In Search of My Garden...

   ...This has not been the best summer for my garden.  The constant torrential rains in spring hardly let up long enough for the hot, humid weather to saute us for the better part of July.  Needless to say, I have had to replace many of my herbs.  Too much water, too much heat!  But I am thrilled to see a few hardy troopers still making their way to success in the garden in spite of the odds.  The purple coneflowers are tall and colorful, the lemon balm just keeps cranking out plenty of fragrant leaves to use for teas and bath goodies, and jellies.  And the Veronica is cranking out its purple blooms.  I miss the basil plants from last year that grew so huge, making it a challenge to use it all in sandwiches and jellies, and plenty of pestos.  Finally, I gave up and bought three sweet basil plants.  They may still manage to give me some tasty treats for the end of the summer. 
     After visiting a friend of mine who is not a gardener, I felt a bit better about my poor garden.  She was so proud of her tall plant that she was not sure of.  Most things don't survive for her.  She had been telling me all about it.  Finally, when I went to see it, it was a huge milk thistle.  I did manage to tell her about how milk thistle is good for the liver, but somehow she wasn't up for making a tea out of it, or grinding it up to put into capsules.  She's no herbalist, either.  She depends on me for that kind of stuff.  So much for the milk thistle.  Her one great success, which had been planted by the former owners of her home, was a bright red hibiscus plant.  When it first was putting out its leaves, she described it as looking like a tomato plant.  So the hope was for tomatoes by August.  Wrong again.  No tomatoes, but I did let her know that she could make a tea from it that would be rich in vitamin C.  Never mind.  She wanted tomatoes.  But, the hibiscus blossoms are lovely, so that's something at least. 
      And so, I am in the process of re-doing my garden.  As I've said before, my garden usually looks its best in the fall, and it looks as though this year will definitely prove that statement.  Who knows, I may even manage to find a late tomato plant for both my friend and me.  Just in case I don't, be sure to let me know if I can help you out by helping you to use up any extra tomatoes you need to get rid of!