So who knows what this is that has infiltrated my border beds?
A closer look?
You got it - those damn COSMOS! I HATE THEM! I planted them once, 3 years ago, ugh....thank goodness for my stirrup "ho"! They are even all over the lawn.
I have a lot to do out there, but I think I got most of the past due things accomplished before the rain started yet again today. The storm last week knocked over my 12 ft tall Maximillian Sunflowers before they even started to bloom, so I tied them back up. They were uprooted too but I think the rain will smush them back into the ground tonight, I give them a good stomp tomorrow when it's still wet out. They're perennial, so worst case I just chop them off and we'll see them again next year. They opened today, and will stay blooming almost til Dec, nice!
Above is the perennial Maximillian Sunflower (some people regard it as a weed!)
Below, these are the Montauk Daisies, they opened last week and will bloom until about Thanksgiving.
The good ol' dependable mums now in full bloom
Mums & Rosemary
Sorry all these photos are pretty bad but its been raining and overcast for days. I was able to get the broccoli & cauliflower trimmed of badly eaten leaves, planted my leek seedlings that had been forgotten in flats outside, and the cosmos pulled out of the empty beds where the garlic, shallots & onions will go. My peas are about 8 inches high now. Trimmed the zinnias in the pea bed, I can't bear to pull them yet since there are still some buds on them. I am finally seeing spinach and lettuce after a long hot summer with no greens! I will go out there later this weekend after the rain and do a second sowing of greens and leeks.
Current state of the garden from atop the kids' fort
In other news, this week was "eat school lunch with your munchkin" week. Since I have 2 kids I had to go twice. Monday was Finn and I wimped out and had the chef salad which was really quite good, but a bit spendy - I think this is really a big fundraiser since adults pay twice what the kids pay for the same lunch! Wednesday was Loch's day and I chose to eat the actual "meal". Choice between Pizza Hut pizza (yuck) or Boca Burger. I happily chose the Boca since I love those, we eat them at home all the time.
But wait... check out my banana!
Blech!
Wow, I finished up outside just in time - it's really dark outside and raining and the wind is blowing about 25 knots.
Tonight I am headed to BFF's house for some knitting and wine - her 2 boys and mine are the same ages and are like cousins so they do pretty well with little intervention from us, so it can actually be relaxing. Yay for adult conversation! It's pretty hard to come by these days...
The wine selection for tonight says it all!!
You must have the longest growing season ever! Either that or you just have the discipline I lack. :)
ReplyDeleteI am so excited that you get to knit and whine/wine tonight! (judging from the label on the bottle, that's the whine) Ha!
I love love love those daisies! Next year when I forget what they are called, remind me...k?
Have fun tonight!!!
Sometimes I'm torn between living in a climate where my garden lasts and lasts. Or -- getting to pull every blackened, frostbitten piece out and give it a rest until spring. I wish I had pesky cosmos, and OMG your rosemary plant!!! What was with that banana? No quality checks? Have fun tonight! My girls night is in two weeks - can't wait.
ReplyDeleteAh, school lunches. I just can't get away from them. ;)
ReplyDeleteAPG, our area is really kind of strange - we're very in-between. Being close to the ocean keeps us much warmer than the rest of the state, BUT not quite warm enough to have a truly year-round garden, and the winds are atrocious here in the winter. I can grow all the broccolis, carrots and such until about mid-December then all I really have that winters over are (sometimes) spinach, onions, garlic, shallots, parsley and Swiss Chard. If one had a greenhouse here you could easily grow lots, but the hardshell glass kind are too expensive for us and the hoop houses we have constructed in the past work great until the winds shred it so I gave up on that!
ReplyDeleteSusan, that's my small rosemary! I'll post another next week, nice that it's a very hardy evergreen perennial here, I have it in hedges, one could even trim it up like boxwood if wanted, one serves as my Christmas tree out back. The banana - to be fair they wouldn't have known, it was GREEN on the outside LOL
Ribbit, Loch loved eating that day since he normally packs lunch from home! Overall, I'm okay with what they are doing with school lunches, the good choices are there, kids just need to be enticed to actually MAKE the good choice.
Oh and Apple Pie Girl - the great thing about those daisies is that they are perennial! I just cut them back every spring and the clump gets bigger. I'm thinking "Montauk" like New York one would assume they would be hardy as far north as there, right? I would say that if mums come back for you this would too - same family, it's a Chrysanthemum I think also called Nippon Daisy in places
ReplyDeleteYour garden and all your plants look GORGEOUS! Sorry, but I've never heard of cosmos coming back the way those of yours do. It's actually kind of creepy.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're having the get together with your BFF tonight. Drink a glass of wine for me, please! Knitting? Yay! Sounds like winter time! Bring it on!
I have the same problem with a plant that looks like what you have. I wonder if it's cosmos too? Does it have a yellow orange flower head?
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks wonderful. I can't wait to start my knitting class.
You need to pretend you WANT the cosmos!!!! Then, it won't grow! That works all the time for me!
ReplyDelete:D
MamaPea, creepy Cosmos, I love it! I was thinking the same thing when I read about others having problems getting them to grow. I DID drink a glass of wine for you - and was hoping you got the chance to sit in your quilt studio for a spell!
ReplyDeleteSparkless, YES! They are probably the same, my variety has orange flowers (there are a zillion varieties), and mine get about 8-9 ft tall. Check this past post for pics of the cosmos in bloom and see if that's what you have: http://gardennow-thinklater.blogspot.com/2010/08/just-walkin-around.html
Sue, I may try that tactic LOL
Oh, I hope you had fun with your BFF. I like the Mad Housewife Merlot myself. Another favorite label wine was "Mommy's Time Out" but I haven't seen it around for a year or two. sigh...
ReplyDeleteJudy
I hate cosmos so much!! I grew them for the first time this year, and they grow like crazy bushes with very little flower to speak of. Hate hate hate them hahaha.
ReplyDeletehttp://nycgardening.blogspot.com/2010/09/new-york-tornado.html
That is so cool that you had wine and knitting girls get together. I love to do that with my girlfriends too. It's a lot of fun.