Marigold 'Bolero'

'Bolero' marigold was introduced in 1970 and won an All-America Selections bronze medal the same year.  It had a trendsetting color at the time, their was nothing else like it.  It was the first marigold that had a gold splashed red coloration.  Today most of today's popular French marigold series have a 'Bolero' variety.  In fact 'Bonanza Bolero' was an All-America Selections winner in 1999.  The plants are large for a french marigold.  Mine resemble small shrubs 16" high by 18" wide.  It has gotten hard to find the original.  Mine came from Ferry Morse Seed who still have a good strain with only a very small percentage of red off-types.  I have had a very hard time getting a good photo of it.  The following are the best of my hundreds of attempts.

The bottom picture shows them as the star of pool bed #2.  This is the view from my kitchen window.

Next spring when your perusing the Ferry Morse Seed rack, pick up a packet and give them a try.

Harvest Monday- August 27, 2012

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions.  It's a great way to see what other bloggers are harvesting from their gardens.

The weather was some what improved this week.  I was able to get outside after work a few nights this week.

Bush beans, 'New Big Dwarf' tomatoes and 'Diva' cucumbers.

'Italian Dwarf Cherry', 'Black Cherry', 'Reisenstraube', 'Amy's Apricot' and 'Victor' tomatoes.

'Diva' cucumber and the first of the 'Lazy Wife Greasy' pole beans.

More tomatoes.

'Quadrati D'asti Giallo' pepper from seed supplied by Granny.

It's back!!!  'Cardinale', 'Redina' and 'Thai Oakleaf' lettuce.

The summer lettuce has had much less problems with bugs.  There was absolutely no bug damage!  The fact that it is all pot grown may help in this respect too.

My 'Bolero' marigolds in pool bed #2 are gorgeous.  The only problem is that my camera is horrible at capturing the color.  I've tried in sun, shade etc. and the blooms always look like blobs.  This picture is the best of the bunch.

Someday I'll take a great photo of them!

What a Surprise!

This spring I planted a few 'Cornell' morning glory seeds with among my pole beans.  I had forgotten about them till today.  This morning I was looking out the kitchen window and notices a gorgeous blue peering out from the foliage.  Apparently 'Cornell' crossed with another morning glory as this is the result.

I have not seen a blue this rich in a morning glory before!



I think that the reddish throat makes the bloom that much more interesting.

Zinnia 'Bon Bon'

I've always been a sucker for any flower that is striped.  When I read the description of this zinnia on Baker Creek Seeds website I was intrigued as the description was brief and there was no photo.

From the website:  "New! Dahlia-flowered variety in a range of zinnia colors.  The petals are exquisitely colored, often having two colors running the length of each petal. Height is about 30 inches. Great for cutting or for a veritable splash of color right in the garden."

I decided to to try them and was expecting a two tone blend.  Was I wrong!  There was not a range of colors, but these are the best striped zinnia's I've grown in years.  The plant habit is good, that tallest at about 36 inches.  They are well branched and floriferous for a large flowered zinnia.  They are extremely photogenic and make great cut flowers.

I will definitely be growing these zinnia's again, and highly recommend them if you are looking for something unusual for your garden.

Harvest Monday- August 20, 2012

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelion's.  Stop by and see what other bloggers have harvested this passed week.

'Diva' made her real debut this week.  Each time I went to pick the cherry tomatoes there was another 'Diva' waiting for me.

The humidity this week was very high.  It was to uncomfortable to even think of going outside after work.  Even picking this small amount was an effort.  It has finally broken and this should be a much more comfortable week,



Zinnia 'Cha-Cha-Cha'

A new variety for 2012 from Renee's Garden Seeds.  I received these as a gift for entering their 2011 photo contest.  The description sounded good as it was touted to be a shorter type in mixed colors.  I started them at the end of may and planted them along my front walk in mid June.  They quickly took off and have been exactly as advertised.

