a walk along the Allegheny River

We are still here! I couldn't stand looking at the outdated pictures of our garden from last year (also, I recently cleaned up my Flickr site and so many of our pictures have just disappeared). Anyway, I decided to share some pictures that I took recently on a walk along the Allegheny River. 

On this first day of Autumn, I expected to find yellows, reds, and oranges, but I was absolutely blown away by the purples and blues - keep scrolling down to see what I mean. 

Yes, that last flower got my attention as well. I nearly walked right by it. After some research, I believe it is a Commelina Communis (aka Asiatic Dayflower); they are not native to North America, but I'm glad that someone thought we might like them over here because they have such gorgeous and intricate little blossoms. The flower itself is so small that I didn't even see that itty bitty red bug on it until I uploaded the picture on my computer and enlarged it! 

And the multicolored berries? What in the world?! David promptly named them the Dr. Seuss berries and that just about describes them perfectly. Aren't they wild?

Hello, Autumn. You've already surprised me this year!

bountiful

Thought I'd give you a little tour of how our garden is looking these days...

collards, chard, zinnias

rainbow chard, a volunteer tomato mixed into our perennial portion of the garden. 

We packed a lot into our small space this year. Basil, Nasturtium, collards, chard, zinnias, peppers, and then behind all of those plants, you'll see some of our perennials and one of our paw paw trees. 

preparing a spot for our winter garden; I think we'll do another straw bale cold frame since that was so easy last year. 

3 sisters

corn

peppers, okra, impatients in front of the three sisters

cabbage, okra, sage

melon!

we have had so many peppers!

It is so fun to make meals straight from the garden. These are Collard Green Wraps (recipe from the 30 Vegan Workshop). Added some nasturtium blossoms - just because!

black-eyed susans

We did not intend our entire backyard to become densely packed with Black-Eyed Susans...

but I really do not mind; and as long as I keep the pathway clear, David doesn't seem to mind either.

The entire back part of our garden is glowing right now with these happy, golden blooms!

around

red hot chili pepper

lily

I was able to get about four garbage bags full of free composted manure; I checked craiglist and found several ads. The farm was just a little ways out of the city and when I got there, the horse trainer even filled up my bags for me! The annual beds looked like they needed a little extra boost this year, so I shoveled some manure around the plants. Tomatoes are on the left and then going clockwise: cucumber plants, corn, beans, cabbage, sage, melon, peppers and okra.

corn!

I found a little grasshopper hiding in the black-eyed susans

peppers

chard

sunflower

and since it is way too hot to be out in the garden all day, I've been knitting up a short sleeve cotton sweater. The pattern is called Bottoms Up by Alice of Slipped Stitch and it is free on Ravelry.

around the garden

~Basil in the top left corner...can you smell it in the picture?!? I made pesto (basil, garlic, olive oil and pecans - since these were the nuts we had on hand) and froze it in ice cube trays over the weekend.

~This is the fifth batch of mint leaves that I've picked this year; I've been solar drying the mint on a cookie sheet on the backseat of our car. This was an idea that a friend had recommended; so far I've dried mint, thyme, and sage. So the wind doesn't blow the herbs around the car, I've used an extra piece of screen mesh material that we had on hand to cover the cookie sheet. The car smells great!

~In the right bottom corner is a salad - we've been picking lettuce almost daily and (now) nasturtium blossoms for a fun looking salad or wrap. Yum!

~The red raspberries are ripe for pickin' - I picked some on Saturday and then another round on Sunday evening, which I'll throw on my granola this morning.

-The blackberries will not be rushed this season; they are such a beautiful color right now.

I've got rhubarb muffins on my mind...maybe later this week.

Our little peach tree is LOADED with peaches this year. Keeping our fingers crossed for an abundant harvest.

and the bee balm bloomed this week.

around the garden

We enjoyed eating some peas from our garden in the crunch coleslaw recipe from the vegan workshop

Here's another recipe that we've been using a lot from the vegan workshop. This is the orange creamsicle smoothie and we made some additions: 

frozen strawberres + tequila and triple sec (sprig of mint optional) = delicious!

I finally convinced David to let me make his old, worn out Doc Martin's into planters.

These boots look like they have a story to tell...cowgirl meets punk?

I've recently become obsessed with succulents. 

They are now all over our garden; I transplanted quite a few into the cement blocks that line one side of our garden...these neat plants are now in pots, in a wreath, and -well, obviously in boots!

Pinterest led me to a tutorial on making my own succulent wreath.

well - would you look at that; we've got a few peppers growing already!

Lisianthus - it has been one of my favorite flowers since I can remember.

The milkweed is blooming

and so is the echinacea

I got some mulch today for the front part of the garden

Tomato plant blossoms! 

Cucumber plants have about 8 little cucumbers on them.

more succulents