Our garden has really grown in the past week, so I trimmed my olive tree, because some branches started growing toward the ground; I brought a few branches in for the table. Last week there was some warm weather, and then some cooler temperatures, breezes, and rain, and then the tomato plants started to lean and now the lettuce bolted.
Here are some red cherry, grape tomatoes, and two purple tomatoes. The purple tomatoes begin to turn red when they are ready, and they are bigger tomatoes than the grapes and cherry, but not traditional sized tomatoes. We make caprice salad with tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and pistachios. We also make lettuce and tomato sandwiches.
And, there are hundreds of purples on two plants.
I can't see what is going on up here, but there is definitely a nest, because they are making a racket. They were also smart enough to build away from the cats, but mine wear bells.
This is a photo of the lettuce about a week and a half ago, and here it is now below.
The peaches on the tree have also changed color, and they will be ready sometime in May. Earlier this year, I removed 25 percent of them, but maybe I should of removed more. I'm not sure how big they will be.
Oh, and here is my meadow, a bed that I planted as a mini meadow. It keeps blooming with different layers of color.
The late afternoon and the early evenings are really pretty.
Just a photo of a box that my daughter brought out into the yard for collecting. I've been working on a project in the potting shed that will probably just involve paint and rearranging, but my spouse and I have at least cleaned out all the clutter that accumulates. That alone was an accomplishment!
Thank you for visiting.
I love all your photos but I especially love the idea of your meadow. I am planning to copy it, hope you don't mind :) Beautiful blog.
ReplyDeleteLorri
Thank you, Lorri. Not at all. I grew the wild flowers in the bed, because after a couple of years of sowing the seeds on the ground, I realized that they could not grow in the caliche. This was a whimsical project, and so I am completely delighted by the result. xoox Su
DeleteThank you, Lorri. Not at all. I grew the wild flowers in the bed, because after a couple of years of sowing the seeds on the ground, I realized that they could not grow in the caliche. This was a whimsical project, and so I am completely delighted by the result. xoox Su
ReplyDeleteOh Su, would like to sit in your garden - with my eyes and my mouth open! So beautiful and ready to harvest!!! Fantastic. Love this place!
ReplyDeleteAll my best
Elisabeth
Thank you, Elisabeth. Harvest comes so early here, but twice. We finish up the end of June and start again in September, though the tomatoes will go for most of the summer. Tomatoes seem to like the heat. I remember last July we were in Tirol and when it neared August there were trees that started to overhang the paths with fruit.
DeleteBeautiful garedn! So many plants, this is great :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rory. I have a lot of fun with it. xoxo Su
DeleteSu - your garden and flower beds are just gorgeous. What a delight to walk out there and see all of the fruits of your labor. Just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteJudy
Thank you, Judy. I really enjoy it, and the beds make it supper easy. xoxo Su
DeleteYour garden has grown! Peaches are my favorite fruit so your tree looks heavenly to me. I want to plant a peach tree, but we are trying dwarf nectarines in huge pots first. So far, they are thriving. I am always sad when our lettuce bolts like that because I do not think it tastes very good anymore. Your tiny meadow is so sweet and has inspired me to plant one. My hubby is going to build two raised beds in our front side yard where we will plant wildflowers. Isn't it wonderful to see your garden growing so full? Ours is still far behind yours but the snow peas are ready to harvest, tomatoes are green, and our roses are blooming.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kerrie. I don't think the lettuce is as tasty when it does that, but it's okay, if I pick the lower leaves. I can't remember how it compared to the grocery store. I've been picking lettuce for a couple of months now from the spring garden with a small break, because my winter garden froze and ended earlier than usual. Those two raised beds sound wonderful, and you should be able to control the water better. azplantlady.com has water ideas that we do in the desert that could be adaptable for there, though a lot of our plants won't grow that far north. Snow peas sound delicious. xoxo Su
DeleteIt all looks so beautiful and fruitful. You must put a lot of work into it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarah. I really enjoy it. I think the beds make it easier. I can control the water, and I don't have much of a weed problem. We don't have rabbits like at our other home, because the mountain is one busy street removed. There are no deer here. Coyotes are not interested in this stuff. xoxo Su
DeleteSo beautiful! and Blackie really plays to the camera, too!
