I mentioned in my post "Living Under the Eye of Mordor" that we had two types of sunflowers, and the smog storm killed one but not the other. Since then, the remaining half has endured some kind of repeated insect infestation leaving only four survivors. Three of them seem large enough to be resilient to the elements, and the other one is really trying but we'll have to wait and see. Even just one blossom is a success and we're not that far from the end of the season.
The snow peas were the other casualty of the smoke. They had produced at that point but should have lasted longer.
Tomatoes and bell peppers have been the most reliable, and we've done well with chives, parsley, and lettuce. We've been able to have some salads using only garden ingredients.
Our zucchinis have lived and stayed healthy, flowering continually but something keeps munching on them before they can do much. We've grown them before and had success, but this has just been a bad year.
As far as decorative plants go, the coleus have predictably dominated. The morning glories have just recently blossomed as well. I had two pots with two variants, one blue and one red, but both have produced red flowers! Don't know what happened there.
One thing that was kind of interesting about the morning glories was, they seemed to know where they were going as soon as they sprouted. Other climbing plants that I'm more familiar with, such as snow peas, cucumbers, and zucchini, kind of grope around blindly until they find something they can grasp. You can train them by moving their vines to more strategic vantage points, and they take the suggestion. But the morning glories all seemed to lean in the direction of our fence until they reached that intended destination, as if moving by sight as well as touch.
We have a large tree in the middle of our backyard, a linden I think. It casts a good deal of shade which might be limiting our garden. At one of the monthly community bakes, one of our neighbours suggested we try growing crops that do well with indirect light. She suggested broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. I really enjoy each of those, especially sprouts so it would be nice if it were true.
We also have a tree in our front yard that has caused some issues. It's a Manitoba Maple, which I've heard from a few people is considered a weed. Looking it up, they are considered pioneer species. Resilient in isolation, capable of growing fast, short in lifespan. Although I haven't heard people speak so unfavourably of other species that share those traits, such as birches, willows, and poplar.
But even the local plant expert, who has a pollinator garden and believes, generally, in leaving nature to its own devices said that this tree would be firewood if it were on his lawn.
It had grown so ferociously that it was encroaching on the neighbours' property, branches drooping into their driveway and threatening to knock against their car's windshield.
So I trimmed its lower branches, which I felt bad about. On observing me, I heard a mother reassure her child that "He's just trimming it, he likes the tree". I really hated seeing violence against plants when I was that age.
I told the Manitoba Maple, "Look, I'm only cutting your lowest branches. They're the least useful to you anyway. I know I'm not doing you any favours, but this will stop the neighbours from getting mad at you and is your best shot at continued survival".
Really, it had grown to an extent that I could do no meaningful damage with a pair of clippers. Young branches sprung out with a youthful green that bordered blue. In the end I had a hefty pile of branches that Lee-Anne is using as feed for our new composter.
Last year, our neighbour gave us some hostas. In my initial garden post, I said that I thought I could identify one of them. Since then I've confirmed six, one more than we planted. They're supposed to do well with indirect light, which was the thought behind the gift, but they've been pretty diminutive.
They have responded well to the new patch of light opened by the break in the Manitoba Maple's lower branches. Since trimming, the hostas have all been perkier. One that had been chewed down to nubs has produced new leaves and the largest of them has flowered! They're still not much when compared to a lot of the others seen around the neighbourhood, but its an improvement and maybe they'll do better next year.
Gardening aside, the wild turkey near my work has been sighted two more times! Lee-Anne and I went into the cemetery expressly to see if we could find it and we did. It's likely the same one
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