Magic

I love it when something from my garden like this....

Turns into this...

And this...

A roasted veggie wrap with freshly made pesto... What could be better?

How does this magical thing happen?  I have kitchen elves.  They take my garden offerings and do all of the hard work.  I really wanted the shoe elves, but, hey!  Don't kick a gift horse in the mouth.  =)

A season for everything

I love fall.  I can almost hear all of my plants saying, "Ah!" Well, maybe that was me saying that.  The cooler temperatures and rain have made everything green and alive.  The two plants I actually like out front are blooming and looking great.

I have no idea what this plant is, but it smells great when you cut it, and the bees and butterflies really love it.  Is it a butterfly bush?  If anyone knows what it is, please fill me in.  It only looks pretty this time of year, though.

Also, my hibiscus are growing like crazy.  I love these plants.  They cheer me with their big, showy flowers and are very low maintenance.

Finally, I replaced my sad, leggy vinca on the front porch with an arrangement of pansies.

You bunch of pansies!!!  Hee hee.  I'm sorry, I really can't help myself.  =)

Creepy Crawly

Ah, the life of a Gardenerd.  The variety of experiences that I have had this year are enough to write a... Well, a very small blog with about 11 followers.  =)  I spent some much-needed time in the garden this weekend, as I have been neglecting to do that since I have been working a lot and in charge of mowing the yard.  (YUCK!  Mowing is not gardening, and I do not enjoy it.) 

First up, the Crawly part.

My cauliflower is huge, and still not showing any signs of cauliflower.  I think that might have to do with the fact that it has been plagued with pests of the crawly variety.

Here is the cauliflower.  You can see the holey leaves.  (No, it doesn't go to church.)  The culprits are crawly killer caterpillars. 

Can you see it?  It's kind of like Where's Waldo with insects.  They blend in very nicely and do a lot of damage in a short amount of time.

These little buggers are my nightmare with an organic garden.  I have to hand pick them off, since I am opposed to using pesticides on something I want to eat!

AND, since some of them can be very tiny, this takes a lot of time!

Now for the creepy part... I saw a spider on our back porch which was unique looking.  I decided to take a picture, since it had a very tiny web.

Have I mentioned that I am really scared of spiders?  They creep me out.  But they are a gardeners friend! AND, they are more scared of you than you are of them.  

Yeah right.  Keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night. 

However, in the name of nature, I decided to try to get a good picture of its coloring.  And since the light was poor, I turned on the flash.

Bad idea.  All of the sudden I could see just how vast this spiders' web was.  I slowly backed away and walked into the house.  Every once in a while, I look out the back door.  I think he's watching me.  CREEPY!

Control Top Melon

Those of you who know me should know that I had a really hard time trying to keep the title from going towards my favorite guilty pleasure: middle school mentality.  I had such a hard time, in fact, that I had to mention it before I got down to the point of this post!  =)  I know, it's shocking.  I do sometimes have a point, and can sometimes (somewhat) contain myself.   

Ahem. 

Did you know that what we call cantaloupes are actually muskmelons?  Real cantaloupes are only found in Europe, mostly in France.  Between the cantaloupes and the love apples, I am beginning to think France is the place for me.  (For an explanation of love apples, click here.) 

My melon has been living the life of luxury for a while.  However, when I went out today, I thought it looked and smelled ripe.  Oh, I wish all of you could smell that intoxicating scent.  So, I gently picked it out of it's pantyhose hammock, and wouldn't you know it... That melon wanted to come on inside with me!  (The melon slipping off the vine so easily is a sign that the melon was ripe.)

Oh, sweet, juicy, control top melon. =)  Although a bit on the small side, I am pretty excited to reap one more reward from all of my labor! 

Side note: Thanks to my sis for making me laugh about my "Control Top" Melon. 

Back to School Math

Don't worry, there won't be a test on this later.  =) 

On the plus side, my eggplant has a few more babies growing away.

On the minus side, my corn basically burned up with tiny ears not worth harvesting on the stalks.

Plus side... Finally!  Signs of jalapenos! 

Minus: Ants were farming aphids on my cucumber. 

 Note: Yes, ants farm other insects.  It isn't cute.  Anytime you see ants on the underside of your leaves, look for tiny insects.  Then blast them off with water.  It's the only organic way!

Plus: Signs of tomatoes!!!  With the cooler temperatures, I just might get more love apples!

Minus: The cauliflower was attacked by killer caterpillars again.  Still no sign of actual cauliflower. 

So, what do you get when you add these all up?  One brutal summer.

A use for pantyhose

Finally!  I have never had much use for them before. =)  (Now tights, that's a different story.)  However, how many of you knew you could use pantyhose in your garden? That's what I thought too!

I have a cantaloupe growing away, and it needs a little extra support.

That's where the pantyhose come in!  First, take an old useless pair of pantyhose and cut them up with scissors.  It feels good, trust me! =)  Open up one leg so you have a big swatch.

Yep, that'll do.  Then Tie it to your trellis that is already in place.  You are basically making a hammock for the poor little melon to rest in.  Like so:

This helps to relieve some of the pressure off of the vine while the melon continues to ripen.  Ah, the life of luxury that some of my plants have...  I hope you all had a great holiday weekend!