Mixing it Up

In my small yard there is a little kitchen garden which was planted last fall with broccoli, tomato, green pepper, green onions, garlic chives, basil and swiss chard. In February red potatoes, cherry tomatoes, bush beans and sugar snap peas were added to this little plot of ground. This month two blueberry bushes will be enclosing one side of the garden, plus I'll add a few peanut plants when the broccoli is finished.

But because the area is small I mix my bigger plants like collards and kale, plus some additional bush beans into my sunny perennial bed. I love the different textures and leaf colors and sizes that they add to the mix of flowers.

A no-fail daylily from my late stepfather is always a welcome reminder of him. He would be happy that his daylilys continue on and that we are enjoying them.

Another Georgia collard green is tucked in among the mealy cup sage, sun impatien and the black-eyed Susan.

The frame from an outdoor table umbrella has been re-purposed (my mother's idea) as a trellis for green beans and cucumbers. Mom was right ~ it works perfectly and looks nice, too!

An ornamental pumpkin that I sat next to the compost bin last winter has sprouted with wild abandon. It was taking over the plants, so I slipped it up through the fence posts. It did, however, give me the idea that I could use the fence as a trellis to grow other vining vegetables in the future.

The squirrels have helped to disburse the seeds throughout the garden, so it is coming up everywhere. I love the large leaves and the look of it draped over the fence, and will be sad to see it go. There are some small little pumpkins developing but they quickly turn brown and die. Hopefully, I'll get a couple of them that I can use this autumn for decoration.