Tuesday.

We had heavy fog until after 10am yesterday and spits of rain.  I worked on the inside plants.  All needed trimming and a bit of water.  I have three lavender of which one looks very good, one looks very sickly and one in between.  Both of the rosemary plants are looking very good.  Cut back the geraniums and hope they survive to go back into the gardens next spring.  The creeping thyme and lemon thyme are doing nicely.

I still have work outside but I will wait until tomorrow when the rain should be over.  At the same time I clean everything up I think about how the season went and start planning for next year.  I have to admit it has been a pretty good year even though I have felt somewhat discontented.  My moods may be a reaction to our very strange weather--a spring that hardly was, a nearly non-existent summer, and a too early fall.  I didn't plant as many tomatoes so the yield was what I wanted.  We supplemented with romas from the farm market.  For the second year I tried a tomato variety bred for container/patio growing.  But I wasn't much pleased with either one.  The plants are comfortably small for small spaces but the fruit was also.  I liked the Biltmore tomatoes really well--nice slicing size and good flavor.  Next year: more romas and standard tomato plants.  The peppers did well also.  We got enough large cornu di toro rosso to stuff and freeze for later.  We bought some really pretty green bells from the farm market and they are now stuffed and in the freezer.  We like that kind of quick meal.

The pole beans did fairly well and we supplemented what we got here with a several pounds from the market as well.  Next year--go back to the yardlong variety because it produces more in a smaller space.  Might also look at adding sugar snap peas as well.  Thinking about it now.  The squash and melons were disappointing but that is not unusual.  They simply don't like containers.  Each time I insist that I won't plant them again.  Next year I won't put them in.  That says nothing about the year after.

The stevia did very well as did the hyssop.  They will be in different areas next year.  Though the shiso did nicely and is a pretty plant I won't plant it again.  We don't use it and I have other plants I want to try.  Someone who does Japanese style cooking might find it interesting.  Another plant I won't be putting in next year is bee balm.  I have put it in two years and got no blossoms either year.  Again I have other plants in mind that do bloom and will attract the bees and hummingbirds I hoped would like the bee balm.  The bees love the borage and hyssop so I will continue both.  I was disappointed by the cypress vines which were not so lush as last year and didn't bloom as profusely.

The strawberries did beautifully though I don't think they liked the tower where I placed it.  The fruit was prone to mold before it ripened.  The plants in other places in the gardens did well enough that we had enough liven up our morning cereal.  The strawberries in the freezer we got at the supermarket when the "local" berries came in season.  "Local" as in within 100 miles.  The wonderberries did well but we prefer blueberries and get 10+ pounds when they come in locally (within 30 miles) and are on sale at the farm market.

I have often wished there was a stake that would finish off the financial vampires once and for all.  Unfortunately, they always seem to return to plague people.