I didn't check all the wild milkweed we have growing in the back corner of the yard. Hopefully,there are some more on that. I know our customers are very concerned about the fate of the monarchs and butterflies in general. For two years, we have sold every monarch host plant we grew. People are definitely trying to make a difference, an I'm optimistic it will help.
Now that the season is coming to a close, our annual hyacinth bean vine is finally starting to look good. It just sat through much of the summer's heat and dryness. Now that it's cooling down and we got some rain, it has perked up. For awhile, I didn't think it would get any beans. I can tell it's very late, since it has both flowers and beans at the same time. Like other beans, let the pods dry on the plant, before you harvest them for seeds for next year.
I'm wrapping up my harvesting and cleaning up the gardens. One task is to cut off the spent blossoms of garlic chives before they go to seed.
The summer blooming white flowers are very popular with pollinators and are edible. The seed heads start green, like the photo, and the seeds ripen to black. If not removed before they ripen, they will seed everywhere! It reminds me of people's complaints about lemon balm. Although a vigorous plant, lemon balm's tendency to spread is caused by the large amount of seeds it produces and broadcasts. Garlic chives is just as bad. So off with their heads!
Overall, I can't complain about the harvest this year. Some things were very productive, others not. John commented on how nice the snapdragons look as they start to rebloom. But the little gem marigolds, which usually look so nice in the fall, never took off this year. I cut back calendula, in hopes that it will bloom some more. It was not as productive as it generally is.
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