Breaking News From The Garden

We've had quite a bit of sun and very warm temps and finally some rain (I was getting tired of watering and frankly, not doing a very good job of it).  The garden is thriving!  I guess I was wrong about not getting beans while we still potatoes:

 

And that's an honest to goodness grown in my garden zucchini!  Long time readers will remember how much trouble I have growing zucchini which supposedly grows like crazy for everyone else in the world:

 

This may be the ugliest tomato plant ever, but it was only purchased for the early tomatoes and it looks like it's going to get the job done:

 

And the day-lilies have arrived:

 

They're so pretty:

 

Not all the breaking news is excellent.  The two rains we've had in the last 48 hours were strong storms and at least one appears to have been accompanied by strong winds:

 

But that was a blessing in disguise because the turned over leaves revealed cucumber beetle eggs on two different leaves (that I promptly removed):

 

And I was able to straighten up the plants (mostly):

 

The zucchini and at least one cucumber are sort of encroaching on the herb garden (note to self next year, plant the zucchini a little farther to the left).  We've been harvesting dill and cilantro and hoping they don't bolt in this heat (though I think I may have lost that battle already with at least some of the cilantro):

 

I think I successfully saved the kale in the raised veggie bed from the cabbage worms.  And the beets, onions, and Swiss chard are doing great.  Can you see the cucumbers starting to climb the trellis at the back:

 

One of the potato plants had what I have to imagine are Colorado potato beetle eggs on a leaf overturned by the storm.  I plucked it off, but not before capturing what may be one of my favorite photos so far this summer.  This is the best crop of the photo I could make, but it's still not quite perfect:

 

Another bright spot in the garden right now is the patch of flowers from the end of the veggie garden to the shed including the butterfly bush which is flowering like mad (note Lee's beautiful edging job): 

Nothing particularly special and some "native plants" mixed in, but pretty together:

 

And I don't know why this one dahlia is so far ahead of all the others, but it's really exciting to see it budding:

 

And I'll close with the biggest problem we've been experiencing this year.  Can you see it below?  I'll give you a hint, it's on the right-hand side about half way down the photo:

 

Yup, that's poison ivy in the middle of established plants in a container by the front door.  I don't know why, but it's been popping up all over the garden this year, damn birds is all I can think.  In containers (even containers of tomatoes in the veggie garden), in mulch all over the garden, the gravel driveway -- EVERYWHERE.  I've never had a reaction, in fact I didn't even know what it looked like until a few years after we started gardening, so I'm sure I waded through it often in the first 30 years of my life.  But not having had a previous reaction doesn't guarantee that I won't ever suffer the misery.  Lee can think of poison ivy and break out in a rash, so it's up to me to take care of it.  I have a two plastic bag system.  One on my hand like a glove, the other to hold the offending plants.  All is carefully disposed of in the trash and I wash my hands immediately with cold water and soap just in case.  Knock wood, it's worked so far, but I feel like I'm risking a rash every time.

What's the breaking news in your garden?

Comments

[Mummer]

I love dahlias - too hot here for them (does your friend know of a zone ten plant that might survive?).
I don't understand why - now - poison ivy would crop up. Is there a specific foam-type spray to kill it, but harm nothing else?
I sorted through all my refrigerated seeds, but found very little to plant right now. It's just too warm. However, a few well-placed hyacinth beans might sprout in this humid, icky-hot temperature.
Oh, almost forgot. You did not get poison-ivy as a kid, even though our Guilford back yard was well-rimmed with it. ?Luck?

[Jim/ArtofGardening.org]

We grew those purple beans a few years ago and all our perceived dreams were dashed when, they're boiled, they tun bright green! And poison ivy in pots. That's one way to make sure they don't get stolen off your front porch. And if they do get stolen, at least you'd have a little satisfaction someone's suffering someplace. What's breaking news in my garden? I just realized it's being shown in eight times in tours. My god, what have I wrought?

[Heather's Garden]

Mom -- That would be a magic spray indeed! I really think I'm not allergic to poison ivy, but like I said, I'm not eager to test it.

Jim -- I felt the same way the first year we grew them and saw they turned green. But they do bear a lot of beans and are quite tasty, not to mention quite pretty on the plant. It would take some very ballsy, strong thieves to steal those containers from the front porch area. I don't know how you can bear to have so many people come through your garden. I'd be a nervous wreck.

[Wendy]

I had no idea that was poison ivy. My husband told me it was a single leaf with three lobes so after seeing your photo, I had to investigate further (and rather exhaustively, I might add). I have that stuff everywhere around me and now I'm a little freaked out. Can a dog get messed up from poison ivy? I heard you should never burn it.

[Heather's Garden]

Wendy -- Only humans have reactions to poison ivy. But dogs can carry the reactive oil on their fur and then you can get poison ivy from touching them. I've heard you should never burn it too...my husband tells of how when he was a kid and people would burn it in the neighborhood he would get a rash on his lips and nose from breathing it in. That said, we have a pretty significant infestation on a tree stump in our garden that we have no idea how to even approach removing...probably the source of the berries that the birds must be eating and then scattering around our garden.