Herbs & Veggies

We had our usual August heat wave, and while my tomato plants and morning glory loved the hot weather, I am rather glad we are back to warm and sunny.  My cucumbers are finally starting to produce, but I am still awaiting the first ripe tomato. Here are a few photos from my small herb and vegetable garden. I am also sharing a photo of the Steller's Jay that I have named Mr. Braveheart. He or she, is the first bird I have ever been able to train to take food from my hand :)

Garlic Chive Flowers

Tiny Dill Flowers

The Oregano is popular with bees

Swiss Chard that I primarily grew for the colour

Pretty Pink Swiss Chard

Zucchini Flowers

Mr. Braveheart and his peanuts

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Summer Birds and Blooms

Blooms from my summer garden and a few of my favourite visitors

Cosmos and Yarrow

Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus 'Fugi Blue')

Bud of the Balloon Flower along with some Alyssum

Daylily bloom, the last of the season. In spite of struggling with gall midge, this daylily still manages to wow me every year

Daylily 'Strawberry Candy'

Shirley Poppy

Sweet Peas with a lovely fragrance

Everlasting Sweet peas. I was a little disappointed to discover these didn't have any fragrance but they are pretty nonetheless.

Oriental Lily 'Acapulco'  The fragrance of this lily is amazingly potent

Cerinthe Purple Bells for the hummingbirds

Hydrangea macrophylla Nikko Blue This shrub is in the bed that will have to be dug up this fall to replace the rotten wood ties that collapsed recently.

My gardening buddy enjoying the morning sunshine

Steller's Jay enjoying the sun after too much rain, sitting on my patio fence

la la la la la

Chickadee busy with second batch of wee ones.

This Downy woodpecker became a regular this summer, and even brought his or her young. In fact this may be the young, I can't tell.