menuclose

checking in on the garden: July 2014

Elephant Food July 2014

Happy Sunday! How’d your weekend go? The garden post is coming at you a little late this month, but trust me, you aren’t missing much.  It’s hot and miserable here and the garden hates me right now.  She’s hanging in there, but every day I go out there and things are slooooowly shrinking away.  I don’t even want to talk about it or I’m going to whine.  Seriously.  It’s also monsoon season.  Total Phoenix soup out there, guys.  It’s gross.  SO.

July 2014 Garden

right after i shot these photos, i weeded and picked the basil flowers off.  you can see a basil plant, the basil plant with flowers and my sad little bell pepper plant on the right.  in the back is our “early girl” variety tomato plant.

Early Girl Tomatoes July 2014

the “early girl” tomato – turning crispy on the bottom, but still producing stunted fruit above

Mint, Portulaca & Strawberries

mint, portulaca and a brave little strawberry plant in the back 

Vinca, Pepper, Tomato & Marigold July 2014

a pot out front with vincas, a pepper plant, marigold and cherry tomatoes

Potted Pepper July 2104

most of the peppers on this plant are drying up before they get very big… and the flowers turn crispy before they can go anywhere 

Roses and Lavender July 2014

the roses are doing ok, a little yellow and stunted right now, though

Purple Rose July 2014

teeny tiny little buds, and notice the brown leaves? it’s either from the extreme heat, a fungus or just the plant sacrificing the older leaves for the new ones.  i’m not worried, since it happens every year.  if it gets worse though, i’ll do some research and let you know how it turns out.  oh! and do you see those circular holes in the leaf on the right? that’s from the leaf-cutter bee and it’s only a cosmetic problem, it doesn’t hurt the plant.

Red Climbing Rose July 2014

Strawberry Flower July 2014

this strawberry plant has gone lost it’s mind.  flowering in july? HA! i checked it the next day, and it was toast.

Flowers and Strawberries July 2014

earlier this year, this pot was filled with vincas, and then all of a sudden, the main plant jumped ship

Vinca and Lily July 2014

the vincas out back are still holding their own though!

So, here’s the thing.  I could probably water everything every day instead of every other, I do need to fertilize and I’ve heard I should cover the strawberries with hay.  The watering is time consuming and I water deep, so I just can’t bring myself to do it every day.  I feel like, at this point, if the plants aren’t going to make it with the effort I’m giving, then maybe they just need a break.  Because, did I mention that it’s freaking hot out? I do want to fertilize and try the hay, we’ve just been busy and I haven’t made it to the nursery.  I should probably figure out what seeds I’m going to start for the fall garden, huh? Yea, I’ll work on that too.  Here’s last July’s garden – I almost forgot we had eggplant and pumpkin growing then! So glad we didn’t do that again this year…   How’s your garden growing? Bet it’s happier than mine! Please, do tell 🙂

Blog Signature

 

painted posies photography

Serving Phoenix & Surrounding Areas