Late July (an excellent chip and cracker brand)

While I'm expecting great things from the melon family this year, a number of other things just didn't do so well.  I can't blame them.  Spring was unseasonably cool, and the early summer was way too wet.

The onions made a poor showing.  I don't think the cool spring  hurt them, but with the deer pruning and the soggy summer soil, they haven't grown very large.  They still taste good, but they're quite small.

The two 'German Johnson' tomato plants I ended up with really had problems with the weather.  They're producing fruits that are a bit smaller than previous years, but the plants are only half as tall, so I'm assuming I'll get maybe half the yields.  And, because I mislabeled my tomato plants this year, I only have two plants.  😢  That's going to severely limit my BLT season.

The plant in a cage is only reaching halfway to the top.

Last year at this time, they reached the tops of the cages, and this is how the fruits looked:

There are no clusters this year.  Last year, they were all growing in clusters.  

I recently planted a row of tatsoi along side my row of  'Calima' bush beans.

You don't see the beans, do you?  That's because rabbits stripped every single one of the leaves last night.  They left the stalks:

The ears of the 'Striped Japonica' ornamental corn that didn't form husks nevertheless are forming a few kernels. 

That kernel near the top looks a little smutty, and while some cultures consider smut a delicacy, I believe I'll pass.

Happily, there are still some flowers doing well enough that I can make a few bouquets.

'Grande Amore' red roses, cactus zinnias, globe amaranth, 

butterfly milkweed and greenery from baptisia and crapemyrtle

While the Japanese beetles are the only insect pests I have to control, they aren't the only insects in the garden.  The striped monarch caterpillars are fattening up on the butterfly milkweed (their only food source).

And I spotted this lone milkweed leaf beetle the other day.

Fancy, eh?

Until next time, stay safe.

Hibiscus - unknown variety

P.S.  Speaking of tomatoes (and flower parts from the previous post), here's a good video from GrowVeg.  All of the GrowVeg videos are excellent, so you might want to subscribe, which you can do from the link at the end of the video, by hovering over the icon image of Ben in the upper left corner of the video, or by clicking the red subscribe button on the web page.