Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - August 2011

Welcome one and all to Irish Gardens on this rainy Bloom Day.  Well at least it's raining here.  It has been raining for the last 3 days.  I know we needed the rain but we need sun too.  It seems we are getting a lot of extremes this year....heat or rain, sun or shade.  So on to the bloom day pictures which surprisingly there is a lot of for a rainy day.

 Rose of Sharon still showing off it's double purple blooms

 Pumpkins are still flowering like crazy...still only one pumpkin so far though

 Beef-master Tomato plants are still flowering up a storm.

 Cucumbers too....lots of yellow orange over by the greenhouse

Even the Watermelons are still flowering still no melons yet though

 Only 1 eggplant harvested as of yet but lots of pretty purple flowers still popping up all over.

 Echinacea is still showing off her pretty purple flowers

 The pretty and delicate marshmallow flowers are still busy opening up.

 Finally some green beans are finally flowering

 A wild flower that was finally identified as Asiatic Day flower a local wild herb.  How cool.  Another herb to add to my collection.

 Blush Satin Rose of Sharon showing off it's beauty as well.

 Finally morning glories are beginning to open

 My new favorite morning glory is this beautiful variegated leaf

 Another beauty is showing off this Bloom Day.

 Poor hydrangea bush is falling over because it is heavy with rain.

 Hibiscus is looking down this morning also heavy with rain.

 Another Rose of Sharon that is showing off it's beauty.

And finally to end my blooming show is this pretty lady the Mandevilla vine...

Let me know what you think.  Head over to Carol's garden and see who else has posted about what is Blooming in their Garden....Gardens all around the world participate.

Attack of the vines

 The vine bed has shown a lot of growth over the past month.  This picture to the left was taken just over a month ago.  Small spots of green plants in a freshly built garden bed.

 Taken 10 days later this picture shows growth as well as flowers.

 Taken 10 days after the last this one too shows a lot more growth and more flowers popping up everywhere.  The small green spots are much bigger and now the new bed shows a lot of yellow as well.

Again 10 days after the last picture this is what I came home from vacation too.  No longer can the canvas be seen nor can flowers be seen.  In-fact the the garden frame it's self is almost hard to see.

This picture was actually taken the same day as the last one but after I fenced in the garden.  See if I hadn't then when the hubby goes to mow the lawn he may end up mowing pumpkin or cucumber vines.  Since that would be bad I contained them.  It's amazing how each picture (except the last 2) was taken about 10 days apart and each clearly shows growth.  Some more than others.

Another surprise when we came home from vacation besides the lawn attacking vines was this......

Just look how pretty it is.  My first cucumber ever.  And it was impressive in size considering when we left 5 days before there were no cucumbers that showed any sign that they had been pollinated.  Lots of cucumber's with buds just none bigger than they began.

Stay tuned new installments of Attack of the.._______ will be coming soon, tomatoes, marigolds, Rose of Sharon, just to name a few.

Kids in the Garden Part 2

Between Jiffy and Burpee they seem to be the only main brands I buy when it comes to plants or seeds. These cute little kids cups from Jiffy are no exception. So easy a Cavekid and do it you just add water to the growing medium. Once it is expanded spread with a fork....tons of fun for kids of all ages. Add the 3 seeds provided. Put the lid back on (dome up instead) and wait. Once they start to grow you remove the lid. Once they show true leaves you take the biopot out of the kid cup and plant it. I love how both Lowes and Home Depot are selling lots of kid friendly gardening items to include these type of cups and also Veggie Tales seeds. Granted I am sure that Veggie Tale Carrot seeds will still grow to look like Burpee Carrot's but for kids it adds something different to the experiance.