Saturday 18 August 2018

2 Pumpkins, 3 Questions, 4 Glads, & 5 (maybe 6) Pears




Catch me if you can.

Many thanks to everyone for your well wishes regarding the BigNoseDog who suffered a vestibular episode a fortnight ago.

It's been a battle of wills between him & myself this week.  He's a bit wobbly, yet madder'n a wet hen at having his walkabouts truncated.  When it's time to come home from his walk, he braces his terrier tank self in the middle of the path & refuses to budge.

But who can blame him?

While he's napping, it's on to #SixonSaturday - six things in the garden, on a Saturday, to quote our host, The Propagator.  In addition to Mr P's own Six at his link, you'll find SoS guidelines, should you wish to give us a peek into your garden.  There's also links in his comment section to other SoS-ers from across the globe.

This week in my garden, the rain has done away with the need to water plants.  That leaves me free to pick corn, eat all the cherry tomatoes on my way to the house, & wait for the lawn to need mowed.

Until then, a counting song.  One terrier terror . . .



1. Two pretty pumpkins

There are actually 3 pumpkins in the garden, but only 2 in this shot.


First & last to grow.

I've not done much about mildew this year, other than cut off the leaves.  Someone's sure to report me to the Pumpkin Protection League.


2.  First Question of Three - Tomatoes.

I grew my rosella cherries from seed, transferred them to vigoroot bags filled with new compost, & in time, supported them with cane cages (as seen in the background).  The tomatoes were supposed to have a smoky flavour but are super sweet & about the size of grapes.


Garden candy.

Two self seeders of unknown origin appeared in the pot containing the late, great Asian pear.  No new compost was added, but they're supported in cages.


Feral tomatoes.

The self seeders are a little behind the rosella, but their fruit is markedly larger.  Both types were regularly watered & fed.  What you think => vigoroot bags or tomato type account for the difference in size?  Another thought is that, because the self seeders started later, they were at a different stage in reproduction during the drought.

Maybe all/none of the above?


3.  Second Question - Who am I?

Last year, I gave a neighbour some plant food for her cosmos, so she gave me cuttings of an aromatic shrub that I admired.  The cuttings rooted & grew like Topsy.

While my neighbour's specimen was a narrow, willowy 6' beauty, mine grew horizontally.  In fact, mine've been so insistent about not growing upwards that they've taken their support stakes down with them.  I pound the stakes back in, but of course, the bigger the plants get, the less effective the stakes are in keeping them upright.


Laying down on the job.

They haven't produced flowers, but have a wonderful herby-citrusy scent.  Here's a close-up of the foliage.


The tips turn up.

They're in a sun trap, but are planted near the house, which might be why they lay down.  On the other hand, they're in full sun by 11:00 a.m. until sunset.

If I (or my neighbour) knew what they were, I might be able to figure out how to get them to straighten up & fly right.

Any ideas about the seed & breed of them?


4.  Third & Last Question - Empress Tree Seedlings.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my kazillion seedlings coming up in a pot where I'd planted some empress tree seeds.  I was a bit of a Doubting Thomas that they were really empress trees.  Here's what they look like now.


Baby empress?

Now that they're bigger, they do indeed look like those in my image search of empress seedlings.  And I have scads of them.  Scads.  Can anyone confirm or refute my identification?


5.  Four glads.

Some nursery sent me a sack of free glad corms with an order, which I stuffed into my large planters.  There've been much more than 4 really gorgeous blooms, but I have 4 photos, so enjoy these beauts.


Some w/the hollyhocks.



Some w/the sedum



Some are a bit frilly.



Some for the kitchen.


6.  Five (maybe six) pears.

These are my Louis Bonne pears.  This tree bloomed its little pea heart out in the spring, but its pollination mate, the Asian pear, had no blooms, then subsequently died.  Since I'd been told the Louis Bonne don't self pollinate, you can bet this crop had me dancing under the new moon.  I might even've been a little bit nekked.


How many pears do you see?

The thick trunk in the front is actually my fig tree.  The fig & the pear seem very fond of each other & tend to mingle limbs.  All in all, I've counted a dozen pears on Louise.  Pretty happy, since this is its first year fruiting.  Here's hoping the critturs don't get there first.




Seen in the graveyard on the BigNose walk - a gardener lies here.



Once again, the tail end of my Six.

I do thank y'all for taking the time to visit.  Hope to see you next week.

Have fun in your garden!

16 comments:

  1. I'd dance for those pears, too! They are so beautiful, forget the eating part. You are such a fun read, Lora. I enjoyed this post very much.

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    1. Thank you. I do admire the colour of my pears, but I also expect to eat them! O, the things I could serve/cook them with!

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  2. Those pumpkins are still more impressive than my attempt to grow them a couple of years ago.... I bought a plant, and killed it before it even had a chance to get to the allotment!

    I haven't a clue on number three, but I've asked my gardening guru (my Mum!) who tends to know a lot when it comes to plant identification.

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    1. Hope your mother knows what my mystery plant is. My pumpkins haven't done so well this year, but at least I have a few. For me, it wouldn't be a garden w/o pumpkin plants! We all have our favs.

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    2. Mum wonders if it could be a type of Rosemary? She found a pic at
      https://www.facebook.com/WyevaleGC/photos/a.145495608821089/1924398220930810
      which has similar looking leaves (some Rosemary plants grow taller than others)

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    3. It's more delicate than the rosemary I'm used to, altho, as your mother says, I've seen huge rosemary shrubs. It also doesn't smell of rosemary, but perhaps it's an unusual strain. Think I'll cut it back & hope for the best. May take a cutting to be sure. Thanks for helping out!

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  3. I can’t help with any of your questions, but your gladdies are gorgeous and the pears are sure to be delicious when ready. They look perfect. Good to hear that BND is feeling better.

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    1. Those glads . . . & they were free. I had similar luck w/the daffs earlier this year - free bulbs & what beauties! Thanks for you BND regards.

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  4. I reckon it is the variety of tomato that has caused it to be bigger rather than the conditions. Is 2 some kind of Tarragon? No clue on 3. My Cucamelon were rubbish and I don't really like their taste!

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    1. The foliage is similar but maybe not exactly the same as terragon. I can't find a type that's 6' tall tho. I'm so sorry you don't like your cucumelons. I had to experiment to see when they were big enough that I liked their flavour, but I'm not sure I liked them enough to do it again next year.

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  5. Your pumpkins are so nice ! I also grow them but mine have a classic orange color ... I'm sorry I cann't help you identify some plants but they are unknown to me ... In a comment, you said you don't know if you will grow cucamelons again next year. I like the taste but it was more for fun and I think, maybe like you, don't grow them each year.

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    1. I hope my pumpkins'll be orange by Halloween. As to cucumelons, I do like picking them for brekky, now that the berries are done & the foliage is nice. It depends on whether or not I have room. If I give into Mr P's dwarf hops idea . . .might be a bit of a squeeze.

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  6. What pumpkins are those? We grow sweet pies, and planning a compost heap for them begins in autumn every year. They are definitely an important part of the garden year. I have four so far! (Knock wood)

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    1. They're charmant pumpkins. We only use them for jack-o-lnterns, saving a little for pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. It's not part of our usual diet, but we leave the old Jack-o-lanterns out for the wildlife. Hope all 4 of yours do really well. I remember your compost setup from last year, but planted mine in the corn patch this year.

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