Welcome to our summer garden and greenhouse tour! You probably very well know by now that our vegetable garden is one of our most favorite places to spend time. Gardening continues to bring my heart and mind so much joy, peace, mental rest and contentment. I hope you enjoy the tour today!
Summer garden and greenhouse tour: what we planted-
I am learning what grows well in our 5B zone and area but each new year I like to experiment a little with some different flower varieties and vegetables. Here is a list of what we planted this year!
- Zinnias (Favorites are: Fruit smoothie variety, peppermint stick, Polar Bear, Queen Lime, Cupcake Pink mix, State Fair, Faberge Mix)
- Teddy Bear Sunflower (dwarf and regular)
- Lavender, petunias and geraniums
- Squash: Summer, crookneck, butternut, buttercup and spaghetti
- Tomatoes (check out this post with what heirloom varieties I planted!)
- Beets, Corn, Potatoes, green beans, radishes, peas, carrots, scarlet runner beans, pumpkins, bell peppers and cucumbers
- Strawberries, sugar baby watermelon, and raspberries
- Herbs: Basil, rosemary, lemon thyme, pineapple sage
Our garden is definitely more of a vegetable garden than flower garden, but I do have a few varieties of flowers that are really easy to grow/maintain and that attract pollinators for me. I love bringing in a couple of bright petunia baskets from the nursery (hint: watch for sales near Mother’s Day!). This year, some lavender, too! Bees and butterflies love them! Zinnias are so fun and easy to grow. They are cheerful and gorgeous to cut for bouquets all summer.
I have found that bees, butterflies, dragonflies and hummingbirds love them! They are a fabulous flower to plant to attract pollinators.
Attracting pollinators: what can I plant?
Leaving a small percentage of your garden to plant in flowers that will attract pollinators is such a great idea! When you create a space for these beneficial insects and birds to visit often, your garden will thrive and result in a happy harvest. Pollinators love bright flowers. I have found luck with attracting pollinators to our garden by planting lavender, scarlet runner beans, lemon thyme and basil, zinnias, alyssum, sunflowers, and petunias.
We also hung a hummingbird feeder this year and its been such a special addition. We have 3 small hummingbirds that visit every day! Simply make a sweet water mix to fill your feeder by mixing 1 cup sugar to 4 cups water. It needs to always be a 1:4 ratio. Hummingbirds are so fun to watch and hear, but they’re also fabulous pollinators!
The pumpkin patch:
We had very cold temps this spring and even had to cover our garden from a frost in late June. It has taken weeks for my pumpkin patch to really start growing. Thanks to lots of full sun and 100 degree temps the last couple of weeks, the vines are starting to shoot, crawl and close in! I cannot wait to see what surprises we find in the pumpkin patch this year.
If you missed last year’s amazing harvest from only 6 total seeds, you have to check out this post and how I used them on our autumn porch!
In my last post, I wrote about what heirloom tomatoes we planted this year, and all my tips and tricks for maintaining healthy plants! I also talked about fertilizers I like, as well as the difference between determinate and indeterminate tomatoes. Check it out here!
Using what you grow:
I love planting a vegetable garden so our family can enjoy fresh, seasonal produce. If you are looking for a delicious way to use up a load of your garden treasures, be sure to make this tasty Garden Harvest Minestrone soup. It is packed full of flavor and nutrients!
Other garden posts you might enjoy:
Thank you so much for stopping by today! I love sharing about gardening and all that I learn each new year. I hope you feel welcome here and can learn something new, too!
