Bachelor's Buttons?

I am particularly fond of the seed pods, but the whole flower is great.


Maybe this one is called Love in the Mist?

These might actually be the Bachelor's Buttons...


They kinda look more like buttons.

These two flowers are stuck in the Pink Floyd/Led Zepplin part of my brain.

Gladiolas

According to the American Heritage Dictionary:

[Middle English gladiol, from Latin gladiolus, wild iris, diminutive of gladius, sword; see gladiator.]

Cleo-a?-something

This is, so far, my favorite flower of the year. And I cannot remember the name of it, even though Shannon has told me a million times.


Did you see those wild green seed-pod looking thingies? This flower is gets better the more you look at it.


I think it looks like fireworks.

Also, the bees really like it.

Ben took really great pictures of the bees in my poppies last year.

Morning Glory

Once a morning glory has started blooming, I can't bear to pull it up.
That's probably why I've been pulling up morning glories for more than three years.

Bird in the House!

I think this bird is a frequent visitor.

My current technique is to contain the bird in a room with an open door and wait for it to fly out.

(That's why the picture is so crappy--it's taken through the glass of the french doors. And I can't make it display horizontally.)

Dinner Last Night

I know blogging about what you ate is a cliche, but since I'm already subjecting y'all to pictures of my garden, here's yesterday's harvest:



(I didn't actually use the cucumber yet, but everything else in this photo was eaten.)

Surprise! This is what the purple potato and the beets look like on the inside.



I rolled the okra in cornmeal and fried it (like Ms. Mitty up the street told me to--and it was the first time I actually enjoyed okra), steamed the swiss chard, and roasted the potatoes, carrots, and beets in the oven with rosemary, garlic, and olive oil. It tasted even better than it looked.



Which is saying a lot.

Lily

This is the only non-orange-colored daylily that has bloomed so far this year.



It hides behind the corn.

Corn Report Addendum

I forgot about the beans growing up the bottom of the corn.

Have You Seen Me?

Have You Seen Me?
Originally uploaded by nekosoft

Have You Seen Me?
Last Seen Maybe in Asia.
Slither
Enjoys not chewing food and being intimidating.
Please do not attempt to catch! (Venemous)
Reward
contact: caitnum@gmail.com

The Corn Report

It's been 13 days since the last time I took a picture of the corn.
























Most of the corn is tasseling.






















A few of them have baby ears.


















And one has corn silk.

Nasturtium

Every part of the naturtium is edible, although I've only had the flowers. (In a salad, if you're curious.)

The nasturtium originated in the Andes, where its tuberous root was used for food. It become a popular garden plant in Europe about 300 years ago. In fact, the variety in the foreground (with the darker leaves) was one of the most popular garden flowers in Queen Victoria's time. I can't remember the actual name though--maybe Empress of India? I really should keep better track of my plant labels...

Watering Devices

I took this picture to send to my grandma. I think it's very pastoral? Domestic? I can't think of the right word...

Squash Babies

This year we planted squash that's both yellow AND green. I'm only slightly disappointed that the two halves don't taste any different. It's still good.

(I think we may have forgotten to plant zucchini this year--I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Although the chocolate zucchini muffins were pretty good...)

Fennel

There are two giant fennel plants in my yard. I don't actually like to eat fennel. I just like to pet it.

See? It's so soft and fuzzy and such a pretty color. Too bad it tastes like licorice. I haven't been able to tolerate that since the infamous Licorice Incident of '89.

Did Someone Say Poppies?

Right now the pink ones are the only ones blooming. There are white, purple, and red shirley poppies in the garden too though.

Flowers & Food

Apatosaurus-approved kale.

4th of July

I think I beat the "knee high" thing.