Garden Update - Full-On Summer

Well, I know it is full-on summer here in Iowa. One reason I know this is because the hibiscus are in bloom!  Hardy hibiscus is my favorite perennial.  To me, no other plant blooms so long, so big, so beautifully as this.  You can see that I have several.  I am planning a post soon just about hibiscus.  I was surprised to see that the pink blooms are actually the size of dinner plates!

The plants are HUGE this year, and they got moved in April.  I can't imagine what they will be like next year after having a whole year to get settled in. 

Many other flowers and vegetables are taking off...here, cucumbers, green beans, and pattypan squash are bursting out of their beds.

Another blessing, and a problem, are the tomatoes.  I have a little rat maze tunnel that I follow around in there to get to all the tomato plants.  Only the cherry tomatoes are turning red now so far, with the exception of a couple volunteer tomatoes.  The plants are all almost as tall as me, and it is a little intimidating to be in there sometimes.  The squash has gone totally nuts, and it is trying to grow through the tomatoes, which is dragging them down.  I am torn between wanting to have lots of pumpkins and needing my tomatoes to be vertical so I can get in between them.  I have been cutting pieces out here and there just so I can keep a path open.

The lilies continue to bloom...they have been blooming straight since early June.

Soon I will have spaghetti squash to eat.  I have at least 10 of these little squash babies growing along the fence.  I will be lucky if the fence isn't dragged down the to the ground by the weight of all of them.

Here is another adorable pumpkin, about the size of a football.  I don't actually remember which kind this is.

I love this view into the garden on the spring end.  The lacinto kale looks lovely with the setting sun behind it.

The view from the northeast corner. I am kind of learning to love the messy, natural, wildness of it all.

This is the best year I have ever had for zinnias.  Sometimes I go out and look at each individual flower.  Each one is unique and stunning.  They have been attracting tons of hummingbirds and monarch butterflies every day. 

This is my latest project...putting wine bottles around my new lily section in the front yard.  The hardest part is getting the labels off the bottles.  I swear, I didn't drink all that wine all at once!  I will have to start drinking more wine, however, so I can do this border in other parts of my yard.