Garden Journey: Morning Glories and Dancing Sunflowers

Wet weather these past few days has meant my only trips to the garden are mad dashes with an umbrella to get some fresh veggies or herbs for lunch or dinner. So much is happening in this August garden. It is certainly a wild kingdom out there! Cucumbers and summer squash and lots of sungold tomatoes (my very favorite) are doing well... where are you zucchini? I thought you were suppose to propagate like rabbits! I still haven't given up hope. My gardens are usually a little off the mark on timing. The first of our sunflowers has finally opened, but we have quite a few long legged beauties that are nearly up to the porch roof still waiting to blossom. The morning glories I planted in pots and grew up our old wagon wheel on the store porch are finally taking center stage. And the morning glories I planted on the tipi in the center of the garden have finally started to climb and should be in bloom any day now. Soybeans for edamame and black beans have taken pod form. This is the first time I've tried black beans... I don't even know if it's possible in our region, but a local friend was trying it, and it sounded like a good idea. I don't think I planted enough to really make much of anything, but it's a fun experiment. You're suppose to wait until they get tan and then harvest, and I'm hoping they are not hurt by all this rain. Earlier in the month, I harvested all the garlic and braided it. I'm so excited to have a winter store of something. I never seem to plant quite enough of anything for this to happen. I'm also looking forward to making some pickles this year. So, all and all, things are mostly positive this week in the garden. And I am doing lots of plotting and planning for grand things next year. The corn stalks and sunflowers make me daydream about Autumn. Soon I'll share a few simple and delicious meals from the garden that we've been making lately. Happy growing!