This Year's Gardens: Part 5

While watering the kitchen garden this morning, I stopped and yelled for Warren.

"A bean! A BEAN!" 

Cherokee Trail of Tears heritage pole beans

Warren came out of his shop and following my finger, then smiled. 

Indeed, a bean!

The garden is growing by leaps and bounds in some areas, by fits and starts in other. We are eating salads from the garden; the weather overall has stayed cloudy and cooler, so the lettuce has not burnt out. That's Black Seeded Simpson there that is filling our bowls:

Tomatoes are thickening on the vines, but nothing is ready. Last year, I picked the first ripe tomato on July 8. I am not even sure I will have a ripe one by July 18 this year. There will be a bountiful harvest at some point, but not yet.

The flowers and flowering plants are putting forth shows of color and variety, The cone flowers are in full swing:

The hostas are blooming too: 

And this is a Cup Plant, courtesy of our backyard neighbors. Dave brought me a planting last summer, warning me that it grows tall and likes to colonize, but right now it is behaving itself in its first year.

Bees love it; I will be trying to capture a few with my camera (no luck yet): 

The agastache, which we moved from the front bed to the back, is starting to bloom. It, too, is another bee-magnet throughout the summer:

And even the globe thistle is ready to join the show:

In the Hej garden, the zucchini are in blossom, but I am concerned about whether they are getting pollinated. Time will tell. And between the two gardens, the cruciferous plants in the kitchen garden (red cabbage, broccoli) are doing far better than the ones in the back (cauliflower and another type of cabbage). Something—insect, not animal—is having a field day on those in the Hej garden. I have no seen any insect movement on or around the plants, but something is clearly feasting. It happens.

Flowers, bees, almost ripe tomatoes, beans, and more. Life is good.