Hi David. You sid that your Northern Catalpa did not look like it would survive the winter. I know I'm in a lot different zone than you but we get winters that can go down to -30 with strong gale force winds. I have successfully overwintered Northern Catalpa grown from seed. I left them in pots and sank the pots in the ground sheltering them from the strong winds. So far they have survived 2 winters.

The one thing we did lose was the melons we planted. The winds were very strong this summer and combined with the heat, they were toast.

The hot peppers, Bulgarian Carrot, are abundant and hotter than we care for.

We had a ton of earwigs here and they must have culinary tastes because they ate my herbs!

The squash has survived the beetles and is now taking off.

Candy onions are doing well and so are the leeks. Leek and potato soup this winter, yum!

Thistles! I think I have all of them this year especially the tall one with the thornless stem, don't know what kind it is. A neverending battle.

One of the warmest Julys ever in Saskatoon, in terms of night temperatures. Actually, the first July *ever* that we never recorded a low below 10 degrees.

Eggplants and melons are thriving. Monster beets.

Peas only produced for 2 weeks before succumbing to the heat.

Some of my spinach bolted before I could use it. This is despite seeding it early (last week of April).

You win some, you lose some.

Successes: giant monster zucchini. The one cuke plant that the cutworms left is also monster. All veggies in fact are doing well except lettuce. Finally got grandpa's hollyhocks going and blooming. Unprecedented success with oriental lilies. Varities that haven't bloomed in 5 years are all blooming and some have even increased. My new clematis integrifolia hasn't stopped blooming since early June.

Success/failure: tomatoes too rampant. I have pruned them hard, twice, and it only made them angry. I'm afraid to go near that part of the yard now.

Failure: the lettuce was okay but suffered from caterpillars, being engulfed by tomatoes and then hot weather. Also most of the day lilies are looking a little shabby this summer. And my peas also gave up early

Good thread!

Successes: Like Gil, monster zucchini. Hopefully i can get to them sooner now (i've been away a lot in July) and can pick them smaller. Kohlrabi has been really good too. We've picked three or four cucumbers, and that's about three or four more than we've gotten lately. Beans are doing great as well.

As far as flowers go, the Asiatic lilies were very nice this year but most are finished now. I need more Orientals... :> The persicaria is about 7 feet high in spots! Most other things have done okay, but the spring bloomers seemed to bloom for about 5 minutes and then they were done.

Failures: There were a lot of "holes" in some of the veggies, as in a lot of places were the first planting just didn't show up. I've reseeded and things are coming along now. The first crop of lettuce disappeared - cutworms or maybe rabbits? The second drop is doing well now. Radishes - what's the secret of growing them? I used to have decent radishes but now they just won't grow for me.

In flowers, most of the daylilies are duds this year. Some are blooming a bit but not quite as nicely as other years. Most of the bearded irises didn't bloom at all.

Hi Marcia,
For radishes, I highly recommend German Giant. It sizes up very reliably. Thin them ruthlessly. Give them sufficient water. Sow early in spring (Apr 25th give or take a week) and again in late August. Avoid summer planting.

I always plant Cherry Belles and they were reliable in the past. I don't think it's the variety but probably something to do with my soil. I don't think i've had a good crop in this garden, that i can remember, anyway.

I always plant Cherry Belles and they were reliable in the past. I don't think it's the variety but probably something to do with my soil. I don't think i've had a good crop in this garden, that i can remember, anyway.

German Giants can get up tp baseball-sized, so even under poor conditions that would result in a pea-sized Cherry Belle, the Giant would produce a normal Cherry Belle-sized radish.

Well, if i ever see the seeds, i'll give it a try!

Failures...many...where should I even begin? After a promising begininng, the dahlias stalled in our miserable weather and are just now (maybe) getting going again. Also due to lack of sunshine, hardly any tomatoes yet. Didn't get all the edging plants planted...they're still sitting in 4 packs, drowning. I'm getting artichokes, but they're soooo tiny. The watermelon radishes produced nothing but tops. Weeds, weeds, weeds. The peonies didn't get properly staked. Get the picture? I've had no time this summer, and it shows.
Successes...tried a new staking system for my delphs, and it worked! I'll try it on the peonies next year, too.

Although I'm looking out at my garden right now and see a giant mess, I had a garage sale this last weekend...person after person not only complimented me on the garden, but actually asked if I would mind if they walked through it for a while. Some even asked to take pictures. So I guess that as bad as it is, it has some redeeming qualities.

What's your new delph-staking idea? My white ones are the worst for falling over.

