Too Many Tomatoes

What to do with too many cherry tomatoes?  Roast them.  Amazing.

Floral Installation at Casa Romatica

Floral Installation designed by artist Rebecca Louise Law to showcase Orange County native and water-wise plants. This installation incorporates 8000 flowers suspended on copper wire. — at Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens.

What to Plant for Better Daily Living

I found this at some point on the internet.  I am sorry I did not keep the source. 

Funky Veg Kit: Zucchini

I received a garden gift called the Funky Veg Kit.  Inside the kit were planting medium, peat containers, seeds for colorful vegetables.

When spring came, I started some of the seeds.  The yellow zucchini is doing a good job growing in the sun.  Foot inserted for scale.

This photo shows the plant in the afternoon sun after the June marine layer burned off.  The big problem during June is fighting powdery mildew which loves the moist air mass.

Strawberries from the Garden

Sweet and plump strawberries picked from the garden this morning.  Best season yet for strawberries.

Hello Cherry Tomatoes

An early harvest from the garden today.  Hand-picked all the ripe tomatoes and made a great ratatouille.

Spring in the California Garden

Thank you Mother Nature for a winter of rain.  Plants and shrubs are blooming prolifically this spring.

The garden called this weekend and it was time to put some tomatoes into the garden.  Two beefsteaks (one an heirloom) and San Francisco Fog. 

In doing some prep work, I discovered a very large beet!  Here it is root and all.  Look at those beautiful greens.

Beautiful beet from the garden atop a planting of thyme.

Cherokee Purple Heirloom Tomato

I only planted one heirloom tomato plant this year: Cherokee Purple Heirloom Tomato
 
Visually, they are so beautiful. 

Extending the Summer Garden at 32 Degrees

Skin removed, diced and ready to simmer for 30 minutes.

Ready to cool and freeze.  During the winter, this effort pays off by adding a taste of summer to cooking long after the season's end.

Watermelon From the Garden

First ever watermelon...  Sweet with a chance of seeds.

All From the Garden

All from the garden:  Ratatouille.

Onion, green peppers, zucchini, eggplant, thyme, cherry tomatoes.  Final product was topped with finely chopped basil.

Oh, and a few lima beans on the back burner.

#gardentotable  #spiritofthelimabean

Spiralized Zoodles

Spiralized my zucchini tonight to make "Zoodles."  Topped it with freshly made sauce from the tomatoes from the garden.  YUMMY!

A Trio of Containers with Welcoming Plants

Adding curb appeal through great container plants.

Sunflowers Galore

Enjoying the multiple sunflower heads on this plant.  Some critter is binging on the leaves...but that hasn't stopped the robustness of the blooms.

Roma Tomatoes

First harvest of Roma tomatoes.  Planning to freeze these for now.

Lima Bean: Part Deux

Dainty now...these pods will become thick and tough.

The lima bean flowers cluster on the vine.

Pod of the lima bean.

Cosmos Is A Star Plant

This bee found a great place to hang out.

Cosmos are so dainty and colorful.

The white cosmos looks so delicate in the sun.

Seedlings sprouting from flowers which went to seed...already!

I had cosmos in my garden years ago.  They volunteer so readily.  I don't know why I stopped growing...but added them back this year.  Good decision.

The Spirit of the Lima Bean

First year to grow lima beans in the garden.  I am surprised by the toughness of the pod.

Sunny Sunflower

Tiny pollinator approaching on the right.

The sunflower is such a happy flower.  I haven't grown any in the garden for years so I am appreciating that the one I planted is sprouting flowers at each stalk/leaf junction.  I am going to have sunflower blooms for a long time!

Let's See What Is In The Seed Drawer

The seed drawer hold purchased seed as well as seeds harvested from the garden.

At the end of last season, I found some of the beans had dried on the vine.

Wow!  An impressive number of bean seeds.

Last year I had some beans which dried on the vine.  As I was cleaning up the garden, I broke away the dried pod and harvested the seeds.  When I decided to grow three sisters (beans, zucchini and corn) in my garden this year, I found the container with the yellow bean seeds and planted them about two weeks ago.

Stop back to this post tomorrow to see what happens when you mix dirt, water, seeds and sun!