Flowers to Fruits

While I've been focusing on weeding, the rest of the gardens have really taken off with all of the sun and the light rains we've been getting.  It's good growing weather - and not just for weeds.

The yews are in bloom.  They don't have big showy flowers, just these little tubular blossoms all over the place that you probably wouldn't even notice if you were just looking at the hedge while driving by our bucolic manor.  But the bees really like them.

My DH rescued the yews a few years ago from an estate on the other side of the state.  He piled them in the pickup and on a trailer, lashed them down and brought them home.  We didn't know how much damage 55mph winds would do to a plant until that day.

They were sad looking specimens when we put them in the ground, but we did it anyway - the roots looked good.  We cut them back and fertilized them, watered them frequently and waited.  By the next spring they were as big as when he first dug them up - and now they are bigger than us.  They seem really happy in their new home and we enjoy the privacy and noise abatement that they provide.

The concord grapes are coming in now.  I won't let the amount of potential grapes fool me this year like they did last year.  Out of all of the possible grapes on this vine, I don't really expect to get more than a handful or two.  I could go ahead and cover them in netting to keep the birds out of them - upping the amount of grapes that we get.  In a way, though, it seems like I'm cheating the birds out of their fall treats.  I think that they look forward to the grapes as much as we do.  There's one little raven who stops by in the morning.  I'm pretty sure he's checking out the progress of the grapes as well.  I think that I'll share them with him this year.

The peas are doing well.  They are starting to produce a lot.  I think that I may go in there tomorrow and harvest them.  If I get a lot, I will blanch them and toss them in the deep freezer so we can enjoy them this winter in a stir fry or some such thing.  They're so good when they're fresh - so maybe we'll just enjoy them for dinner.  Maybe this is too big of a decision to make right now - I think I'll just wait until I harvest them before deciding anything.

After all, doesn't the saying go, don't count your pea pods until they're picked, cleaned and in the fridge?

And yes, I see the weed, thank you very much, I just didn't notice it until I saw the picture.  I'll add that to the list of weeds to pull.