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Don't you just love a good volunteer? Especially in the garden. It's better when it's a neatly dressed, know-what-they're-doing-human-type of volunteer, but I don't ever get any of those. No, the volunteer that I got this year is pretty sweet, even though she (I decided she's a she) doesn't do any work. She does cheer me, and I always smile when I see her! She's impatient. Um, I mean, she's an impatient! (I know, I know...she's actually an Impatiens. I was taking creative license.)
My front yard garden bed is beneath a beautiful
amelanchier Grandiflora tree. (I hope I spelled that correctly!) I have planted and replanted and replanted annuals beneath lovely small trees before, and have killed a tree that way (unknowingly chopping into the delicate feeder roots). As a result, I now plant colorful annuals in pots, and place those beneath my lovely little trees! This year, I found impatiens at a really good price before I had actually figured out what I wanted to plant, so I bought a flat of them. Then we scheduled whole-house window replacements, and I never got to planting my pots (there were workmen traipsing all over my front garden beds...ouch!). The impatiens stayed in their nursery pots, were lovingly watered, and we just enjoyed them in there for most of the summer! (Good thing they were cheap!) I think we finally tossed them in early September.
All except this one. She "jumped ship" and took root amongst some ground-hugging junipers without my notice, until one day, she began to put on a show. The photos I took don't show her true colors...she's a vivid, magenta-pink.
Last night we had our first "frost warning" here in Chicagoland, Illinois. I did not go out and cover anyone, just figured that "what will be will be." I don't have a big produce garden, just a pot here and there, and they've not done very well anyway, so I'm not losing much by not covering them! My sweet, pink, volunteer made it through the night, and even smiled when I photographed her!
I'll miss her when the days are short, the air is freezing, and the overall color of life here is grey.
I have a few other things that are still producing here, which amazes me. It was a warm Autumn, still is!
Sweet green peppers...these are just about 2-inches long (the photo is deceiving), and won't get bigger (they've been this way for a long time!). They're not edible, we tried one at this size and they're tough and bitter. But they're sort of cute, so I let them linger...
Lots of tomatoes! I keep thinking they'll never ripen, but we've had two that suddenly went red on us, so I'm leaving them on the vine, too...we're going back up into the upper 60's again this week, so maybeeeee...
And my much-beloved raspberries...there aren't many, just enough for a snack:
I'd love to see and hear about what is still producing in your garden! If something is done, or is soon-to-be-done, what will you miss the most this winter? Or, tell me whatever else is on your FarmGirl-at-Heart heart!
To all my FarmGirl @ Heart friends, have a great Friday!
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