Growing Things

It's been so fun having a whole new yard this summer! The previous owners of our house did a wonderful job of landscaping with perennials, especially in the beds closest to the front of the house. My new favorite is the balloon flower ... delicate purple/blue blossoms and the buds actually do look like balloons:

There was a little chicken-wire fenced square in the back corner of the lot, with a lonely rhubarb plant and a few chives coming up this spring. So I mused about it a bit, and one day at Target (that reputable seller of seeds?!) I got swept away by the seed packet display and bought up a few veggies and plants to try in our little patch. I bought tomato, basil and pepper plants at an actual nursery. And here's where we stand as of early August ...


The rhubarb that just won't quit, and the lovely Black-eyed Susans that recently appeared


My prize crops: Corn, tomatoes, crowded cabbage and carrots













And we have the promise of pumpkins in the fall

In the nearby bed that was once a sandbox, there are some random flowers growing, none that appear to have been the seeds I planted. This one is most intriguing to me:





A few weeks ago, it looked like this.











And now, like this.








These intricate little pods are so beautiful. I don't have a clue what they are, but it seems enough to appreciate them and wonder.

Always, I dream about what I can grow next year. I was inspired by a recent visit to a lovely garden grown by a couple from church. The Hollyhocks (which have a special place in my heart for some reason) were spectacular this summer.


Maybe next year ...