Sunflowers

In our backyard, I planted some sunflower seeds.  This picture is what they look like in my backyard right now.  The largest one is getting ready to bloom.  It has amazed me to watch it grow.  I simply planted about 10-15 seeds in the dirt.  The stalk on the largest one is probably an inch and a half in diameter.  It is probably at least 6' tall--it's taller than me!


The rest of my garden has had mixed results this summer.  I planted the wrong beans--bush, not pole beans, so I didn't use my space wisely by my trellis.  My zucchini plant died as did my cucumbers.  My tomatoes have many on the vines, but they are taking time to ripen.  The small ones are ripening fine, but the larger ones are getting a bit of rot on the bottom--a common malady for tomatoes so I need to look up how I need to treat that tomorrow.  My raspberry plants are growing, but they won't bear fruit until next year.  My basil is doing well, but not thriving.  We've had a few banana peppers and jalapenos which My husband has enjoyed.  I haven't pulled up any of the onions yet, but plan to soon.  

A few things have surprised me in my garden this year.  First, I thought my garden got more sun than it does.  Second, I need to plan on the area in front of my deck only being for flowers.  We have to coat it in waterproofing finish each summer because we get so much snow and rain so those chemicals aren't good for vegetables right in front of it.  Third, I need to plant more lettuce and get seeds for spinach to plant in the middle of summer to harvest in the fall next year. By the time I had thought about it, the seeds were all gone at the stores.  Gardening involves a lot of planning ahead!  Fourth, I miss the pole beans I planted last year.  I loved watching them climb the trellis as they grew.  I really love watching plants grow--as much as I like eating the vegetables!  Fifth, gardening is a lot of trial and error.  

This is a picture of one of the small sunflowers that has already bloomed.