 Description from the website.  "Cha-Cha-Cha's fully double bright blossoms will illuminate your garden all season in festive hues of deep red, gold, cerise, orange, yellow and rose.  Pick these free flowering beauties often for instant bouquets.  Easy to grow, these zinnias produce large richly colored flowers on shorter 2 to 2-1/2 foot stems, perfect for low borders, garden beds or containers.  best of all butterflies are drawn to Cha-Cha-Cha's masses of joyous colored flowers from dawn to dusk."

The colors are bright and vibrant, the red is particularly attractive as is the bright pink.  The butterflies do flock to it.  Yesterday I was watching a cloud of skippers flitting from bloom to bloom.  The plants ahve food structure amd have not yet reached 24 inches tall.  The plant structure also has a certain grace not found in taller zinnias.  The colors for me are bright red, bright orange, deep pink, plum, peach and yellow.  The pictures do not do the colors justice!

I will be growing these zinnia's again and would recommend them to anyone who is looking for a good mixture of mid height zinnia's.

Harvest Monday- August 13, 2012

Harvest Monday is hosted by Daphne's Dandelions.  Stop by her site and see what other bloggers are harvesting from their gardens.

The 'Ambition' shallots finished curing and were trimmed.

The bean harvest has slowed down,  The heat has caused a lot of the blooms to drop.  Once the weather cools down a bit, the pole beans should be loaded with pods.

The cherry tomatoes are starting to come fast.  'Black Cherry', 'Amy's Apricot' are really starting to come fast.  The first 'Reisenstraube' are starting to turn.  The larger tomatoes are 'Victor' and 'Silvery Fir Tree'.  This week also saw the first 'Diva' cucumber!

There were more tomatoes harvested this week, they were eaten as soon as they were brought into the house.

Today in the Garden- August 11, 2012

There's not much going on in the garden right now.  The frantic planting is over, expansion of the potager is on hold due to the heat.  Right now it's maintenance, watering and harvesting.

Pool Bed #2 is coming into it's own.  The marigolds and zinnias that replaced the lettuce and escarole are in full flower.  The peppers are starting to turn color and the basil is huge.  One disappointment has been the 'Sonata Mix' dwarf cosmos.  It is dwarf, but it seems to flower late.  It is just beginning to produce lots of buds.

View from the second floor deck.

View from across the pool.

Marigolds 'Janie Primrose' in full flower and 'Bolero' just coming into bloom.

'Bon Bon' striped zinnias.

'Sonata Mix' dwarf cosmos just coming into bloom.

'Siam Queen' Thai basil.

'Red Marconi' pepper, seed from Granny.

'Janie Primrose', 'Bolero' marigold with 'Purple Ruffles' basil.

The lettuce pots are doing great.  The summer mix is ready to pick and the 'Thai Oakleaf' is growing fast. 

'Summer Bouquet' mixed lettuce.

'Thai Oakleaf' lettuce.

A baby butter head lettuce.

This week I did harvest my first 'Diva' cucumber!

Harvest Monday- August 6, 2012

Harvest Monday us hosted by Daphne's Dandelions.  Stop by her site and see what other bloggers are harvesting from their gardens.

This was one of the best weeks harvest wise so far this summer.

Clockwise from the top left, 'Cornetto Largo Verde', 'Greencrop', 'Cherokee' and 'Velour' beans.

'Silvery Fir Tree', 'Victor', 'Black Cherry', 'Amy's Apricot' and 'Italian Dwarf Cherry' tomatoes.

Pole beans and mixed tomatoes.

Volunteer tomatoes and mixed beans.

'Cherokee' and 'Purple Queen' beans.



'Victor' tomato, 'Primero' cabbage, 'Quadratti D'Asti Gialo' peppers and 'Greencrop' beans.

 The shallots won't be included until next week after they have had their preliminary curing.

The bean harvest was well over two pounds this week.  'Greencrop' and 'Cherokee' are tied as the most productive bush beans.