Happy 4th and all that stuff

 Potluck bbq again for the complex but got a visit to the garden and walked Rocky. Very nice breezy day of course as it should be where we are. 

It's interesting that in America the 4th is the herald of the summer, typically officially starting all things summer (Yes I know Memorial day usually is but that's a different matter), Yet as far as retailers are concerned (HD and other stores like it) they've been selling summer things since beginning of May and July is the end of their 'summer' sale items. From here on out they gear up for all the other holidays to the end of the year.

Meanwhile back at the garden. I was going to water but went out and saw the dirt was still very dark so no water needed. I was in a hurry so didn't bring the cucumber seeds down with me and considering how dark the soil is, it can wait until tomorrow. So not many pictures again due to nothing going on.

 The peppers are being wonky, likely from me trying to pinch them back too soon. They're much too small for producing so early but they certainly aren't growing very big right now. I think it's time for more fertilizer in all the beds.

 So South bed is flat as it can get only half the circumference is protected with the 'back door' wide open. Will mix in the last of the amendment and some fertilizer then throw some cucumber seeds in the middle and cross my fingers.

Secondary leaves on the corner plant are now out. I swear it's a grape vine but the leaves match okra. Does not make sense putting it in the corner like that but then again, nothing she has done has made gardening sense.  Still, okra can get big and that's going to overpower my bed and hers. So annoyed at everything right now.

Plant trivia: Did you know that okra is in the same family as hibiscus and cotton? Yes indeedy they are all in the mallow family and the seed pods is what we harvest to eat and use the seed bolls of the cotton for fiber.

Hibiscus flowers can be used in herbal teas but mostly they're just ornamental. 

Mallows are a large family of flowers and there are some varieties that have a color changing flower much like cotton. Yes, cotton flowers open a creamy white, turn yellow then to pink over a day or two. Another hibiscus called the Hau tree (Hibiscus tilaceus) has flowers that look like an okra flower though a bit darker yellow and by the end of the day are red. The colors go through the whole spectrum from yellow to overlayed orange, salmon then red. I discovered this tree working at the nursery as there was one in a huge planter that was the owners. I don't know if they were ever able to propagate it to a nursery to sell but it was a wonderful thing to see the whole range of colors on one tree when it was in full bloom. The flowers would then drop after the end of the day all wrapped up and red, not a deep tropical red but kind of like that cotton flower texture.

Anyway, that's your plant trivia for today. Stay safe and keep on digging!