SUMMER = Annuals & Tender Babes are in, Rain Dance was answered

Appreciating the big picture and ignoring the weeds for now...

For us vegetarians, the veggie garden is especially heavy on legumes this year - peas and beans for eating now (green & yellow bush, favas, snow peas), for drying (Gigantes, Chili, Cannellini, Jacob Cattle, Pepa de Zapallo, mung, lentils, lupinis), a couple of field pea species for chicken feed, Mucunas and Blue Pod Capucijiners just for trying something new.

Blue Pod Capucijner peas

The legumes are thriving, but all is not well in paradise. Increasingly, over the past several years, we've struggled to organically cope with mounting pressure from pests - flea beetles on Brassicas, squash bugs, cucumber beetles and potato bugs - all of which can make the garden experience... well, stressful. This year we are trying plastic mesh screen (I know, more plastic! but it should last decades). So far, it's working like a charm to keep out these voracious insects. It still lets in sun and rain and is quite transparent, so I can see progress (and weeds). Of course, now I must be the pollinator of these European crops.

With the time and karma saved from battling insects, I can enjoy the eye candy of roses and lilies and prickly pear cactus abloom, which really makes it feel like summer for me.

Rosa 'American Pillar'

Rosa 'The Fairy'

Lilium hybrid LA 'Brindisi'

Opuntia humifusa

 Happy Gardening!