02-12-2017 Summer day in spring!

As I write, it is 82°; three years ago today we were going through a major (by local standards) snow event.

Today flowers started blooming in earnest:

Those girls are happy to see the sun and to get fresh pollen!

11-04-2016 Winter garden and some plant confusion.

We haven't had any rain since the hurricane but, temperatures being a little cooler (some of the days), things don't look bad in the garden.

In a normal year, frost would already have devastated all of our summer colors but, right now, they're all hanging on.

I finally filled my last raised bed last week (What am I gonna do for fun  from now on?) and all beds are planted/sown with some really promising greens...some we have tasted already like the baby kale, cutting lettuce, onion tops, new parsley and even one small endive.

On the confusing side, the long summer drought followed by heavy hurricane rain (7 1/2 inches here!) has caused some of my neighbors' azaleas to re-bloom and one of my irises to confuse November with March.

Dew is a little heavy on this baby dill

Kale

Pineapple sage

Last bright colors of fall

09-25-2016 Season change

Pineapple sage

Wrapping up the end of summer crops with some eggplants, peppers, a couple of tomatoes and some late bush beans.

Started my winter crops and already eating some baby kale while waiting for my escaroles, endives, lettuce and beat to do some growing.

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Rain the last couple of days has saved us from that drought/heat combination.

09-04-2016 Rain at last!

After a whole month of high temps and NO rain whatsoever, Hermine brought us a little relief in the form of a drizzly day on Friday followed by a wild night, based on some damage, but I apparently slept through that part. In any case, by the morning, I had some extra clean up to take care of and a couple of inches in the rain gauge. Happy for all these poor plants out there!

Needless to say, that heat/drought combo has brought the garden production down to very little.

One surprise nonetheless a small banana flower:

08-14-2016 Hotter than hot!

I have not posted much the last few days because even taking pictures is no fun when the humidity and heat combined make you feel like butter in an oven.

That heat has brought out the best in our tomatoes but even those plants are now showing serious signs of heat exhaustion. The only ones faring well through it all have been the eggplants and, now, the figs; nothing bothers them!

While I am used to working out in that heat, the last few days have tested my resilience and I have turned my afternoons into reading sessions rather than garden work or walks.

The good thing is that in another four weeks, temps will slowly go down to a civilized level again and, as I flip my (paper) calendar, I see something that says:"Autumn begins". There is hope after all!

Since gardeners always live in an alternative time zone, I have started some of my winter veggies; I just hope I don't get fried kale before the plants actually mature.

Kale

Spinach

Lettuce