Gardens of Weedin'

Summer is finally here.  I know that it's been hot elsewhere in the Country, but definitely not here.  We've had one cold, wet spring/early summer.  The weather only heated up a few weeks ago, and everyone's garden has had a slow start.  While many of our cold crops have done OK, our warmer crops (tomatoes, peppers, etc.) are struggling.  Fortunately, the strawberries have thrived on these damp conditions, and we are going to have a bumper crop this year.  Below is a photo of Annabel with our first batch of delicious berries. 
 
My iris bed has also grown this year.  We only have this one flower bed thus far, and I'm really pleased that we got some blossoms.  I know, I know - you can't go wrong with effortless irises, but I still feel like their blooming is an accomplishment!
 
With all of the lousy weather and our preoccupation with other obligations, family festivities and animal issues, we kind of let our vegetable garden go a bit.  OK, I admit it - a LOT!  Our neglect resulted in some heavy duty weed growth, as seen in the photo below (note the very tall weeds to the right of the potatoes):

 

It took many days of back-breaking, tedious work (by both us and my Dad), but we eventually reclaimed our dominance in the garden.  It went from a Garden of Weedin', to a Garden of Eden.  Or, as Jordan's Mom says, a Garden of Eatin'.