Garden panoramas

Well, I've taken the end of August panorama and I thought I'd show off the progression of the back garden through this spring and summer.

April

I didn't have the idea of doing the panoramas at first, so the mid-April pictures are actually two sets that didn't overlap enough to allow them to be stitched together.

Mid April left side of hill

Mid April right side of hill

The early daffodils really stand out against the red mulch.

Late April

Beginning to see where the bigger elements of the garden are returning to the spring garden.

May

Mid May

Beginning to see the Azaleas in the center show their color.

Late May

By late May there has been a lot of growth and filling in, even the vegetable garden on the far right is showing growth.

June

Mid June

In June we started seeing the Primrose and the Rose Campion - bunches of yellow and pinkish red.

Late June

July

Mid July

By mid July we were seeing a LOT of the green spikey plants all over, but particularly in the center - blocking our view of the butterfly bushes..

Late July

I made a decision that the green spikey things were weeds - they were taking over and growing so big that we couldn't see much else. - except the mutant tomato bushes taking over the vegetable garden.  There are only 3 tomato bushes in that garden over there on the right.

August

Mid August

It was a very mild August, very few days in the 90's and none that I can remember in the 100's. Everything continued to thrive, but we don't have much blossoming out back in the late summer.  We had a very healthy hibiscus in the front yard, but those pictures are in other posts.

Late August

August has continued mild (a little hot this week, but nothing to complain about.) The mutatnt tomato plants are still going strong - we're getting between a pint and a quart of cherry tomatoes almost every day.

September and October

There will still be plenty to do and more tomatoes to harvest, but the major flowering and gardening for this season is winding down.  I'm already making plans for next year, but this project has given me a longer perspective on the cycles of the garden through the Spring and Summer months.  I need to find some more late blooming plants o help fill out all the greenery of August and September.

Mid August Panorama and Bloom Day

We're half way through another month and it's time to double up on a panorama shot and bloom day.  Bloom Day is a project at May Dreams Garden that invites people to share what is blooming on the 15th of the month.  August's post is here. We don't have much blooming this time of year, mostly the butterfly bushes, the hibiscus and some phlox hanging on.  The panorama is very green (plenty of great weather here outside of Washington DC.)

The most activity we are having out in the garden is actually harvesting the tomatoes.  It rained on Tuesday so we didn't get out there and on Wednesday Gloria picked a quart of cherry tomatoes.  We just keep them on the breakfast bar and they're handy for healthy snacking, just grab a handful as you're passing by and looking for a quick nosh.  The vegetable garden (on the far right) is almost completely overtaken by 3 tomato plants and the cherry plant is taking over the heirloom and jumbo plants. This was the harvest a couple weeks ago.

On to what's blooming.

Across the back fence are 4 butterfly bushes, but we have had very few butterflies this year.  I'm seeing a lot more bees (and a dragonfly earlier this summer) than butterflies.  For this post I didn't see any butterflies, but there were a couple of bees.

I don't know if it's the cool summer, or the damp spring but even the butterfly bushes don't look as healthy as in past years.

At least some pollinators are able to take advantage of the bushes.

And as a bonus - just because I like this picture - I'll let you see the dragonfly from earlier this summer.

And because it is bloom day, not because they are particularly photogenic, here is a shot of some of the phlox still holding on.

The big bloomer right now is the hibiscus in the front yard.

OK, I was playing with the macro setting in the camera and got this "in your face" shot.

Here are some more shots of the Queen of Sharon hibiscus.

I had to get a ladder out of the shed to get up high enough to get  these shots, it's blooming right at the roofline and that's a rain gutter just behind the blossoms.

I love the gentleness of these blossoms.

Macro Hibiscus

On my way out for my walk in the woods yesterday i spotted some hibiscus blooming in the front yard. I'm not out front as much as the backyard - so I don't get as many pictures of the front.  The hibiscus are usually well over my head, so it was nice to see some down where I could get some decent angles.  The light was cooperating mostly, morning sun, but not too harsh.  I had my camera with me, since I was heading out to the wildlife refuge.

I've been experimenting with the macro settings on my camera. Hey - I'm a guy and it's a technology toy - I need to experiment.  I can't (and don't want to) get ultra close to the bees and butterflies or the birds.  So, I've been experimenting with the macro settings on more stationary subjects.  And the hibiscus volunteered.

