Yours 'til Niagara Falls

Products of a Chilly Season

My raspberry jam came out beautifully.  I was tickled pink to find this lovely zucchini in my garden.

My husband tells me that this is this region's coldest July in 65 years.  I sure hope things heat up a little around here.

Kitchen Garden

Early this spring I saw one of these at the store and I wanted it:

 

My husband checked it out and told me that in the long run it would be disappointing.  It's made of pine, not cedar.  That requires waterproofing every year and it will not last all that long even with good care.  This is what he ended up making for me:

 

I am thrilled!  The wrought iron sections are recycled from a gazebo that had a ruined canvas canopy.  The timber used to create the raised bed were tree trunks pulled from the river this spring.  The rabbit fencing is a must hereabouts.  I'll probably have to sprinkle some bunny-be-gone concoction in addition, but gardeners must contend with wascally wabbits.  Please take note of the finishing touches:

 

Solar lights on each corner; piped in water for irrigation.

Tonight I plugged in my plants:

 

Oh, I know it doesn't look like much now, give it a little time.  On the left I have a section devoted to Pink Girl and Roma tomatoes.  The center section is zucchini, yellow summer squash and cherry tomatoes. On the right is my herb garden.  I have to admit that I got a little choked up at the nursery when I was picking out the herbs.  The last time I had an herb garden was three houses ago.  My kids were in elementary school and I can remember going out and knocking snow off the sage to put it in the Thanksgiving stuffing.  Those summers I also involved a lot of pesto made with the basil.  I am, you can imagine, thrilled to have such a nice set up.  Having such a view of the Niagara River, I can imagine that weeding might be almost a pleasure.