Wordless Wednesday: From not quite ripe to gone overnight...

Foliage Follow-up: New Spring Growth

What's impressing me most in terms of foliage right now is the fresh spring growth on some of my deciduous plants.  The Japanese maples, in particular, can't be ignored.  I acquired 2 new Acer palmatum in February.  At the time of purchase, they both looked like sticks.  One month later, they're fleshing out nicely.

Acer palmatum 'Mikawa Yatsubusa' in mid-February

"Mikawa Yatsubusa,' planted in my new backyard bed, photographed yesterday

Close-up of leaves on 'Mikawa Yatsubusa'

Acer palmatum 'Purple Ghost' at time of purchase

'Purple Ghost' one month later, planted in my side yard

The coral bark maple I planted in March 2011 is running a little behind the 2 new trees but its first new leaves began appearing last week.  The light green leaves stand out against the coral bark.

New foliage on Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku'

However, the most exciting discovery was that the Itoh peony I planted last May has produced new foliage.  More Itoh peonies have recently appeared in the local nurseries, tempting me with their fat buds despite their hefty price tags.  So far, I'm resolved to ignore their charms until I see whether the peony I've already got blooms for me this year.

Fresh foliage on Paeonia 'Keiko'

I'm afraid that the tree peony I planted in 2011 is still a stick, albeit a stick with tiny pink buds.

Honestly, the plant is almost invisible in my front border

I'm not holding my breath over the prospects of the tree peony but, just this past week, I added another peony to my limited collection.  This one hails from the Mediterranean region and isn't supposed to need the winter chill peonies generally prefer.  It arrived from Annie's Annuals & Perennials in a 4-inch pot so it may be a year or more before its charms can be assessed.  (You can find a photo of it in bloom here.)

Newly planted Paeonia cambessedesii (aka Majorcan Peony)

In response to our recent rain, my grape vine has also produced pretty green leaves.  At this stage it seems possible to believe that maybe, just maybe, I'll get some grapes before those dastardly birds and squirrels strip the vine clean.

Grape vine climbing the arbor my husband built to support it

These are my contributions to the monthly foliage follow-up hosted by Pam at Digging.  Please visit her blog to see her foliage picks this month and find links to other gardeners' selections.

Wordless Wednesday

Corn! (And an update on a supporting cast of fruits and vegetables)

As described here, vegetable gardening is a relatively new experience for me.  My former garden was too small and too shaded to allow me to grow much of anything edible.  Now that I have a dedicated area designed for this purpose, I'm trying out all sorts of herbs, vegetables and fruits, although most of my selections are fairly mundane.

What could be more mundane than corn?  Yet, as I've never grown corn and didn't imagine that I could grow it even in this new garden space, corn is exciting!  I put in seedlings from a 6-pack container in early June, half-expecting that they'd immediately die or just lay there not doing much of anything (like my peppers).  Instead, in a month, the corn stalks have grown from some 6 inches tall to 55 inches tall.  (Yes, I got out a tape measure.)  Tassels are emerging.  For the first time, I'm imagining that these stalks could actually produce real corn.  The stalks are even pretty, especially with the light shining through.

This picture was taken a few days ago - the tassels are already much further developed

The green pole beans are also growing like gangbusters.  Put in from seed just days before the corn was planted, the vines have already reached the top of the 6 foot high support structure.  No sign of any beans yet, though.

I thinned the beans a little after this picture was taken but they may still be a little crowded

While the basil plants are finally beginning to fill out, the few peppers my 3 plants have produced are still stunted.  Too little fertilizer?  Not enough heat yet?  The peppers were late to develop last summer too.

These green peppers turned red while I was waiting for them to achieve their predicted size

My Rumex, grown as much for its ornamental appeal as for its use as a salad green, also remains puny in size, while otherwise appearing healthy.  It's supposed to be kept evenly moist so the periodic disruptions in my watering schedule may be accountable.

Rumex 'Raspberry Dressing' (aka sorrel or dock)

Meanwhile, the lemon cucumber is producing more cukes than we can use.  The leaves are badly disfigured but that doesn't seem to affect production.

The squash has been slow to develop but it looks as though it's picking up speed.

Based on this photo, it also appears that some leaf miners I hadn't noticed may be working on a couple of leaves

The plum tomato is beginning to pump out tasty fruit but the larger-fruited variety, planted late, is just getting started.

Just one unripe tomato so far

Despite periodic interventions on my part, the squirrels managed to strip the blueberry plants on the back porch; however, it seems that they've yet to discover the strawberries.

There were more strawberries here than shown - I ate about half of them while picture-taking

Unfortunately, the lone ripe plum was sampled by birds (or squirrels) and left to wither on the ground.

The grapes are ripening and there's no sign of pillage yet.  Maybe the bird scare tape is working.

'Red Flame Seedless' grape

On the citrus front, the lemon tree is still producing its continuous supply of fruit.  There are a few Mandarin oranges left at the top of the tree, where I can't readily get to them.  The naval orange is developing new fruit but it's months from ripening.  The lime tree is also developing fruit.

What new and exciting edibles do you have on the way to your table?

Grapes!

For an extended period this spring, I was preoccupied with family concerns and paid little attention to my garden.  In that period, certain things got away from me.  My fruits and vegetables probably suffered the most from my inattention.  Despite my neglect, the 'Red Flame Seedless' grape seems to be doing just fine.

The grapevine has overwhelmed the trellis my husband constructed for me last year

I should have tied the vines up against the top of the trellis as they lengthened but I wasn't paying attention

Still, the grapes are looking pretty happy, aren't they?

The grapes are nowhere near ripe yet but, given the volume of fruit, I'm hoping that at least some of these will make it to our table this year.  Last year, the birds and other critters got what little fruit there was.  I've tied "scare tape" to the trellis in a possibly vain attempt to discourage the birds this year.

I haven't had much luck so far keeping critters away from other fruit in the garden.

I think this squirrel knows I've caught him in the act

And he doesn't care one bit!

This ballsy squirrel didn't run off until I came within 2 feet of him this morning.  But the blueberries are producing heavily right now so there was enough for both his breakfast and mine - today, anyway.

What do you suppose will happen to the strawberries when they ripen?

Or the few plums the 'Santa Rosa' tree has managed to produce?

I've asked my engineer/scientist husband to put his creative talents to work to devise a system to protect my fruits and vegetables that isn't hideous; however, he's also been preoccupied with other concerns so I don't expect anything in the way of a solution from him in the near term.  I'd like to construct a screened framework all around the vegetable garden but that's probably not practical.  The former owner of our property wrapped the fruit trees in netting but, after rescuing a trapped hummingbird from that mess last year, I pulled it all out.   In my view, it detracted from the beauty of the garden, as well as making it difficult to harvest anything.  Any ideas?  What's worked for you?