It seems like there’s always little surprises in my garden.
Yesterday I was out fiddling with the plants. Deadheading petunias, snipping off spent flowers.
I spend a good amount of time out there making sure I’m giving all the plants lots of love. I think that is one of the secrets of gardening success. That and humming. I do lots of humming when I’m working in the garden.
And I noticed that a cucumber plant about a foot tall was in a flower pot full of flowers.
I thought: How on earth did it get that tall without my noticing it? Did it simply spring up overnight? Sure seemed so.
Then I walked about a foot away and saw this:
A tomato plant in another pot of flowers.
I have my veggies down at the other end by the gate. But I’d forgotten the seeds I sprinkled in these pots. Then when the nurseries let us shop by appointment in April, I had picked out both a tomato and a cucumber plant.
The tomato plant at the other end of the patio is just about the height of my fence now. I’ve never had a tomato plant grow so tall. I just keep cutting jute and tying it to the trellis.
Just look at that thing growing in leaps and bounds. On the left side is a big pot of zinnias I planted from seed. I think they’re just about to bloom.
Seems like just yesterday the zinnias were only a few inches tall and I was thinning them and transplanting the ones I removed to other pots.
Now here’s the cucumber plant at this end:
This year I planted yellow marigolds around both the tomato and the cucumber plant. It is my little experiment to see if the marigolds keep some of the garden pests off my vegetable plants.
Has your garden grown enough for you to find some garden surprises of your own yet?
I’ve learned to look closely because these little surprises seem to crop up out of nowhere and grow like a weed.
Great article! Thanks for sharing.
Great article about garden tips. I like it.
I just found this site. I love it! Thank you for sharing these peaceful moments from your garden.
I also had some surprises in my garden.
Let it grow.
So cute I love little surprises ! My tomatoe plants are doing good but the tomatoes are taking forever to turn red! The marigolds I planted def keep the bugs away tho😊
Great article. Experienced the same surprises especially with tomatoes.
I haven’t been able to cut the grass this week because I am waiting on a part for the mower to arrive. It has meant that some sunflowers have been able to sprout up through the grass around the poles that hold the birdfeeders. A few sprouted last year and I let them grow up and it was fun to see the birds sit on them and peck the seeds in late summer. So I’ll let these sunflowers grow up too. I planted some sunflower seeds on purpose in another part of the yard but I saw birds pecking at them, so I’m not sure if I will get any in that location. Another surprise has been in a little shade garden area. A white violet sprouted up there that I don’t recall seeing before. But a friend gave me some ferns from her shade garden and I’d guess that the violet was in the dirt clump with the fern. It’s so delightful to get such surprises.
Brenda, do you fertilize? If so, what do you use? Most curious about fertilizer for tomato plants.
I usually forget to do it. But I use organic Tomato Tone. When I fertilize the roses or the flowers, which is also seldom, I use the same brand for roses and flowers.
I didn’t buy any plants this season because I didn’t know how long we would be without an income. I had to be satisfied with the perennials I’ve always had. However, a straw flower came up by itself in a pot. It was from a packet of seeds that I planted a couple of seasons ago. They didn’t come up back then and I thought that was that. Imagine my delight when I saw it bloom. At first I thought that it was a weed, but I wasn’t sure so I left it alone. I’m so glad I did now.
Thankful all of us can find peace and comfort in our beautiful gardens. Glad Mother Nature sends us volunteer plants as an unexpected gift. Everyone enjoy your weekend.
I have a tomato plant that comes up every year in my flower garden! Many years ago we planted tomatoes near the house and they grew up to the gutters ! It is amazing how much joy we get from our plants !
I have some “volunteers” coming up in a couple of pots. One looks like a sunflower and the other is some type of melon, I think. It’ll be fun to watch them grow. My husband thinks I’m crazy, but I enjoy talking to my plants. It makes me happy! :o)
Me too. I also hum and sing.