Oh You Pretty Things

My first hot pepper is growing fast. I checked back in the posts and found that this guy is a variety of Poblano. The plant seems happy: it's growing in a compact manner and putting out many flowers. Another baby pepper has started to grow. At home we're still wondering if we'll be able to handle the spicy bounty.

The eggplant has its first lovely lavender flower. There are some other eggplants in the garden and I'm wondering if they're open pollinators. Will this one become my first homegrown eggplant or will I need to wait for flower #2?

Beans, carrots, lettuce, beets, and beet greens are on the menu for tonight. Although the lettuce is on its way out, the beans, carrots, and beets are coming into high season. I pulled these baby beets to make some more room for a few cucumber, summer and winter squash plants that are slooooooowly growing under the trellis. I also made the difficult decision to pull three bush bean plants to allow more sun to reach the squash. It was hard to do (especially with so many blossoms on the bean plants) but it will be worth it in the end if I can manage to grow even one squash! The pulled plants went right into the compost so at least all was not lost.

A vacant lot on 6th street between Coles and Monmouth made my day. Someone planted wildflowers and they are absolutely thriving. The red, pink, and white poppies are a beautiful and happy sight to see on my walk to the garden. A+ for this guerrilla gardening effort.

I stopped again on my way home to admire the festive display. The flowers seem to cancel out all the urban waste that surrounds them. I can't get over how pretty this is!