September Garden Goodies

So far, September has been spectacular. Although we could really use some rain and everything is getting dry, some parts of the garden and yard are still looking pretty good.

The tomato plants are brown and drying out from the bottom but there are oodles of beautiful tomatoes coloring up.  I love, love, love the cattle panel supports we invested in this year.  By weaving the tomato vines through the fence as they grew, the plants have had no trouble supporting a heavy burden of fruit.

In an effort to outwit garden thieves, we have resorted to picking the tomatoes at the first hint of  color. That strategy seems to be working - far fewer tomatoes are being munched and the  picked tomatoes ripen within a day or two to yummy red perfection.

The couple of cabbages that were not devoured by our mysterious night invader look fairly good, despite a few cabbage butterfly caterpillar holes.

Glorious Greens (beets, kale, chard),

pretty little sugar pie pumpkins,

clusters of cayenne,

and a riot of romas are  coming.

The dwarf Haralson apple tree Cadence planted in front of the granary last summer is bearing its first two fruits this fall, which are just starting to turn red.

Two morning glory vines have smothered the patio fence,

with the first few shy flowers peeking out. It is covered with buds, though, so will be truly glorious very soon.

Years ago, I fell in love with crocosmia growing wild along the Oregon coast and was so happy to find some for sale here that promise to be hardy to  -20F. I will mulch them heavily and cross my fingers.

The hyacinth runner beans have now formed vivid purple  pods, which I think may be even prettier than the violet flowers that tempted me to plant them.

We planted a few clumps of marigolds throughout the veggie garden, such as these by the celery. The hope was that the marigolds would deter pests, but whether they actually did that or not, they sure make even the scruffiest parts of the garden look more festive!