ReplyDeleteHave a great night Su!
He wants attention as soon as I bring the camera out. He also walks under my feet as I try to make my way around! xoxo Su
DeleteEverything looks absolutely lush and beautiful, Su. Smart birds to build high...lol xo Diana
ReplyDeleteThank you. They are! The wrens that build in the cactus are amazing, but I don't see a nest this year. xoxo Su
DeleteOh Su your garden is what my day dreams are ... But living in Philadelphia, what can I say. I do have incredibly beautiful white with purple faced pansies out front. but OMG what beauty your garden grows.
ReplyDeleteNow Blackie is full of personality! Love him. How I envy your mini meadow - divine.
Xoxo,
Vera
Thank you, Vera. Blackie is a ham and in the middle of everything. I love pansies, and I am sure yours are pretty and welcoming.
DeleteSu your gardens look absolutely beautiful!! Beautiful photos!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Martina. I'm really enjoying gardening.
DeleteWows your garden looks great! I am jealous-I can't plant mine this year because of all the construction going on in my back yard!
ReplyDeleteThank you, DD. I went one year without one here, and I missed it so much, and all I had was a flowering one the last time. It really gives a lot of joy to work in it. I hope things in the yard are back to normal next year for you, but construction sounds exciting! xoxo Su
DeleteHave mercy, Su, your garden has come so far! I am truly jealous. As you know I have been working so very hard on mine and NOTHING quite like yours has come. Thank you so much for your advice and comment on my latest post. I have visited azplantlady.com as well! Thank you! Ooh, and purple tomatoes? Divine! xoxoxo Jen
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jen. I'm wondering, if at some point, you might need to build a bed or two because of the drought. But on the other hand, the soil is so much better there. Don't give up our season starts a little earlier here, and ends at the end June only to start again in September. I picked the purple tomatoes as seedlings at a nursery, and a few have ripened, and they are excellent too. xoxo Su
DeleteEverything looks so healthy and what a nice variety! I was enjoying all of your photos....and then I spotted the shell box. I love shell boxes. They are such intricate works of art. Yours is beautiful! Enjoy your week! Hugs, Diane
ReplyDeleteThank you, Diane. It is a pretty shell box. My daughter wants to find a plain box and try to make one herself. xoxo Su
Deleteomg. It is all so beautiful. You have the best veggie beds. I have been weeding away this week. Weeding and pruning. Perhaps when I have my front yard garden under control, I might be brave enough to start a veggie garden in the back.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Victoria. Fortunately the beds haven't had a lot of weeds, but we do get weeds in other places. We also have to prune a lot here because plants grow really fast, so I (((empathize))) with the amount of work you are doing. xoxo Su
DeleteI love the raised beds with the copper above them! Definitely looks like something that should be on pinterest :) So excited to see all kinds of pretty garden pictures of yours this summer!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Olivia, for such a sweet compliment. The copper is faux. We made it with pvc that bends secured to the bed with a fitting that secures electrical conduit. We took them out to spray paint them copper. Have a wonderful week. xoox Su
DeleteLovely, lovely pictures.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Barbara. I enjoy it a lot. xoxo Su
DeleteYou have a marvelous green thumb. I've come to believe after years of gardening that green thumbs are the result of hearts that nurture many things and sense the needs of their gardens. Your gardens are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteXo
Jemma
Jemma
Thank you, Jemma, for such a beautiful thought to ponder. Have a wonderful week. xoxo Su
DeleteOh Su, you have such a beautiful garden. Those purple tomatoes are gorgeous! And, I absolutely LOVE your kitchen sink and faucet, just FYI :) Blessings, Cindy
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cindy. I agree that the purple tomatoes are beautiful to look at in the garden. In regards to the sink, I love it because it so deep, and it hides dirty dishes. (I don't have a dishwasher. The kitchen is so tiny that it would take an entire cabinet or I needed to go with one drawer, which was too expensive. I couldn't justify that with only the three of us.) I wanted the sink to look like jewelry, sort of a nod to Navajo and Zuni jewelry, without looking southwest. I did soft agave grays, silver, and copper. xoxo Su
