Death of a Garden- Is it the end or just the beginning?

A stroll through the garden marks the end of a growing season.

I  have a sense of loss, as it all comes to an end.

I have serious doubts as a gardener...

There have been a fair amount of failures along the growing season, 

along with periods of sheer neglect.

The garden reflects my weaknesses as a gardener!

 I am reminded of the intentions and enthusiasim I once had at the begining of the growing season!

Maybe I dropped the ball.. or maybe I was busy playing the game of life!

One thing is for certain...This garden has a forgiving heart deep down in the depths of her soil and awaits the new season to give this gardener another shot at getting it right!

First Frost

This morning marks the first frost of the season for our little garden.

I have been somewhat in denial that Winter is actually knocking on our door, and I will sadly have to say goodbye to Summer once again...

Jack frost has kissed the Squash and I'm faced with the reality that the Seasons must change.

Flying by

Summer flew by at the speed of light and the garden just didn't get my full attention that it deserved. It was a season of change for my family in many different aspects, for many different reasons. We have slowly adjusted to the changes and look forward to what the future has in store for our family.

Through it all, my little garden has still produced a plentiful crop with much to be thankful for!

Beet it!

We have been enjoying fresh shredded Beets from the garden, sauteed in a pat of real butter and seasoned with just a dash of Salt & Pepper... A simple Summer side dish!

Thinning

Making room in the row....it was time to thin the carrots!

Ya gotta love "Carrot Pants"

A tasty early morning treat....Fresh from the garden!

Good Bugs vrs. Bad Bugs

This is my first year growing Artichokes in my Zone 5b garden. I have read that if you start them early enough and transplant them in the garden when it's still cold enough, you can trick them into producing the first year.... 

I was super happy to see Artichokes forming on 3 of the 5 plants in the garden, with one exception....

Only one of the plants was completely coated in aphids and ants...the others were sparkly clean!

This plant still looked healthy and I didn't have anything on hand to organically treat and eradicate the aphids. I painfully made the decision to leave this Artichoke to it's unsightly demise as a sacrificial lamb.... In hopes the others would be spared from such an unsightly death.

these creepy crawly pictures were taken on July 9th.

After discussing this with my Garden club gals....One of the girls mentioned that sometimes if left alone the Ants are actually doing some farming of their own. 

Well, fast forward to today (12 days from the first photo)

The same Artichoke plant is completely and utterly wiped clean of any trace of aphids and the Artichoke has grown :-)

Looks like the Good Bugs won this round!

Mystery solved

Had this beautiful mystery blossom growing out on a trail on our property...I knew I ad never planted anything like it in the past 17 years since we have lived at the property...Well, thank goodness for Facebook....

My neighbor happily told me it was a volunteer from her property known as Lychnis Coronaria

Looks like I will be moving some a little closer to the house to enjoy the vibrant electric  pink blossoms. I found detailed information on saving seeds over at Defining Your Home, Garden and travel. 

Big Broccoli

This garden girl has been away from her blog for way to long....Never fear, she's still happily living life and playing in the dirt every chance she gets :-)

Today's harvest... Big Broccoli! We have been harvesting smaller heads here and there, but this by far was our biggest yet! Guess what's for dinner ;-)

Chilly.... with no frost!

My garden made it through the night. With the mornings light and the threat of frost now gone... I headed out to the garden early this morning to be sure everything survived.

Thankfully the temp. only dipped  to nippy 37 degrees.

 Took a few moments to harvest the garlic scapes that were begging to be picked.

Frost Warning!

We covered what we could...and will set the sprinklers to come on in the wee hours...

Nasturtiums

I started these beauties a little to early this year and actually worried they were getting root bound in the greenhouse while we waited for spring frost's to pass...They got a little leggy but held in there. I was able to get them into the garden about a month ago. Planting started early this year due to a warmer than usual Spring.

They've filled in beautifully, and have really added a vibrant interest to the flower bed. Nasturtiums are easy-to-grow annuals whose leaves and flowers are not only beautiful but edible, as well!