Week 13 Beautiful flowers, delicious lunch

Cafe au Lait basking in the sun.

Two kinds of Asian pears.

I didn't get a photo of this once filled basket before lunch. This kind of tells the story. We loved these little open faced sandwiches with a cheese mixture, cherry tomatoes and torn basil.

These refrigerator pickles were so fresh and tasty.

Fresh, raw veggies ready to be dipped and crunched.

Double chocolate brownies. Yum.

The green and yellow zucchini and the yellow crookneck squash are loving this weather. They are producing like crazy. This is one of the crops we transport with our golf cart. They are not lightweight. 

Lemon cucumbers and slicing cucumbers also got a ride in with the golf cart.

Three varieties of potatoes were dug today. Red Pontiac on the left, All Blue at the top and Yukon Gold near the bottom. All are delicious.

Levi seems to enjoy being tickled by Alex.

Sun Sugar cherry tomatoes hanging out in the shade of the curly willow tree.

A mixture of mild, sweet peppers. Many colors.

A carrot, red peppers and zucchini being dipped in a yummy sauce. Thanks Anna!

Multicolored cherry tomatoes hiding in the dappled shade.

And one more. I couldn't decide which one so you are getting to see both. :)

Some of the large tomatoes are ripening.  The striped ones are Pineapple tomatoes. Their interior, when sliced across the wide part, look like the inside of a pineapple. One of Angie and my favorite tomatoes.

There are Yellow Brandywine, Green Apple and Amish Gold in this photo. 

Each harvest box will get a big and a little box of tomatoes today.

Lisa is surveying the situation. A temporary break from her bouquet making. And she does love tomatoes!

A few buckets of zinnias this week. Such pretty colors.

Three tables full of bouquets to choose from.

Pale bouquets, bright bouquets, tall ones, short ones. So many choices.

So many colors.

Spiky and frilly.

Flowers mixed with foliage, too.

Such soft pastels. Pale blue, fluffy white scabosia as well as fluffy pink asters. The tall arching pink flowers are called Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate.

This sherbet colored zinnia is a new variety. Almost looks like an ice cream cone.

A tall dark celosia is set off by the pinkish Senorita zinnias.

A bouquet of beautiful zinnias.

Lisa working on more behind these pale zinnias, blue asters and couple pink dahlia along with a tall foxglove.

Zinnias in front, blue statice in the back. All are in their water waiting to be chosen.

Bright yellow zinnias go well with bright yellow sunflowers, blue scabosia and blue delphiniums.

The contents of this week's harvest box.

Today's list of goodies.

See you next time on the blog.
Lorrie

Week 12 Sunflower abundance

Sunflowers come in different colors and petal lengths and sizes.

Alex just finished picking "Purple of Sicily" cauliflower. It looks like it matches her shirt.

The tall sunflowers are blooming their heads off (ha ha). The second planting of sunflowers are shorter and setting their first buds. This "succession planting" helps us spread out the harvest season. We do this with many other things we grow as well.

Lisa and a handful of Teddy Bear sunflowers.

Whenever she picks flowers they go immediately into buckets of cool water.

Lisa with a handful of sunflowers, Alex cutting cauliflower in the background. 

I finally took a photo of the zinnias before Lisa picked them. They are a thing of beauty.

These Moulin Rouge sunflowers are tall. They have a single row of ray petals that are fairly wide. Their chocolate colored center is unusual.

I am hoping this critter crawling toward the top of this sunflower is a "good guy".

These bright beauties are showing off in the sunshine. Narrow outer ray petals with a ring of short petals surround a greenish yellow center. These have a large center circle.

This bee seems to be sunbathing while it snacks. This sunflower has long outer petals that are inverted as well as short, ruffly petals around the center.

Broader petals facing upward are characteristic of this sunflower. It also has many branches instead of one tall stalk like old fashioned sunflowers. In the cluster of buds on these, the center bud will generally open first. The spiky buds are pretty cool.

This is a different type of sunflower with several bees on it. It also has many other surrounding buds. They will open and share their beauty over a period of time.

This sunflower has a green center.

This one's ray flower petals flare back from its shorter petals near the center.

Honey bees enjoy sunflowers, too.

Alex walking between the leeks and looking for broccoli below the yellow blooming broccoli flowers. Broccoli flowers are tasty, too.

Lisa is picking blue statice. She has sunflowers and white statice in her cart.

Angie and Rosa's daughter are picking peppers on the other side of the blue statice. Tomatoes grow through the red plastic mulch in the background.

Rosa picking peppers. The sound of the sprinklers in the background is soothing.

Anna made milkshakes with home canned plums. They are so yummy. Levi is getting his last drop!

I think he missed a couple drops! Sweetie pie.

Angie brought in a praying mantis. These are the good guys.

Up close and personal with a praying mantis. Such delicate feet!

A collection of today's cherry tomatoes.

Thyme already bundled for the boxes.

A few of our different kinds of eggplant.

Pepperoncini and Fooled You jalapenos, which aren't hot.

Rosa, Bryan and Grams, aka Mary, are counting out and bundling carrots.

Sometimes taste testing just has to happen.

Today's bounty.

Today's list of goodies.

A collection of yellow crookneck. Three different varieties. Different shades of yellow and different bumpiness.

Green and burgundy okra.

Red zinnias, eucalyptus, white statice flowers.

Purple asters, blue statice, white hosta blossoms and green Bells of Ireland.

Light blue delphinium, pale yellow statice and brown centered sunflowers.

Red zinnias and blue ageratum.

Blue asters are so fluffy with this gorgeous rose.

An old fashioned rose. Doesn't it look delicate?

A showy "Fireworks" aster.

Pale yellow zinnias with blue and salmon asters

Up close with a light pink zinnia. Each little petal unfurls slowly.

We planted a few old fashioned pink carnations from seed this year. They are fragrant and remind me of gardens from the past.

See you next time on the blog.
Lorrie