Garden Pictures

Here's an update of the garden, but really another update will be in order soon. We got tons of zucchini, pickled peppers and sugar baby watermelons (I've got some ideas for those) so we'll see. Broccoli is doing well this summer and I seem to be staying just ahead of the worms, they seem to get ready over night, and it's hard to catch them before they over...ripen? Bloom? Of course the first heads are always the largest.

I took tons of pea pictures weeks ago with the macro lens. They are just beautiful plants. We have three food saver bags of them frozen.

Evening primrose I think, is my favorite garden flower. I love how they attract night pollinators like big moths at night. I am seeing more moths this summer than last summer, but not as many lightning bugs, which I read are becoming an endangered species because of weather and pesticides. These blooms are at once a bright, soft yellow, and really add to the garden.

Peas in a pod...

Remember the wash tub potting project? Here is the lemon balm, going like gangbusters and more than ready to cut down. If I can just find the time...

Now here are some picks from my Mom's garden, and she is the true green thumb. I love zinnias. She had to plant seeds a few times this year because of the persnickety spring we had.

A really lovely bee picture. I love it when I can catch the pollen on their legs/bodies. Note the tattered edge of her wings, this forager bee (foraging is the last stage of the honeybee worker life cycle) is getting towards the end of her road. She needs to travel approximately 12 miles to complete a single load of pollen and over her weeks of foraging, will collect an average of 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey. Think about that the next time you buy a big (and I hope local) jar of honey!

These last three shots are also with the new macro lens of a huge hydrangea straight from Mom's garden. Can you find the spider? I had no idea he was there when I took the shot, lots of happy surprises when macro is involved.