A Day of Surprises....

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Today was my first day in my garden…

It seems so, because I’ve been preoccupied with other things recently…but today was sunny, breezy, and moderately warm…and it just seemed to be the perfect time to leave the painting and fumes…leave the computer…and the dusting…and head outdoors to weed, water and enjoy a perfect day. And it has become a day of surprises and interesting discovery…
On the garden path I met two wild rabbits, (but no camera—rats! missed a good opportunity)…returned with camera.. rabbits gone…oh well) weeds are everywhere. there’s a spider’s work glistening with dew..but no spider.
….hmmm… there is something interesting growing on the fence… never saw anything like this before and I know I didn’t plant it….
I have a question, does anyone recognize this plant?….it looks like a curcurbit…trailing vine..lobed leaves…tendrils..but the flowers look like tiarella on a vine! very pretty white …like snow flakes…and when I looked closer…some very spiney fruit! wow!

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Perhaps someone can tell me the proper name of this cucumber or melon or could it be lychee fruit? (or however you spell it) It looks like an overgrown gooseberry cucumber~! so I cut it in half and have to admit it is definitely not a mature fruit…there don’t appear to be seeds yet and the flesh is spongey…and the reason I thought it might be lychee fruit is that about three summers ago I bought some fresh lychee to try…didn’t care for them and either did anyone else in the household so they landed on the compost heap….hmmm doesn’t say much for the heat of my compost…(it should have killed the seeds) but it’s only a theory of mine… what ever it is it’s a terrific plant and a happy discovery.

onyo

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rabbits, spiders and a new plant…this is becoming a great day! after giving the Acidanthera a good drink I decided to take a closeup of the blossom…just aimed, focussed and shot… waiiittt..what is that? A very green beetle was checking it out too! Looked like a green version of the red devils I pick off of my lilies! Oh heck…I hate having to go in and research before I squish..but what’s the chance that he’s the last of his kind?…err on the side of caution…squish now…ask questions later. The Acidanthera were planted in the front of the echinacea bed and seasonally, it’s heading toward Sept. and the Echi’s are starting to look a little dowdy…but when I looked closely at the pretty seed cones that were forming I had another surprise… it may be an insect induced gall or a fungal gall (it’s been abnormally wet this summer) or it could be spray drift damage… it’s growing right beside the fence with the snake on it!

and upon inspection there were other anomalies…check this one out:

This is an echinacea flower…but the central seed cone is dome shaped and where the petals should be there is a ring of flowerettes which have the same type of form…??? I know there is such a thing as spontaneous mutation…but…this doesn’t look natural in any possible way, as far as I’m concerned… has anyone seen anything like this?
so …on to happier discoveries…. planted a Sweet Million cherry tomato plant and it has become a monster… splording all over every other plant it has escaped it’s cage!! and is producing “billions and billions” lol..of lovely juicy fruit…what a joy!
I had the same luck with a little leopard frog in my pond as I had with the rabbits…by the time I got back with the camera he was gone!! so I took a pic of some lovely iris shadows…
I’m so glad that I planted asparagus…. wonderful eating and just love the ferny tops….http://media.growsonyou.com/photos/photo/image/108132/main/IMG_6225.jpg!

So it’s nearing sunset and the light is warm and the garden looks better for my efforts… so in spite of all the strange things I’m seeing, there is cause for optimism… I’m just blown away by the fact that it has almost completed the season without much work on my part!! Will be digging and transporting very soon…so it’s nice to just enjoy what’s there. Been researching a different type of garden for my next effort…a future blog perhaps. Cheers!

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• 26 Aug, 2009
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