Garden Gone Wild

Last night after dinner I asked Tim's help with the tomatoes. They are a tangled mass of stems and green tomatoes. I can't tell which branch belongs to which plant. The cages have fallen over with the weight of the growth and the tomatoes. So we spent some time tying everything up. 

This morning I went out to cut a bouquet for the house. Several years ago I moved the phlox from the front to the back, but it's a persistent perennial and there are several stalks growing where they shouldn't. I cut them down this morning and added some hydrangea to the vase.
 

Three years ago we planted an apricot tree. In our climate it needs full rain cover, so it shares a roof with the lemon tree. This is the first year we are enjoying apricots and are they ever good. It's the height of luxury to pick a perfectly ripened apricot and bite into its juicy, sweet warmth right there in the garden.

The backyard, transplanted phlox is blooming madly. I love the bright white against the cedar hedge behind it.  

I've spoken sternly to the squashes, pumpkins, beans, cucumbers and tomatoes but, like an unruly class, they are not listening at all. The Butternut and Hubbard squashes are spilling out either side of their bed and are heading towards the bean trellis. The Princess Pumpkin is really acting like a princess and invading the tomato bed. Cucumbers spill into the walkway. The quinoa (a new plant for me) is threatening to overtake the bean tower in height.

But here's the real culprit - the zucchini. I'm positive she's the ringleader of this whole rebellion. I go out every day to inspect and pick zucchini. How do they grow so quickly? I try to catch them when they are a reasonable size, but they lurk under leaves and hide from me. Yesterday I found this whopper - 6.2 pounds of zucchini. (The top photo shows 5.14 pounds, but the zucchini was resting on the counter a little.) 

I showed it to my daughter via Skype, then set it on the coffee table, where it rolled off onto my foot. It hurt! A zucchini weapon. 
  

 I could be cutting and trimming and weeding, instead, I'm ignoring it all. I read an article that growth is extra-luxuriant this year because of the heat. Instead, I clipped a few herbs and arranged them in a crystal vase for my kitchen windowsill. The white blur at the top - that's the phlox. 

But the zucchini isn't going away on its own. What would you do with a 6.2 pound zucchini? And its smaller relatives? 

Crazy for Flowers

 Filling the house with flowers is one of summer's pleasures. I went a little crazy this morning. Phlox and coneflower mix with lemon balm and mint on the dining room table. 
 

My back garden is not manicured and perfect. Far from it - it's a little wild and full with some plants crowding others. I'm always cutting back.

Hydrangeas in a thrifted silver pitcher on the mantel. Can you find the visitor in this photo? Hint, she's on the left.
 

I've been thinking lately that I've moved away from the original focus of my blog - sharing my creative efforts using fabric, paper and thread. However, I was very surprised (and honoured) to see my blog included in Mersad Donko's list of 10 Wildlife Blogs You Need to Follow. Here's today's wildlife - a little lady bug. I carried the vase outside and let her loose. Check out Mersad's list - he has some wonderful blogs there.
 

Pink hydrangea and phlox on the piano. 
 

Sometimes vases and plant pots, especially the ceramic ones can weep a little. After numerous moldy spots, I finally realized that a small cork coaster set underneath the pot will prevent any more moisture that can ruin wood finishes.
 

Hydrangeas (can you tell that I love them) on the kitchen table.
 

Phlox, hydrangea and lemon balm on the table outside under the gazebo. This was definitely the year to get the gazebo - it's been hot and we enjoy sitting outside in the evening after the sun begins to slip behind the hills. The shade is welcome even late in the day.
 

And the kitchen windowsill. I like to keep herbs there, ready for clipping. Today it's lavender for decoration and mint for whatever. See that peach there? There are more of them ripening on the windowsill - BC peaches, earlier than I can ever remember. 

Any flowers in your house today? I'd love to see them.