Argh. It’s that time of summer. Plants I put in the ground in mid May, whether flowering or vegetable, are winding down their life cycles. Some never made it much to my dismay. Regardless if they succumbed to invasion by a critter or too much sun or overwatering, those that have made it through these beautiful days of summer are slowly coming to an end. 

Beans I planted by seed germinated but were choked out by honeysuckle in the raised bed. I have no idea where that vine originated in our raised beds and regardless how many times I pull them out by their roots, they return sevenfold.

We’re enjoying a small harvest of fresh tomatoes. Thankfully in July we saw signs of invasive hornworms on the plants and due to my husband’s diligence we won that battle. However, in a bittersweet way, the tomato plants flourished enough to choke out the nearby green pepper plants. So, note to self–plan better next year.

Broccoli and cauliflower plants never stood a chance. At just the right time someone made a meal of them, chomping off quite nicely I’d say, leaving enough of the plant to let me know who won.

Volunteer dill seems to be one of the most successful things to grow in the raised bed. So, you can imagine my delight as each small sprig matures enough for me to use either fresh or gather in small bunches to dry, which in this year’s scheme of things is a fair amount.

My lone cucumber plant that I trained to climb a trellis has not disappointed. We’ve enjoyed fresh fruit from its vine once it began producing. My only caution has been to check it daily because whenever I turned my back on a soon-to-be-ready cuke, ignoring it for too long allowed it to become the size of a small torpedo. Not exactly what I have in mind for slicing. 

In late spring I noticed one of my small red potatoes purchased at the store had sprouted an eye. “What the heck” I thought. I plopped it in a pot of dirt and watched it form a beautiful leafy plant. Soon, I’ll turn the pot over and see what it produced.

I had a bare spot of ground next to the deck where hostas, spider lilies, and a couple of other perennials have grown for years now. Once again, I thought “what the heck” and scattered zinnia seeds, poppies, and daisies on dirt I prepared for their birth. Low and behold, many of the seeds germinated and I’m enjoying their variety of colors. Maybe chaos gardening is a better approach for this frustrated wanna-be gardener.

Marigolds, pansies, petunias, and geraniums have become my best friends. For whatever reason, they survived in mighty ways this summer. More dear to my heart is that the deer and bunnies must be leaving them alone. With regular attention by watering appropriately and dead heading wilted blooms they have provided beautiful pops of color among the greenery of shrubs and ground cover. O, but there was one occasion I needed to repot a porch planter when a raccoon decided to use it as a balancing pad to reach bird seed from a hanging feeder. Those cute feeders were soon relocated. 

Sadly, our raspberry and blackberry bushes have produced nothing except a few berries that filled a small saucer. I’ve heard from other folks they’ve had the same experience so maybe our late frosts have caused my disappointment. As a matter of fact when a favorite local farmer announced they wouldn’t have an abundance of strawberries or no peaches this year, I was sad. I’ve become a regular buyer of local produce that I enjoy prepping for storage to enjoy in winter months.

If you’ve become a regular reader of mine by now you’ll recognize that I often use the verse “Taste and see that the Lord is good”. With God’s help I have amply applied its truth to many circumstances in life. This week it’s a reminder that He IS good no matter what I’m facing. Life resembles my feeble attempts at gardening every year. I have great hopes, buy the seeds and plants, prepare the ground, sow when appropriate and wait. Battles come in the form of God’s creatures who are in search of food, too. Heat from the sun is either beneficial or detrimental. Watering is key. Patience is a virtue waiting for each plant to send its roots deep to become firmly established to support growth as flowers form to either bloom or create a luscious fruit on the vine. Weeds spring up and become a nuisance, sometimes achieving victory as they compete in the same dirt and conditions I’m relying upon for the success of my little garden.

Yes, the “dog days of summer” are here. When they arrive and I survey my attempts to grow some of our own vegetables or have grand displays of flowering plants to brighten our yard, only to be faced with setbacks or disappointments, I tell myself “not next year. I’m done trying to grow tomatoes, beans, peppers, and cucumbers.”

And then spring arrives the following year and I’m repeating my attempts with every trip to my favorite local greenhouse. Galatians 6: 9 says “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessings if we don’t give up.”

I know when the Apostle Paul wrote this he didn’t have my lack of gardening skills in mind, however, I’m choosing to focus on not merely giving up trying to create something good. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll win the battles from hornworms, deer, bunnies, and honeysuckle. Otherwise, there’s always my favorite local farmers!