Cornelia makes a comeback -- and July's garden report

Last year, Cornelia the scarecrow was nowhere to be found in my garden. I can't recall why she wasn't there -- perhaps she sent her regrets for the summer season and I missed the memo. But she's back this year in a new (old) dress, and doing a fine job of watching over the snow peas, mostly, convincing the birds that other scarecrow-free gardens might be a better place to spend their time.

It started out as a strange garden year because we've had more rain than we know what to do with. This means that my roses have never been so happy. 

But vegetable-wise, it's been a slow start with a cooler than usual spring. My dozen broccoli plants have managed to produce a single, solitary floret. The snap peas are three feet high with hardly a blossom, and they're usually producing by now. The peppers have shivered and dropped their leaves for the most part, and I'm not sure the cucumber plants will ever get to the point of producing, as they're very small. The tomatoes are also in the process of deciding how much they might fruit. Not much thus far.

But I've already made this year's garlic scape pesto. I picked a goodly amount of haskap berries, and there will be lots of raspberries, it seems. My tobacco plants (for ceremonial purposes) are bigger than September's of last year, and the beans, beets, carrots, corn, lettuces and squashes may yet surprise me if the storms don't get any wilder than they've already been. See for yourself in the images below. And if you're in my neck of the woods, stop by for a garden visit! Coffee or other beverage of your choice, anytime!