Pumpkins

My garden was nearly a total bust this year. The herbs were strong, and we had a bounty of green beans and sugar snap peas, but the the rest... not so good. The tomatoes got late blight which happened in most of the northeast. (Late blight was what caused the potato famine in Ireland way back when.) Everything else was pretty unproductive. This was mostly due to an over-abundance of rain, a cold summer and not enough sun.

I had about eight pumpkin plants but only had two measly pumpkins... one green one slightly larger than a softball and one greenish orange about the size of a cantaloupe. These were not jack 0'lantern material, so today we went pumpkin shopping.

We could have gone to any area supermarket to buy them, but we wanted a fun experience, and we wanted more hot cider and cider donuts, so we went back to Wellwood Orchards where we did our apple picking.

Pipsqueak, my fashion maven, informed me that she wanted to wear orange and green this morning so she'd coordinate with the pumpkins, and she pulled out the pumpkin hat I made for her.

She wasted no time choosing a large one for me to carve and smaller one for her to carve. (We won't be carving until a couple of days before Halloween though.) She pulled the wagon holding our pumpkins, 1/2 peck of apples and a 2 year old local cheddar cheese to the car.

I rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion. - Henry David Thoreau

United States Botanic Garden - Washington D.C.

The United States Botanic Garden features a 40,000 square foot greenhouse which contains over 60,000 plants. Established in 1820 and open to the public in 1850, it is one of the oldest in North America.

The greenhouse is divided into several areas....

The orchid room.
World deserts where I adored this Old Man Cactus.
These tulips were in the Children's Garden, where kids could actually dig in the dirt and water plants with supervision.
This view is from the catwalk around the top of the jungle room.There were also areas of primeval garden, medicinal plants, and rare and endangered species. I snapped a lot of photos, but I'll share a few favorites.

Happy Flowers

I love sunflowers. They're so sunny and happy and large. When everything else is the garden is looking all depressingly shriveled and brown, they stand up tall and say, "Look at me! Aren't I pretty? I don't let a little chilly air bother me."

I planted over 100 sunflower seeds behind my vegegable garden this spring. Only 17 or so germinated. It might have been that year-old seed I used or some anti-germinating weather phenomenon. Next year, I'll start them in trays inside. I want a little slice of Italy back there. A few years ago, we visited Tuscany and saw acres of sunflower fields... happiness and cheer as far as the eye could see.

So here is a little happiness for you... no side effects... no unpleasant aftertaste.

Neglected Harvest

This is what happens when I don't look to see what's ready in the garden for a few days this time of year. Salad, anyone? Looks like those cucumbers have gotten a hold of some sort of growth hormone, but I swear their organic. Looks like my dream of more pickles is about to come true.

Pipsqueak says she "loves farm-fresh food". It can't get any fresher; it was only picked two minutes ago. She won't let a temporary dental handicap get in her way.

What is this yellow thing growing in my pumpkin patch? Pumpkins start green and turn orange as they mature. This thing has been yellow from the start and it's now about the size of a cantaloupe. Mutant garden mysteries... gotta love'm.