No Fertilizer

The best thing about this summer's garden is discovering the plants that flourished with little help from myself after they pass the seedling stage. Not everything came up as I intended, but the stuff that's there is making my backyard look like a jungle, despite the fact that I've virtually ignored the garden since the weather turned hot. Pumpkin and squash are producing vines and bushes with huge leaves running all over the place. Cucumber vine is covering the beds with a green blanket of leaves and dropping tons of fruit underneath. But most impressive is the forest of 10-ft-plus sunflowers that has sprung up. All the more impressive since I didn't even remember to put out any organic fertilizer this year.
Winter squash vine.
Blackberries.
Green Lentil.
Wildflower Larkspur finally showing its pretty face.
It's my Sunflower forest!
Okra.
Summer squash.
It will look much prettier next year when there is lawn instead of plastic.
Corn, sunflower, squash.
Basil, grown from seed.
Young watermelon vine.
Sunberry.

Okra.

Summer Squash.

It will look much prettier next year when there is lawn instead of plastic.

What's the Point of Having a Garden if Your Kitties Can't Scamper Though It?

And yes they are getting along great with the frolicking and playing and so forth, thanks for asking!

Red Sky Warning.

A sunset appears under a passing thunderstorm, turning the air an unnatural color. Atmospheric moisture refracts light and diffuses shadows. The orange glow of terrestrial objects accentuates the heavy purple-ness of passing storm clouds. This is a stolen hour; monotonous sunny days await us, we don't know when our next break will come. Surprised that the progression of day to night was interrupted in this colorful, somewhat foreboding manner, we wander out side to soak it up.
You have no idea how much whining went into the making of this picture. And look how cute it is!

Someone's in the Kitchen with Lentils...

Someone's in the kitchen makin' veggie burgers!

Wildflowers of Summer

Spring wild flowers are fading in the heat of early summer. Crisp tans are replacing lush, ephemeral greens. Petals are torn, or missing altogether. The sky is a brighter blue. Torrential downpours punctuate monotonous clear, hot days. The delicate ornamental like poppy and larkspur are gone, faded away or mowed over for no reason I can see. These hardy prairie flowers will stick around as we head into the doldrums of a Texas summer. Sidewalk traffic will dwindle through August, July, and September. The solitude of a suburban summer mimics the solitude of the great west, the desert, the open prairie.

What's Growing in the Garden

The garden is starting to look like a jungle after this week's torrents. Let's check in to see what's growing. Above, carrots are turning into wild monsters, and the greens are going to seed. It's impressive to pull up a big root, but we definitely found out we prefer the taste of the young, little ones.
Three varieties of sunflower this year: Sumter's Primrose Perfection and Mammoth Greystripe from last year (plus what ever they crossed to make) and Teddy Bear. Above looks like Greystripe, but with smaller side bud characteristic of Sumter's.
Scarlet Flax, the only wildflower to come up so far.
Baby Fig on the lonely Fig Tree.
Ten foot tall Sunflowers (Greystripe?). Crappy picture, but they're so tall it's hard to get a good one!
Sungold tomatoes. My hybrids are putting out lots of little green tomatoes. I'm hoping the Heirlooms just need more time.
Looks like Sumter's to me.
Teddy Bear. So cute!
The tiniest Pinwheel Zinnia of them all!