers...not so much---here, three half circles of seeds, never came up at all, or were totally munched on right to the ground? 

Working toward the backyard is this stump with a basket...having a tough time, very hot here, despite afternoon shade. The lime perennial on the bottom, also stunted. 

This pot is very pretty right now...just 10 days later the Impatiens don't exist. 

Boiled in the pot.

We have lemon grass and peppermint plants around the patios and work areas. Great bug/bee repellants. Just break a frond or crush some leaves and rub them on your clothes. 

The Caladums exploded after this. I'll share next week.

The gnome garden is in complete shade, so the plants are happy long as they are watered. We have perennials and coleus in here.

The squirrels rearrange them, this is their favorite tree in the backyard.

This hanging pot---I couldn't tell what size Coleus I was putting in there, all the bulbs will be labeled in Fall according to size and color, so next year the yard shouldn't look like such a hodge-podge.

Our problem area project is coming along. The Caladiums are very happy here. The paving is constantly dirty and full of leaves. I could clean this everyday and by night it is yuggy again.

We have been working on this area...I will share later in the summer when everything is done and stained. 

I have 8 very large 10" or large pots of Caladiums and Impatiens-pooped out, here next year I want to try some hanging ferns and tall grass here also.

And I'm going to white wash these pots....since they are covered with dust anyway.

This 12" pot is in mostly shade, and surrounded by Day Lilies.

In the back of the yard, we have the trough pond. After I took this photo, I scooped out all those rose petals, apparently the birds don't appreciate them. Sometimes there are 4-5 birdies on the rim or on the rocks having a coffee klutch in their gathering place.

The front West side is always shady, I have lots of Hosta there.

A pretty white Caladium in a pot brightens up the area. Our ground cover is a creeping Sedum which is indestructible. I'm really showing you only half my pots. Different ones for next time.

Zinnias and, sunflowers which are not blooming yet, greet us from  the stair planter, also some shorter marigolds, and of course my rusty Dragonflies! 

Don't You Just Love Summer Flowers!

Please excuse the underlined sections---new blogger is uncooperative at the moment. 

And I'm too frustrated to deal with it! 

Join me at these fine blog parties:

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All About Home

 Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

I will read and happily respond to every comment and answer every question.

Thank you for your cooperation, 
Sandi