A lovely big dragonfly was zooming around the yard a few days ago so I thought that I would provide a drinking dish for it. Pretty marbles in a dish with a bit of water. I waited around for the return of the dragonfly but alas wasn’t able to see it. Hoping it returned and, liking the colourful display, rested there for awhile. There is a lot of activity in the garden when I’m not there!
Sweet little JaneE Kat patiently awaiting her treats!
A fresh new birdfeeder is welcomed quickly by the birds. Here is a little sparrow – he has ventured inside and is now perched in the opening, checking to see if other birds are nearby. He owns the feeder for now.
Give us this day our daily beans. Non stop growing of all the beans. I’m juicing these like mad as there is no more room in the freezer. Maybe I could set up a road-side stand in front of our house?? 🙂
Fall really is approaching. The daily dance of the wild and crazy tree (pear tree stock that has grown like mad over the years) results in a potpourri of the leaves being scattered throughout the yard. The pear trellis rust is nearly gone. Thanks to all the healthy foods I’m feeding the tree with. EM, llama manure, seaweed, nothing but the best for my garden.
Lots of self-sown tomatoes. So dainty. 
More sunflowers ready to burst into bloom. 
Lots of flowers everywhere for the bees. 
Lovely to see the flowers of the Scarlet Red Runner Beans. Prolific beans and tasty.
More of my “favourite” beans .. pole vines that grow up high, into the trees. Nice crunchy beans & delicious cooked or juiced. There will be lots of these seeds for sharing so others can enjoy them next summer.
Just a handful of beans picked – Spanish Musica, Blue Lake Bush, Scarlet Red Runner and my “favourite” beans. I like using these round baskets as my “picking” containers, have had them for years and have no idea where I got them. Anyway, some days I go outside and pick 2 full containers of beans. Morning and afternoon. I’m honestly so surprised at the bountiful growth of these beans. And I swear they hide on me sometimes. I feel like the great “bean hunter” as I carefully search for them in the bean forest. There will be a great supply of the Spanish Musica beans also, for sharing. There must be at least 30 pods (with many seeds in each one) hanging way above my head, too far to reach so I’ll just let them stay on the vine and let the pods dry .
Eye candy for me to enjoy during the cold winter months – inspiration to start planting as soon as the spring starts. Next year I’ll plant the squash and beans a little earlier than I did this year (mid-July) so that the squash plants will have a chance to grow more fully.
More aerial looping by the beans. Now why on earth is this bean doing the twisty thing? No obstacles in its way. Just being silly I think.
ta da! Very strong tomato plants that grew from the compost that I put here. A very sturdy plant with lots of tomatoes. I’ve been clipping away surplus leave so all the energy will go towards the tomatoes themselves. Last year I grew those tiny patty pan squash in this oak container and they grew very well. This year tomatoes are growing here. Next year .. potatoes? tomatoes? who knows.
I know that the season is nearly over and I won’t get tomatoes from these flowers, but the bees will savour the nectar.
This is the time of the year for gardeners to tidy up the yards and get ready for the cold weather. So I’m doing all of that also.
And I am also spending a lot of time just wandering around the yard, admiring the growth of the plants. Thinking about where to move this and that. Mixing up the rich compost with poorer soil. Gathering up all the plant saucers that were so needed during the hot weather, so that all potted plants watered would retain some moisture for the roots. With the fall rains coming these are no longer necessary.
Watching the bird activity – welcoming the fall visitors, like the Gold Crowned Sparrows back to our yard so I can enjoy their beauty. Placing some seed in the feeders .. not too much as there is a lot of food available to them naturally. Enjoying the Nuthatches as they dig out insects from the trees. Listening to the Bewick Wrens as they sing their unique songs from hidden areas in the trees. Loving that. I still have their abandoned nest from a few years ago ..and know that they are nesting somewhere in the yard. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bewicks_Wren/id
Such an interesting place is my garden! So many things to see and enjoy.
Magical, energizing and fun!
🙂
And alongside this plant .. there are a few other hopefuls growing away. I added some lovely llama manure to all the plants yesterday so hopefully this will give them a boost.
And the beans grow steadily onwards. These are some Scarlett Red Runner beans … growing from the apple tree branches. The flowers are so pretty and the bees and Annas love them.
A quick glance at these two plants and it appeared as if the squash flower was devouring the bean leaf.
I’ve been trying to train this squash plant around the garden screen ..sort of a success .. it will be interesting when the squash start growing .. to see if they will hang properly from the frame. Yet more beans in the background .. growing along the stakes in the ground. More Scarlet Red Runners to the left. They are everywhere. If you want instant privacy in the yard, grow pole beans!!
I had placed a variety of (saved) squash seeds throughout the yard and they all grew .. along with any seeds that were in the compost. Even if I don’t get any squash from these plants, the flowers add so much beauty and nectar for the bees.
And yet more beans (Cherokee Trail of Tears, Spanish Musica, Blue Lake Bush beans, Annie Jackson Pole Beans) this morning I picked a basket of beans .. went inside and thought .. omg .. the freezer and fridge freezer are both full. I cannot cram another batch of apples or beans…. what can I do!
My Garden – Mon Jardin – Mi Jardin – Mein Garten - Daily Adventures & Thoughts 