Hello Cherry Tomatoes

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

Bluebird Volunteer

This winter's rain did an amazing job finding seeds from plants in the garden and washing them to a new location to "volunteer" to grow.  This plant is a volunteer from a bed which is about eight feet away.  As a matter of fact, I have so many of these delightful surprise plants, I am nourishing them with plans to transplant when they are bigger.  This little plant is growing among my irises right now. 

Squash? Cantalope? Do you recognize this plant?

This little plant sprung up in the garden over the spring.  Clearly, a seed meant for the composter, made its way to the garden.  I don't think this is zucchini; leaves too rounded.  I'll be watching for the first blossoms to set fruit and report on what it is.

The Giant Redwoods are In Cahoots with the Tree Fern in My Backyard.

This tree fern is hiding a very big surprise!  If you look closely in the center, you will see the surprise is peeking through the fronds.

Hello seeding of a GIANT REDWOOD TREE! 

Your needles are lovely, dense and green.

Three large, tall redwoods exist on the property behind our townhouse in Northern California.  One of them shared a seed or a sprout under a tree fern on our small parcel (30'x30') of land and it went unnoticed until its crown popped out through the fronds. 

Darling now, but this tree has a habit of growing over 350 feet tall...and living 2000 years. 

Lovely Bean Volunteer

During the cold, rainy winter months, a small little bean seed sprouted.  And grew, and grew.

Now that the sunny warm weather of spring is here, this little volunteer is blooming prolifically.

Outgrowing the wooden stake, I added room for additional growth by tying a string to the top of the pole and then to a nearby light fixture.

l love to stake the bean plant at an angle because they dangle away from the leaves and become very easy to see during harvest.

Earlier this spring, a tomato volunteer jumped the walkway dividing the edible garden from the beds around the house.  Enough time passed and it was already quite established when I noticed it.  I decided to let it go and see what I would end up with.  Grape tomatoes.  Looking forward to an early taste.

Pumpkin in the Garden...in January?

Well, the mystery is completely solved.  The squash plant which volunteered late in the fall is a pumpkin.  Time for the beauty shot today.  The vines died back during our December cold snap.  I'm letting this little specimen ripen in the sunny weather we are now having.  Stay tuned for the recipe I am going to use to prepare this for consumption. 

Mystery Volunteer--Cantaloupe Perhaps?

 

About four weeks ago, I added compost to the garden soil.  When I do this, I discover that not all seeds have been destroyed my organisms or heat.  This is a squash type plant which volunteered and has grown beautifully,  I am not sure if at this late date the plant will be pollinated and have time to mature into whatever it will be.  My guess is cantaloupe because of the shape of the female flower/fruit.  Here's hoping I get to harvest something from this plant.

A Tree Story

I encourage everyone to take a walk with a camera. You really start to notice things you might otherwise miss. I love the story these three photos tell.
Photo 1 is of the huge pines growing to the sky. Photo 2 Pine cones drop to the ground. Photo 3 The nearby newbie in the scene.

Sunflower Volunteer

In a funny conincidence, I am sitting at my computer and looking out the window at a volunteer flower. It is a sunflower. I cannot imagine how it got here. I planted sunflowers two years ago in my back garden, which is quite a distance from where this plant is. Nonetheless, I will enjoy watching it from my window on a hillside which is mostly shrubs and trees.