Garden Glimpses : Late May 2009

One of the great things about gardening is that every day, there is something new to discover. Lately I have been too busy during the week, so doing major gardening (mostly weeding) sessions on Saturdays. But I try to get outside every couple of days to at least walk about and see what is new. This evening did not disappoint.

A number of plants have seeded themselves among our stone-faced steps and gravel pathway which connects the lower yard to the upper yard. I pull the ones which look out of place or are too weedy, but have left some where they fit in nicely. This one found a very cozy and natural-looking spot:

I plan to relocate these weedy daisies when they are finished flowering, but even these "common" flowers add some charm to the pathway:

This tricolour honeysuckle is filling in nicely against our cedar fence, and it loaded with blooms this year:

I discovered that the rhodo which is tucked in the corner against the shed, now almost hidden behind the Italian Plum tree, is just coming into bloom:

I found the first bloom of the year on my white iris, a treasured gift from my friend Irene:

The first flower has appeared on my tomato plants. I have 2 "sweet 100" and 2 "sweet 1000" tomatoes this year. So if all goes well, I guess I can expect approx 2,200 fruits:

My climbing hydrangea, which started as a tiny shoot less than 5 years ago, and now completely covers its concrete retaining wall, has finally shown 2 flower heads (umbels, I guess?) this year. Not that I was anxious about flowers, since the twisty vines in winter and the lush foliage in summer is more than enough to earn its spot in the garden:

I don't have the name of this orange flower handy, but its yellow relative grows as a native weed in this area, some of it just beyond my fence on the ravine side. I sure do like this cheery orange version, though:

The smoke tree is getting ready to smoke:

There were lots of fruits to discover also, such as these Bartlett pears. I am amused by how they grow "upside down" until they get heavy enough for the fruit to drop to the orientation I'm used to seeing pears in:

The espalier trees always perform well with fruiting, mainly due to all other growth being so restricted, the tree has nowhere else to expend its energies other than into producing fruit. This is one of our espaliered apples:

...and espaliered asian pears:

I try to thin the espalier fruits to only 1 per clump, and even then that may be too dense, I should probably thin more aggressively, and try for one fruit every 4 inches.

I started grapes against the shed a couple of years ago, and they are really filling in nicely this year:

And for the first time ever, I see lots of tiny grapes forming:

The Italian plum tree, which bore 5 fruits last year, seems to have dozens of tiny fruits, hiding among the leaves (and hard to photograph well):

But the biggest and most exciting surprise tonight, which prompted me to call my husband and kids out to see for themselves, was our peach tree. Do you remember how we just got the peach tree last year, and it played dead for a long while after it was planted? Then this year, it showed that single flower? Well, that single flower has produced a tiny, fuzzy peach! It is so small, you still need to use your imagination on this one, but it is for sure a little peach!!: