Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day- July 2008

Thank you Carol at May Dream Gardens for hosting such a cool event. I've never participated in anything like this, but there's a beginning for everything. What an exciting day to unite with other garden bloggers participating in this event.

Welcome to Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: July 2008 at Square Foot Gardening in Nashville. Although my garden is not a flower garden, my vegetables and fruit are full of beautiful blooms. It's July, and the harvest season has begun in the garden. The flowers are numerous and continue to bud and bloom every day.

I have one almost-fully grown eggplant, and the flowers on the Ichabod eggplants show promise of more vegetables to come.

Below: Ichabod eggplant flowers

I love the purple color of the flowers. The eggplants are the only non-yellow or white fruiting flowers that are growing in the garden.

Below: The tomato flowers are numerous and many. After I stopped pruning, all of the tomato plants have come alive and new flowers form and bloom each day. (Not to mention fruit!)

The cucumbers are also growing strong. Harvest time is about to begin. The cucumber flowers are also a bright yellow, similar to the tomatoes. Both the males and female flowers are yellow, and they brighten my day every time I go and take a peek.

Below: The cucumbers are in full bloom

The watermelon is growing strong, and the actual melon is HUGE! It's grown 75 percent bigger since I saw it last week. (Photos coming up later this week). Its flowers are lovely when they are completely open. The female flower isn't as magnificent, but it's still pretty.

Below: Watermelon flowers
And now finally, some white in the garden. The flowers on the beans are in bloom. It is a white color, and the blooms are rather small in size. Some baby beans have started to appear out of the older blooms.

Below: Flowers on green beans




13 comments:

Skeeter said...

How great you participated in Bloom Day with the Veggie Garden! Tina and I are doing our monthly Veggie Garden update tomorrow so be sure to Tune In....

Dan said...

Watermelon flowers are very pretty. This Bloom Day sounds fun so I joined in and posted a bunch of photos I took today.
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http://veggiegardenblog.blogspot.com/

Cindy said...

I love seeing veggie blooms. Especially those eggplants. I think those are soo pretty.

My brother is on vacation right now, but once he's back I'm going to send him over to your site. I think he was going to try square foot gardening this year and I think he would like your blog.

DP Nguyen said...

Skeeter- I can't wait to see your update! I'm sure your garden has tons of blooms too.

Dan-I agree. I love watermelon flowers. I have so many of them! They are so nice to see, and very pretty. So glad to hear you participated in bloom day too!

Cindy-I think I love the eggplant blooms the most. They are really an awesome color. And thanks for recommending me to your brother. I feel honored. :-)

Linda said...

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Last year some jam melons (citron?) came up in the soil we transplanted with our plants to our new house. I agree they do grow quickly. The flower is very similar to your watermelon, I have been trying to take notice of my melon flowers. Maybe they are exactly the same I don't know.

It has been a fun bloom day.

Dawn said...

Hi dp, what a great thing to have garden bloom day! I like the eggplant too, I somehow thought they would be purple!

Katarina said...

I didn't realize before reading your post today, that flowers of vegetables can be so nice! Thanks for sharing!
/Katarina
Roses and stuff

Gail said...

! I don't think I ever knew what an eggplant flower looked like...Happy Bloom Day...

Gail

Anonymous said...

I just found your blog and am enjoying reading it. I have my first garden going this summer. I had great cucumbers but just lost them all to some bugs, and I think my cantaloupe are going. I am trying to figure out how to keep the bugs away from my other plants.

DP Nguyen said...

Hi Linda- Welcome to the blog! Melons do grow very quickly, and many of the flowers look very similar. Our cantaloupe and watermelon have very similar yellow flowers. The difference is in the plant leaves. These really distinguish the plant. Good luck with your melons this year!

Hi Dawn--Haha! Yea, eggplant flowers are purple just like they are.

Katarina- I'm glad I've introduced you to the world of vegetable flowers. They are very pretty.

Hi Gail- Eggplant flowers are so unique. I never knew what they looked like before this year! Happy bloom day to you too!

Hi Rebecca, Welcome to the blog! I'm thrilled to hear that you're enjoying it. Our cucumbers are coming along great. I'm sorry to hear yours didn't do as well as you had hoped. Bugs are a nasty business. I've been using an organic insecticidal soap. I got it at Lowe's and it seems to be doing the trick. We also plant lots of herbs that attract butterflies and ladybuds and other animals that eat the nasty bugs. Good luck with your garden! I hope to hear more about it!

Eve said...

I love all the blooms in the garden too. My favorite is the strawberry and th eggplant blossoms. I get excited every time I see the first blooms of anything though. Start getting those eggplant recipes ready.

Frances, said...

Great job on your first bloom day post, well done! Your square foot garden seems a big success and giving you much to eat also. We are so proud of you.

Carol Michel said...

I love that you featured all your vegetable flowers in your first bloom day post. I also have a veggie garden, and somewhat follow the square foot gardening method with raised beds.

Thanks for joining in for bloom day!
Carol, May Dreams Gardens