It's a great start to the weekend when you go outside and immediately see this on your carrots. He's my new temporary pet.I also found a ton of monarch eggs on my Tropical Milkweed. It's going to be a fun summer.

Ewws and Ahhs

First the ewws. EWW!! Aphid infestation on my Asclepias incarnata. Gross. Funny though. The plant right next to it appears aphid-free. Now the ahhs. AHH! I love this time of the year. That monarchs are leaving their eggs on the milkweed. The Black Swallowtails are leaving theirs on the carrots, parsley, and fennel. My daughter and I found these just a while ago.
Below: Monarch Cat.
Black Swallowtail Cat.Two monarch cats and an egg (near the tip of the leaf) that I brought in to raise. So much fun. These were on the Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) that I started from seed this past winter.Two black swallowtails that I also brought in. There is also an egg on carrot foliage in there somewhere.Fun for the whole family!

Mystery Tree and Pentas

My mystery plant. I cut it to the ground last year (I couldn't pull it out by the roots). It's back. The leaf shape is very interesting, so after looking online I think I found it. A tulip poplar tree. This would turn into a giant tree that would dwarf my house. This is one of those times that I wished I had more land so I could relocate it. It would be beautiful. I don't have the heart to kill it, but I'm going to try to get it out of the ground and pot it up in a few weeks. If it survives, I'll probably gift it to someone. Stars and Stripes pentas. I purchased this plant on eBay this past Spring. I planned on keeping it in a container, but changed my mind and planted it in the garden once the weather stabilized. It is becoming very lush despite its initial small size. The blooms are beautiful, and the variegation is breathtaking. Love it! I will definitely be potting it back up and overwintering it inside this winter. Too gorgeous and carefree not to keep.

Photos of Today's Garden

Cherokee Green, Stupice, and Lucky Cross tomatoes. It rained very hard the night before I picked these, so the big ones cracked. Still tasted good though!My new birdbath! It looks solid, but it's very light-weight. Love it! It's a Pedestal Bird Bath for Wild Birds by Gardman. It says it's frost and weather resistant. At $30 bucks, it felt like a steal.
A portion of my backyard bed. In the front is one Walker's Low nepeta with Autumn Joy sedum behind it. To the left are two "leftover" tomato plants that needed a home. I believe the front one is Stupice. No clue about the other until it matures. The ugly plant on the right is some sort of aster that I purchased from Jung. It's always been ugly. It puts out flowers though, so I think I'll move it in the Spring back behind other plants to hide the hideous foliage.
A few weeks ago the kids started some cabbage, lettuce, and radishes in the empty spots next to the Caroline raspberries that I added in the Spring. A few of the raspberries didn't survive, so now I'm just making the best of the space until the replacements arrive next Spring.
Fiesta del Sol tithonia. I am absolutely in love with this plant. It hasn't even reached two feet high and is so lush and healthy....Love it!!!! It handled the drought and 100+ days without skipping a beat.
Fat 'n Sassy hybrid bell peppers. Now sold under the name King Arthur.
Two more Spirit pumpkins. Some of the Oregon Sugar Pod II peas I started several weeks ago are planted along the front edge of the bed.
Winona Strawberries that were planted this Spring. They are sending out runners and filling in nicely.
Common milkweed that I started from seed in late winter.
Carmine Jewel bush cherry that I just purchased this Spring. The tips appeared to have some sort of blight in the beginning of the season, so they were cut back a bit to remove the funny looking foliage and stems. Now it's putting on some new, healthy growth. I will be transplanting it in the fall to its permanent position in the garden.
Yukon Gold and Red Norland potatoes that are just starting to show signs of dying back.

I planted Scarlet Nantes carrots this Spring. Not for myself, but for the black swallowtails. One of the perks is that I do get to eat some of the carrots. Knowing that I was planting them for butterflies, I didn't bother to thin them. Nor did I amend the soil with compost to loosen it up. This location was lawn until I dug out the grass this past Spring. I wanted foliage, not the actual root, so I just planted and hoped for good germination. Good germination is what I got.
This is the result of compacted soil. Forked roots. There small size, most likely due to drought and neglect. The largest carrot on the right was on the back edge of the planting. It had some room on all sides where other carrots weren't crowding it. Obviously it took advantage of the space. Next year, no matter how hard it is. I will have to thin out my carrots. Finding a happy medium between tons of foliage for the black swallowtails to devour and some large carrots for me. In the meantime, the carrots above will be going into a slow cooker stew first thing tomorrow morning.

The Sun Golds are really starting to churn out tomatoes now. I was just outside picking this bowl of tasty morsels. I looked up and saw tons more starting to develop. Oh my. Last year two Sun Golds wasn't enough. This year, four Sun Golds. I might have overdone it. The dry weather is working to their advantage. Last season, many cracked due to the rain. The great thing about having a drought (I know...I can't believe I wrote that) is that there has been no cracking so far. Each one is a perfect ball of sunshine.

I Have Monarch Cats!

Yeah! Monarch cats on my tropical milkweed! This is great news since there has been a dramatic reduction in the number of butterfly sighting this season. It's scary. Only a handful of times have we seen a few monarchs relishing in the blossoms....and I guess leaving a few eggs behind! Once the cats are a bit bigger, I'll bring them in for the kids to watch and release.

I will definitely need to plant more than three plants next season. A friend gave me three as tiny starts last fall. I overwintered them indoors. In the same pot. TORE apart the roots and planted them outside. They are thriving despite drought and neglect. Love them and love my monarch cats!!!!

I made good use of my Sunday morning. I finally processed my first pumpkin of the season. First I cut it in half from stem to bottom. Pulled out all the seeds and slimy guts. :) I rinsed the meaty seeds in my colander to prepare them for roasting. The rest of the guts are now food for the worms in my worm bin.I covered the bottom of my roasting pan and tops of both halves of pumpkin with foil. Then tossed them into an oven at 325. I had to roast this 7.33 pounder for about two hours. Some parts were still a little firm in places, so I microwaved those chunks before running everything through my food mill with a pumpkin attachment. This was a juicy pumpkin, so I drained off the excess liquid after I ran everything through the mill. I took a fork to press out a bit more of the liquid before I placed it in a freezer bag for holiday pies. It made exactly two cups of pumpkin. (Oh, and yes. My oven really is that dirty).I haven't had pumpkin seeds since I was a kid. Why waste 'em? So while the oven was already at 325, I tossed them in with the pumpkin. They were roasted for 10 minutes on both sides while on a sprayed and salted baking sheet.
Seems like a lot of work. Especially since I can buy a couple cans of Libby's pumpkin for only a few dollars. But I will be really proud when I make my first pumpkin pie from my very own pumpkin that was grown with love.

Our 6th heatwave of the season starts today. Slow cooker is making dinner. Nothing better than the smell of a beef roast made with homegrown celery, garlic, onions, and potatoes. The neighbors will be drooling.

A portion of my Red Norland and Yukon Gold harvest. I planted about 6 to 8 seed potatoes in a 2 x 3 foot space in a raised bed. I know the drought and extreme heat this summer impacted their numbers. I also found it tough to find the time to water as often as they needed. Even still, the ones we did get looked very healthy and colorful. Next season I am going back to growing them in 3 gallon containers like last season. My containers get much more regular watering than anything in the ground. They did really well last season. Even still, these will taste great in the slow cooker tomorrow night with a roast. Doesn't everything taste better when it was grown in your own garden?