DeleteYour world is just amazing. I love to visit
ReplyDeleteThank you, I feel the same when I visit yours. That was a lovely way of putting it. xoxo Su
DeleteWow! Wonderful garden – and lovely Blackie :-) I love your blog. Vierka.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Vierka. Have a wonderful day. xoxo
DeleteI think I could sit in your garden for hours, just looking about, reading, relaxing and smiling.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carol. Likewise. Have a wonderful day, and I hope your hand is coming along in therapy. xoox
DeleteLovely photos, your garden always looks beautiful. You obviously have green fingers! It's amazing to me that you have peaches growing outside. No one in Ireland will ever grow a peach outside!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sweet Auburn. How come peaches don't grow outside in Ireland? Is it too cold? It seems like it would be a milder climate even though it is far north, it is surrounded by water.
DeleteDearest Su! What a gorgeous garden you have! I always love seeing pictures of gardens as I have green fingers myself and love to be inspired by my fellow gardeners:) Is there anything more beautiful than pretty flowers blooming in the flower garden...? Or little bean plants popping their heads out of the bare soil...? *So* exciting!
ReplyDeleteHappy gardening to you and much love!
Kelly-Anne
Thank you, Kelly-Anne. I agree. It is so much fun. Have a wonderful week. xoox Su
DeleteIn your garden there are so many and beautiful plants. It seems the paradise.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Alessandra
Thank you, Alessandra. It is really wonderful until it gets to warm in June, but we can start again in September. It gets 100+ almost every day until sometime in September. xoxo Xu
DeleteWow! Your garden looks fantastic Su!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Little Treasures. It gets warm here early so we get two growing seasons. February through June and September to December. xoox Su
DeleteEverything looks so delicious! The meadow bed is beautiful. We don't plant our garden until early May (because of weather).
ReplyDeleteLori from LL Farm
Thank you, Lori. We have two growing seasons due to the weather. This one will finish sometime in June, though the tomatoes will keep producing most of the summer. We can start again in September and go through December. xoxo Su
DeleteIt's such a beautiful garden, Su. We are still getting some snow and little green leaves are just now starting to appear. Things won't really take off here until July or August, so seeing your garden is truly a delight for me!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy,
Lin
Thank you, Lin. Your "summer" is short in contrast to ours which seems never ending. xoxo Su
DeleteSu,
ReplyDeleteYour garden is gorgeous. Love the meadow bed soooo pretty. We have another month or so here in the midwest before any planting can be done. It was fun to see your garden in full bloom.
Kris
Thank you, Kris. The meadow bed was so much fun, because I had no idea if the wildflowers would grow, because they had not grown in the ground. xoxo Su
DeleteThat is unbelievable! I cannot even begin to imagine having that kind of gardening talent!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jen, for visiting. I learned how to garden in California from my spouse's grandfather. But actually I started experimenting here in Az when I was kid, by cutting pieces off our cacti and collecting fallen pieces and rooting them to create a new plant. I have not quite mastered desert gardening, and I'm still learning, because it is a different climate than California. xoxo Su
DeleteHi, I can see that your Blackie and my Magic look like twins! Your photos are exquisite. I would love to have a lettuce/tomato sandwich. The purples are lovely. Hope you enjoy the afternoon.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mildred. It started out as a stray's kitten. We adopted him and fixed him, and he likes to be in the middle of everything. He has a brother, "Silver", who is much more mellow, and will lie on the chair opposite me when I rest in the yard. I have three adopted outdoor kitties and one adopted indoor kitty, and a toy poodle who thinks he is a cat. xoxo Su
DeleteOMG! I am in AWE!
