The weather certainly has been cooperating. I have dug and stored two kinds of potatoes. The peanut potatoes are still looking strong so I will leave them as long as possible. These are fast becoming favorites around here.
Usually I lay out the potatoes on the ground and hose off the excess soil, then I lay them on newspapers on the floor of the basement until their skin toughens. But this year, the soil was so dry that it just brushed off. I skipped the hosing step, and have them nicely tucked in for the winter. Store them dry, dark and cool.
Of the three kinds of garlic, I have pulled two and have them drying on the covered porch. Keep them out of direct sunlight and when nice and dry, store them at room temperature. I have met with success by storing mine in brown paper bags on top of the refrigerator. I still have some from last year that are just excellent.
You should get your order in for this fall's planting. Filaree Farm, 509-422-6940 or www.filareefarm.com. The catalog will give you a wealth of information.
The raspberries are still coming on strong. I do so very little for these plants and they give me so much. I am dazzled by raspberries. The higher elevations do not have such luck and I am hoping that something good will come out of this global warming, i.e. you too will get raspberries. In the meantime find someone at the lower elevations who has an abundance. I have 10 plants and wish I had settled for five.
The broccoli is still rolling in and the chard is on its second cutting. The artichokes are coming on strong and the green beans are almost finished (a ton of these went into the freezer this year). Onions and Brussels sprouts are still maturing. At least not everything happens at once.
The amazing thing, thankfully, is the lack of slugs. We still have lovely lettuce, which is usually the first to be defiled by these mollusks. What a boon. The mix, which has become my favorite, is on its second cutting and looking and tasting just excellent.
By "second cutting" I mean that instead of pulling up the plant I just cut it off at the base. It regenerates for another harvest. I use this same technique with spinach and chard. I keep an inexpensive red handled knife in the garden so I can easily spot it to make a harvest. Comes in handy.
The pea vines have been pulled and run through the shredder. I added them to the compost pile tonight along with a decidedly puny halibut carcass. I love that compost pile.
In mid-July I was asked what my garden would be looking like by mid-August. My response was, "It will be over." What was I thinking? Granted the vegetable plot is starting to look bare but the flowers are still looking good. Not spectacular, mind you, but good. Especially since I have been giving them some attention. I deadheaded (cut off the spent blooms) and actually removed spent annuals from the beds. This gives the flowers that are looking good a chance to shine.
The Asiatic lilies are almost over but I know that I need more of these. If you have yet to acquire any, do so now. They are beyond easy and ever so beautiful.
The clematis viticella (known as the "million dollar clematis" because it cost more to ship than the plant itself) is going great guns. It is entwining itself on the iron railing and is covered in blooms. I consider this a great success. It is everything that I could want in a vine. The blooms are small and purple and it dies completely to the ground every year. That way I can remove the spent vine every fall and not have to look at it all winter long. Excellent.
Speaking of vines, the dropmore honeysuckle is, again, dazzling. I really did not expect this to be so successful. It has been blooming all summer and is setting a whole new batch of blooms. Actually, this is not unusual behavior, it does this every year. You really need to get one of these. This is the fifth year for this one. It is about 10 feet tall and seems to be happy there, which is good because I have run out of trellis for it grow on.
The Shirley poppies that reseeded themselves have been having a fine year with no thanks to me, as have the bachelor buttons and candytuft. Nary a plant did I put into the ground, volunteers all. And I have thanked them, which is all you can do for a volunteer of any ilk.
The list goes on: Johnson's blue geranium, hesperis matronalis (sweet rocket) and the Theresa Bugnet roses are all on their second set of blooms. Linum rubrum, lysimachia purpurea (purple foliage with yellow blooms, wow), verbascum Bold Queen, balsam and thalictrum are all lovely.
Who hasn't fallen in love with Dave Schroer's bouquets of sweet peas at the Farmers' Market? Well, this is my year, the very first, to have sweet peas. I am in heaven.
Note: I have five stitches in the tip of my finger. Why? Haste, and a very sharp pruning shears. Think before you cut.
The Homer Garden Club presents Jim Gardiner at Land's End at 2 p.m. He will present a slide show and talk on perennials and woody plants. Apparently he's British and his specialty is magnolias (yes, you read that right ... ), but it's free to members and $5 to nonmembers.
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