A Summer Harvest on the Verge of Fall....

Believe it or not, just as the first leaves are falling (no joke!) our garden is finally bursting with flowers and fruit! As always our summers come to a close almost as soon as they appear, but that's why I love it so much in the pacific northwest. When the rest of the country is shedding their clothes, we are still wearing a sweater. When an afternoon thunderstorm rolls in on the east coast, we are enjoying a warm (not hot!) afternoon with a crisp blue sky. And when the rest of the country is well into the school year we are still enjoying the flesh of a fresh tomato.

At least this year we've been able to take advantage of the warm weather and lots of sun. JSM has taken such wonderful care of our garden this year. He has worked day (and night) carefully watering our grass to keep it green, clipping flowers to keep them in bloom, and inspecting our tomato plants to keep them growing! And have they grown - like I've never seen! Here is our garden in pictures.....

Our little raised bed is overflowing with cucumbers and zucchini, but mostly tomatoes!

Seriously...those tomatoes! They're as tall as JSM :) 

And they're beautiful, too! Beefsteak, Oregon Sweets

 and San Marzanos ripening on the vine

Sweet backyard blueberries...

Friendly critters spend some time in flower petals....

while the ladies strut their stuff around the backyard.

So many tomatoes!

Our first zucchini.....ever! It's so big!!

And a cucumber, too!

JSM is so proud of his wildflowers (as he should be!) which are a great backdrop to the veggies.

One of the best dahlias of the year. Some years you get great dahlias (2011) and other years you get tomatoes (2012)

Pinkness in the backyard