ReplyDeleteAll we have here so far are apple tree blossoms, lilacs and dandelions!
I am SO HAPPY that I found your blog! You inspire me to get out there in my garden NOW!
and of course, I love your Blackie. :)
xo
Thank you, Cynthia. Blackie is a ham. You know, lilacs and dandelions don't grow in the desert. xoxo Su
DeleteI have never seen purple cherry tomatoes! The peaches had my mouth watering! Yum!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rose. I had to try them when I saw the seedlings. They are very easy to grow, and produce a lot of fruit, and the plants are bigger than my cherry or grape tomatoes. xoxo Su
DeleteYou have one of the most beautiful gardens of anyone I know....
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bj. That's so sweet. I do enjoy it. xoxo Su
Deleteyou have a fantastic garden! I miss our olive trees. Having grown up surrounded by them.
ReplyDeleteThe shape and color of them are so beautiful to me. It's one of my favorite trees, Daniela, unfortunately, I'm pretty sure mine won't bare fruit, because they can't plant the flowering ones anymore down in Tucson, so I don't think they are available to the rest of us anymore up here. I guess they have quite a bit more pollen than most other plants that bare fruit in the desert, and they are concerned about air quality.
DeleteWhat amazing garden beds! You must stay very busy all through the growing season.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Vee. I do, in the mornings, and late afternoon/early evening. xoxo Su
DeleteI just love your gorgeous garden. It is such a wonderful spot to relax and looks so peaceful. You have a green thumb and everything looks so lush and healthy.
ReplyDeleteLove your mini meadow of flowers. Thank you for sharing and inspiring.
Hugs, CM
Thank you, CM. That meadow makes me happy every time I see it. xoox Su
DeleteBeautiful gardens, and so full and lush, it's been very nice in the day, 60's but then still dips in to the high 30's at night. Can't wait till it evens out and my flowers come alive.
ReplyDeleteThat's some cold evenings, we might only get 2 or 3 nights a year when it goes into the 30s! xoxo
DeleteWow, your raised beds are true works of art! It will be a long time before veggies and fruit can grow here in our Mid western climate. Love your beautiful garden space!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Donna. My spouse built them, stained them, and made the arches. xoxo Su
DeleteOh my Su, what an incredible garden. You certainly have a green thumb. Just incredible to have such bounty in your own backyard.
ReplyDeleteLove that cute cat too.
hugs,
Janet
Thank you, Janet. It is so much fun to pick your own salad! She's funny. She thinks she owns the place, and if we have been away for awhile, she sits like that and puts one paw up to greet you. xoxo Su
DeleteYour garden is really charming and I love how you mixed flowers and vegetables and fruits!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI love that photo of Blackie. Such a face looking up at us. :-)
I love your garden. It is so beautiful. I would love to sit and have a cup of tea.
Your garden is so pretty, Su. I love The Meadow. I've made Caprice salad many times, but never thought of adding pistachios. Sounds interesting. Lettuce and tomato sandwiches are yummy. xo
ReplyDeleteHello Su,
ReplyDeleteYou have the most beautiful garden and yard! How nice to have veggies and lettuce to make salads! I love the flower garden too. Have a wonderful week.
Julie xo
Hi Su! Your garden is so impressive. I can't believe how little time it takes for lettuce to bolt! That is crazy. I love caprese salad. Simple food is really the best.
ReplyDeleteI know. It bolts really fast if there is a couple of days of greater than 90 degrees. xoxo Su
DeleteYou have a beautiful garden with lots of wonderful produce and sweet flowers to enjoy. I like the fact there are birds nesting high up in the palm tree and can imagine you working or relaxing in your garden where there are lovely touches with the garden ornaments here and there. I like the pretty shell box and I hope your daughter is able to make a similar one.
ReplyDelete