Nasturtiums

As July draws to a close...

Our nasturtiums have been blooming one at a time for a couple weeks now. Of course they are not usually just single blooms but ours seem to be doing that... I thought I would show you them in all there single-bloom glory!

 

I love the orange with red in the center...

- Dan

Volunteers

So this year in our garden we had quite a few plants that were not planted but came up in random spots. This is probably because they were thrown in our compost pile... most of them are gourds or pumpkins of some sort.

These ones I actually DID plant...

And those green beans I showed you yesterday? I ended up picking some last night, so we could can them along with some other ones we got from grandma.

These ones from our garden are an heirloom variety called 'White Half Runner Mountaineer' Bean. They mature fairly early (depending on when you plant them). The pods are lighter green and about 5 inches long and taste kind of sweet. The plant itself can be either grown as a bush bean or on a trellis, as the runners only reach about 3 feet long.

We got about 10 jars to can when we mixed ours in with the other beans!

- Dan

Garden Update

I haven't shown any pictures of the vegetable garden in a while. This is partly due to how out of control the weeds are! I need to do a few days of intense work on the garden in general! But here is how some of the plants are faring...

The corn is getting really tall! Some of it is over my head...

A watermelon! This variety is Georgia Rattlesnake...

Some green beans are getting ready to be picked!

The lettuce is flowering or almost done... I want to save some seeds, but I need to let it dry out just a little more...

The snow peas are all fairly dried up. I am going to pick them and save the seeds for next year. I am hoping the success rate will be worth it.

We have ripe tomatoes! Can't remember exactly what kind this was...

Most of these ones are still green... This variety is Roma I believe.

Some of the green onions produced seed heads! Trying to save those too!

Another kind of sunflower (not the Russian Mammoth) is getting very large!

The basil is all in flower... and the bees are all over it!

The parsley is producing seed heads as well...

And we still have swiss chard, radishes, and carrots!

Tomorrow I will show what some of the volunteers we had turned out to be!


- Dan

Sketch 8

I needed to create a vision for what our Pumphouse could be. I want us to have a general goal in mind to accomplish. After much discussion on what it could be like... this is what we came up with!

Today we will continue to work towards this vision. Happy Sunday!


- Dan

Pumphouse Workday

Remember this beauty?

Today we did a lot of work and tinkering to get the Pumphouse Project moving forward! Check it out!

Getting some gravel in...

Tamping it down...

Adding a layer of sand...

Starting the slab of pavers!

The more hands, the faster it goes!

Isn't it beautiful?

Now for the exciting part! Moving the shed!

We made it!

Just a little adjustment...

Doesn't it look like The Pumphouse was meant to be here?!

More work and more progress to follow!


- Dan

Intro to 'The Pumphouse'

We are starting a little project here at our place. See this little shed?

It used to be the old pump house.

The plan is to convert it into a small 'mini bar' if you will. It will be redubbed the 'Pumphouse' but it won't be pumping water...

Yesterday we tore off the old nasty asphalt roof!

This is how they used to patch the holes on the roof? Upon tearing of the old shingles we discovered many tin cans and coffee cans nailed in certain spots. Very interesting...

This weekend we plan on prepping and possibly moving it to this new location! It's a nice shady spot under the pines...

So excited! I will be sure to keep you updated!


- Dan

Rose - of - Sharon

Our 'Red Heart' Rose-of-Sharon is blooming profusely right now! Also known as Althea, it is in the Hibiscus genus. We have had this plant for a few years now and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Hibiscus syriacus 'Red Heart' / Red Heart Althea or Red Heart Rose-of-Sharon

Notice the pollinator!

The buds bloom profusely in mid to late summer here in Oregon. They are large, at about 3 inches in diameter.

Right next to the Hibiscus we have some more Asiatic Lilies blooming. These ones are under a great big Douglas Fir so I am assuming, since they get less sun and slightly less water, they are blooming later than the ones I showed before. (Which are fully spent and the stems are already turning yellow...)

Look at those anthers! (The huge elliptical things coming out of the center)

Lillium asiatic / Asiatic Lily

- Dan