Summertime

Summer has finally arrived. It's been so nice to have more than a couple decent days in a row. My gardens have really taken off in the past few weeks and I've been enjoying the bright colors and sweet smells in my yard.

One good thing about our less-than-stellar weather is that I haven't had to ask anyone to care for the yard while we've been gone. It's not easy to find someone that I trust with my plants.

My pride and joy of 2011 has definitely been my hops. I've never grown them before and decided to give them a try this year. The Puyallup Valley used to be a big producer of hops so I knew they'd do well in this climate. I planted three rhizomes back in June and have really enjoyed watching the plants flourish. They are ready to be harvested and I'm thinking that some beer brewing might be in our future. I definitely plan on growing several more plants next year and am learning how to propagate new rhizomes from my existing plants.

This year I experimented with upside-down tomatoes and peppers. The pepper isn't doing well so I won't bother next year. The tomato plants look great but the tomatoes themselves are slow to ripen. I think it's more to do with the cool summer we're having as opposed to the growing method. I can't stand those ugly Topsy-Turvy bags so I used regular pots instead, and I planted purple petunias in the tops so they'd look pretty. The picture is bad.. it looks way nicer in person.

My pond is looking amazing. My goal has been to get things growing so tight that you can't see the ground, and I'm definitely succeeding with that. In fact, some of my petunias and nasturtiums really should be cut back but I haven't been able to make myself do it. The fish are thriving. The three koi I gave Chris last summer are 12-14 inches long and we've got two comets that are 14-16 inches each. We added five koi this summer and have about fifty smaller comets. The boys really like watching the fish and Owen helps me feed them.
I'm hoping that we have a nice September and October so my flowers can continue to bloom. Mother Nature owes us big time. I hate our short growing season and would do just about anything to move to a warmer climate. Chris isn't opposed.. it's just a matter of finding a decent job. Maybe someday! (I would LOVE to see him leave SPD and the icky people he works with.)