Here’s what’s going on in my patch of land in northern New England as of 31 July (or really, 1 August) 2016:

It’s raining as I write, and we got soaking rain on Friday night, too. Temperatures yesterday and today are topping out in the low 60s. It actually feels odd not to set aside an hour to water my garden every day; I think the last time I did was five days ago.

The down side to not watering daily is that I am not noticing the garden’s activity as closely. When I took a swing around the garden this morning (in the rain), I found a couple of huge yellow squash that weren’t there, at all!, last week.

I also harvested a bunch of smaller squash, a healthy batch of green beans, and a few tomatoes.

I’ll get the garlic in when the rain stops in a day or two. One happy surprise: an actual cucumber on the vine!

Of course, the most abundant of my edible plants is one I didn’t plant, a gourd of some sort that sprang up again next to the compost. It’s not taking up valuable real estate, so I let it be, curious to see its fully fledged fruits. (It is starting to block the gate, which is making me a bit nervous about its intentions.)

On to the rest of the photos, taken in the last week or so. Let’s start with the veggie garden this time:

VEGETABLE GARDEN

Squash, tomatoes, green beans, arugula, basil, and chard are all harvestable. Scarlet runner beans are starting to flower, and the cosmos from last year re-seeded everywhere. The butterfly mix is starting to bloom, beginning with annual bachelor’s buttons.

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SIDEYARD

Both part of and apart from the vegetable garden … Right now, asclepias incarnata (a kind of milkweed) and crocosmia (a bulb that’s come back strong each year since planted in 2013) are stealing the show, but echinacea, vervain, bee balm, and phlox are all shining, too.

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SHADE GARDEN

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BACKYARD

It’s all about the veronicastrum (culver’s root) right now. Coming soon: Joe Pye weed.

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SUNROOM BORDER

Mostly ornamental except for sage, lavender, thyme.

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FRUIT GUILD

The two semi-dwarf ‘Red Haven’ peaches have no fruit this year, but last year’s self-seeded fennel is going strong, and the four Asclepias incarnata plants (a milkweed) are just starting to bloom.

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FRONT YARD

Mostly ornamental, with two blueberries, some culinary oregano and thyme. The hostas, bee balm, and geraniums are up to bat now.

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And this lovely slug on the door mat yesterday:

Come back in August!

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“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.” — Iris Murdoch