Funny how we see the worst in our gardens and other people don't. I'm exactly the same. :)

Marcia, I bought 2 Ultomato cages http://www.amazon.com/Woodstream-Ultomato-Tmc60-Supports-Stakes/dp/B001D0WAZE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1344307878&sr=8-2&keywords=ultomato+tomato+cage and used about 15 inches of this poultry netting http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202024122/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=plastic+fencing&storeId=10051
I surrounded the delphinium with the six stakes (2 stakesx3stakes, rectangular shape...it's a big plant). Then I cut the poultry netting to fit (it was the perfect width already) so that it laid down horizontally over the stakes. As the stalks grew taller, I raised the netting. As you can see from the picture, only a couple of thin stalks broke (you can't see them all in the picture, but there are at least 14 standing stalks in that group), and they probably wouldn't have if I had either raised the netting again or put another layer nearer the top. We had torrential rain and howling wind at the same time, so I was amazed that any stood, since they average 6 feet tall. The stalks you can see laying over in the background are the twin plant I didn't stake this way...not a single stalk left standing.

That's a good system, Mytime!

I drive tall stakes (about 5) around the clump and weave twine around and between all the stems. Then as they grow I add more levels if necessary. We don't get really high winds in our yard though, with being in town and lots of tall trees all around.

I've tried that system before, and the problem for me is that we always have at least one high wind in early July; if I don't have something to hold them fairly tight, they snap. That's why I chose the poultry netting...it provides more stability for the stalks because of the size of the holes. In fact, I was afraid that it might be a little too tight, but turns out it's perfect.

Where does a person get poultry netting - farm supply store? I have three tall stakes around the white delphs with some pantyhose surrounding them, but the netting looks like a good idea. My blue delphs are tougher but they did fall over this year. I'll have to remember to try that next year.

Canadian Tire carries chicken wire but it is outrageously priced. Farm supply store or Home Depot is where I get mine from. :)

Ginny

This looks more like a plastic netting, don't you think? I imagine chicken wire would do the same, though.

CT carries the plastic stuff too. Seasonal. I find the chicken wire works much the same except you have to be sure to bend in the end wires. :)

Ginny

It's plastic...I got mine at Home Depot. We get so much wind that I figured the wire would just act like a knife, especially since the holes in it are either too small or too large in all that I saw. The wire is cheaper, but if it doesn't work well....plus, actual chicken wire will bend and not be so easy to reuse. Of course, if you don't have moose playing with it, that might not be a problem.

Davidcalgary29, I'm interested in hearing how you combatted your chickweed problem. I'm forever pulling this stuff out by the roots, but it keeps coming back.

I should have mentioned that the major success in the garden this year is the purslane...... I've been out there for several days digging it up - 6 5-gal. buckets so far! And there's more! I'll take chickweed any day!

O.K. First, I really have to say that I'm not certifiable, honestly.

I don't mind chickweed. Actually, I almost like it. (compared to other weeds) There's something satisfying about leaving it grow until it's just right, wrapping the stems around your hand, finding exactly where it's rooted, and pulling gently until the whole thing comes out.

I've never had a problem with it returning. I used to have quite a bit of it, but not anymore =:)

hmacdona, I'm afraid that I was being facetious (largely) about the chickweed problem. Hand-picking does help -- I've eliminated it (largely) from the front yard, as does attracting some of the smaller passerines at the bird feeder (they eat chickweed seeds). The truth is that we've had a hot, dry summer and chickweed likes it cool and wet. Thinning/ventilating (to dry out the soil and increase sun exposure) has kept my chickweed under control this year.

Might as well put some pics in:

I like George Vancouver. Here's why:

Emily Carr is doing quite well:

AC Navy Lady is a looker:

Here's two Tumblers and a Sungold in the middle. The kids have already picked quite a few Tumblers:

Are those Emily Carr and George Vancouver pictures now or a few weeks ago?

I had quite a few blooms a few weeks ago, but nothing since. I think my tomatoes are shading them a bit too much.

Successes? Too early to tell yet.
Failures? Spinach. It bolted from the heat.

Beautiful pics, Shazam!

As for chickweed in the vegetable garden, i control it until things are actively growing and then slack off a bit. It makes a good mulch, esp. for carrots. :)

naf,

Those pics are from yesterday. This is Carr's third season and they're finally starting to repeat reliably.

That is GV's second bloom cycle - the first was not nearly as numerous. This is its second full season.

Roseraie de l'hay is also blooming continuously. I have been very impressed by this rose since it's very much like Hansa but actually has a very good repeat.

Shazam, where did you get AC Navy Lady? I've been wanting that one.

I found it at Walmart, of all places. I have no idea how they got it.