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Garden Madness, Part the Sixth
The Garden Madness entries may be coming to a close soon, since pretty much everything is in bloom or has already bloomed. The vegetable patch is going strong -- I pulled three cucumbers, 12 cherry tomatoes, and a pile of sugar snap peas out of it today. There are also a number of large green tomatoes I expect to be ripe within a couple of weeks.
The tomatoes and cucumbers went into tonight's dinner, panzanella. Almost everything in the panzanella was locally grown or made: my Italian and African blue basil, the extra tomato grown in Hopkinton, the CSA scallions, fresh mozzarella from Vermont, and bread from the bakery just down the street from where one of my business partners lives. The only non-local ingredient (other than the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper) was some pancetta, because virtually everything tastes better with bacon.

The bee balm is in bloom. Sadly, there were no bees around when I went outside to take photos, but usually they are all over these flowers.

The giant rudbeckia has finally reached its full size, which is to say, about a foot taller than I am. I love that. (And this is why I wasn't worried about those few snails I found on it -- how could they possibly eat enough of this plant to make a difference?)

A close-up of the rudbeckia flowers. I love how cheerful and yellow they are, as well as the way the tiny petals are curled around the new blossoms.

The tomatoes and cucumbers went into tonight's dinner, panzanella. Almost everything in the panzanella was locally grown or made: my Italian and African blue basil, the extra tomato grown in Hopkinton, the CSA scallions, fresh mozzarella from Vermont, and bread from the bakery just down the street from where one of my business partners lives. The only non-local ingredient (other than the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper) was some pancetta, because virtually everything tastes better with bacon.

The bee balm is in bloom. Sadly, there were no bees around when I went outside to take photos, but usually they are all over these flowers.

The giant rudbeckia has finally reached its full size, which is to say, about a foot taller than I am. I love that. (And this is why I wasn't worried about those few snails I found on it -- how could they possibly eat enough of this plant to make a difference?)

A close-up of the rudbeckia flowers. I love how cheerful and yellow they are, as well as the way the tiny petals are curled around the new blossoms.

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I have just come in from an hour's worth of weeding. That's what you're not seeing in these shots -- the scary-ass weeds I've let grow in the back garden. I've beaten them into submission for the moment, but there's still plenty more to do.
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