Here are two of the blooms at my level on the bush.

And with the zoom I was able to get a decent close-up shot.

But them I switched over to the macro setting (and to a bloom with less shadow at the center.) You can see some fun details like the spill of pollen on the petal below the stamen.

And even closer in macro mode. More details of the pollen on the stamen and on the petal below it, and the veins and coloring of the petals.

The I switched over to a super-macro setting and got really really close (much more than any critter would allow.)

The detail of the pollen, and the coloring in the petals is amazing - I never could achieve that much detail with just a zoom (not with my camera.)

Then I combined the super macro shot with some post processing digital zoom and got this:

WOW!!

I'll keep experimenting and keep posting about my progress.

A Walk in the Woods

Today I went exploring and decided to check out the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge that's about 15 minutes away. It's a nice August day, not too hot and only a little muggy. I ended up taking about a 90 minute walk in the woods.

These weren't woods like Mirkwood - much more like woods you'd find in the Shire. Cleared of too much underbrush with clearly marked trails.  It's hard to wrap my head around having such a great forest so close that I actually drive past it a couple times a week on my way home from work (depending which office I need to be at on a specific day.)

There are several trails that have had gravel coverings to help keep them clear, but not so groomed as to lose the feel of a forest and feeling like walking through a garden.  One of the shorter trails "The Loop Trail" is actually paved, but I got off of that at the first  chance I had. I wanted to get into the woods.

As soon as I got off the paved loop, there were plenty of trees and undergrowth to give a tranquil atmosphere. And even an occasional train whistle in the distance (ooooohhhhhh!!!)

 Just off the loop were a few weeds/flowers (you can decide what to call them.) But they set a tone of not too groomed, but still welcoming. (At least to me.)

 A little farther into the travels was a knobby tree stump. (How often do you get to use the word knobby?)  It was just growing up on the side of the path, or the path was just finding it's way past the tree - probably the later.

The trail I went out on was called Laurel trail. And after a few minutes, Laurel Trail opened up to Goose Pond. (It even sounds like names from the Shire - nothing evil or ominous, simple wholesome names.)

Goose Pond wasn't mirror still, but it still provided a chance for some reflection pictures with the trees around the pond showing in the water.

I don't know where the stream lead off too, the trail didn't go that direction.  I kept following Laurel Trail past Goose Pond and went back into the woods.  I came across a fallen log that was mostly hollowed out and had become a semi-enclosed nook.

I didn't look close enough to investigate any current insect infestations, it just looked interesting off the side of the path.

I did see one area that made me think of Mirkwood though.

Does it look like it could be a giant spider moving forward? Or maybe dropping nets down to catch trekkers?

And there were gnarly trees and tree stumps just off the trail.  (How often do you get to use the word gnarly?)

I guess the best advice still is "Stay on the trail."

I came out OK and came home relaxed and refreshed after a couple tense weeks.  I'll be going back to Patuxent Wildlife Refuge.  I wonder where the other trails lead?

Harvesting the goodness

We started a project earlier this summer - a vegetable garden.  I put in a 4'x4' raised bed for vegetables.  The bottom half of the soil is simple top soil. The top half is Miracle-Grow vegetable soil.  That mix has really worked, and I've gotten to combine my new found passion for the garden with my longstanding love of food and food related activity.

In other word - the garden has exploded.

It started out with what we thought would be a modest mix of tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, and a pepper plant.  (The pepper plant [front left plant above] has disappeared - hasn't been seen in months - totally overwhelmed by sun stealing neighbors.)

Now we have:

The lettuce have been eaten and we are almost done with the zucchini and cucumbers.  But as the heat of summer is developing, so are the tomatoes.

But first a few memories of the cooler days.

We've had vegetables fresher than anything we could ever find, even at the farmers markets or road side stands we've been visiting for years. It's been a challenge to live up to the freshness of the ingredients and find ways to prepare them.  I will admit that this summer I have started munching on raw cucumbers, just cutting some up with a sandwich or burger/hot dog.

But the heat of August is here, and the tomatoes have arrived.

These will be ready in the next week or two.  Right now we are getting cherry tomatoes and some of the earlier ripe varietals.

And just today my wife went out and came back with this bowl of beauty.

I don't know how we're going to tackle it yet - but we'll try to rise to the challenge.