The pole beans were planted in June. Rains pounded many times that month.  Many of my garden seeds did not come up.  They washed away.  Several beans did not come up either.  They must have had too much rain to survive.  So I had to replant some. My crop came up in 2 shifts.  Some were tall, others were short.  I think that the short ones had a harder time thriving in the wake of the older, taller, shade-making plants.

Still with all of the struggle to survive, the blossoms came on both plantings of beans. My first picking was a few handfuls of tender, 3-4 inch beans. The young beans tasted fine.

In a few days, I went out to pick again.  This time I saw huge beans. Some reached 9-inches long.  I felt like writing a story called “Wendy and the Beanstalk”.  I met up with giant beans!

I am still picking beans. As long as they keep getting picked, they will continue to blossom and bear. So I will keep at it. I want plenty of beans processed and at home in my freezer.

The quality and taste of these beans please me.  They are a bit easier to harvest since I pick some bending over, while at other times I can stand up and pick. It is much easier on my back and knees than the bush beans I have used in the past.

The season is not over yet.  I may discover some things not so nice about them. But for now, I am glad we tried raising pole beans this year.

For more information on pole beans follow this link.

 

We plant beans in our garden as a staple crop. Beans enhance many meals at this house. I generally plant the bush bean variety. This year’s planting went similar to many years past. I planted beans again, except that this year I chose pole beans.

When I perused my seed catalogs earlier in the year, I asked my husband if he thought pole beans would be okay to try. He responded with, “That should be easy.” I concluded that he agreed with trying this different bean. So I ordered them.

When we got time to plant the garden, he asked me about where the beans will go in the garden and expected me to get busy planting the in rows like I usually do.  Taken aback by this assumption, I returned, “These are pole beans.”

He came back with,”What’s your plan?”

“Well, when I asked you about ordering the beans, you sounded like it was easy and I thought that you had a plan.”

My son overheard this exchange between his mom and dad and chuckled.

With raised eyebrows, my husband answered with a grin, “Ah-h-h.” He turned and off he went to the machine shed.  He came back with his post hole digger, some posts, woven wire and baler twine.  Soon he has a frame fashioned where the beans could grow.

I expected skinny, metal posts. . .he gave me sturdy wooden ones. I expected posts 4-feet high. . .he gave me ones that towered over my head. Such deluxe treatment I got in the garden that day!

The clock ticks and the seasons change. Flowers show their colors – each in its time. As autumn dawns, their colors parade before our eyes.

Asters seem to be ready in the fall when the goldenrod and other autumn flowers get showy. My son found these purple asters in the field and transplanted them in my flower bed several years ago. They bloom every year.

 

 

 

 

The red roses are an expression of love and beauty from my mother-in-law.  She had a rose bush by her side door. Grandma knew how to take care of it. She is gone now, but her rose still radiates beauty that reminds me of my husband’s dear mother.

 

 

 

These small, smiling-faced pansies are not growing where they should. Generally, a plant growing out-of-place is considered a weed. These sunshiny plants grew from seeds shed on my landscaping several years ago. A gift of pansies from a friend left its seeds in the rocks near our porch. Some of the seeds have survived these past few winters. This summer, they wink at us every time we walk in or out of our front door.

 

We dig up and save gladiola bulbs over the winter. Each year we plant them and they give a special display of color and delicate beauty. We eagerly await the time when the flowers spike up and display their towering blooms.

 

 

 

Our late-blooming morning glory shows its fine greenery in the middle of July.  In the middle of August it displays its blooms. Purple flowers open up and face the eastern sun each morning. As the twilight settles on the farm, they fold up their petals gently and quietly rest.

photo credits:Wenda Grabau

I have been trying to catch up with my weeding in the flower beds and the vegetable garden.  With all of the rain we had earlier this summer, the weeds thrived and the seeds washed away.  The garden is not the most picturesque nor fruitful as it has been in other years.

I took my 5 gallon pail to the garden and started the weeding. After not too long it got full and rather than putting it in a compost pile, I toted the bucket to the chick yard.

As the chicks grow they clear their fenced-in yard of green growth. After all, it is great food for young chickens. By this time they need extra greens in their diet and weeds are welcome fare. Yesterday, I brought them two buckets of lush, juicy weeds from the garden.

The chicks are not the only birds on the farm.  The laying hens and two one-year-old roosters roam the unfenced yard looking for goodies.  Any bugs and mowed grass provide a balanced diet for the older birds.  The adult chickens are prominent in the backyard and calf pasture.

While I carried the weeds to the younger chickens, the roaming hens and roosters curiously approached me. I purposed to give the bulk of my produce to the chicks inside the fence. However, I impulsively tossed a meager handful to the flock of poultry as they congregated.

The two roosters were right on it. They both wanted the treat. Lowering their heads, neck feathers fanned, the fight began. With camera in my pocket, I got a couple of pictures of the action. Neither rooster hurt the other, but the challenge reared its head.

Their little têt-a-têt may appear to be a hard day in the yard for roosters, but I think my weeding was plenty hard, too.

photo credit:Bretta Grabau
photo credit:Wenda Grabau
photo credit:Wenda Grabau

 

 

The hosta in bloom is a favorite for the hummingbirds to visit. These plants do well in the sun or in the shade.

 

 

 

 

The tiger lily has many stages of development which are all beautiful. These plants do well in complete sun.

 

 

 

This is the old-fashioned day lily.  They grow in the sun or shade.  When I first moved here, I saw many of them growing in and adorning the ditches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The balloon flower is a pleasant contrast to the white and lavendar and orange hues of this flowerbed.

 

 

 

 

 

My shamrock has to come indoors over winter.  It seems to “come alive” with the outdoor conditions of rain, sunshine and shade. These little flowers curl up each day as the sun goes down.

 

 

 

 

This impatiens plant shows off more flowers than leaves. It does well in the sun. It is an annual.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This colorful leafed plant is a variety of coral bells. The small white bells grow up on a stalk that hovers above its colorful leaves.

 

 

 

 

This is another variety of a day lily.  The true color is a vibrant red-orange. It grows in the shade in my yard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To find how you can buy our Day Lily card follow the link.

 

photo credits:Wenda Grabau
sketch by Wenda Grabau