Arbor on the deck?

I have been wanting an arbor for a while now.  I just figured I would run across one that was in my price range sooner or later.  One of those things that I didn't really need, but they are so cool... especially when you find a prolific climber to plant at its base.  I did not know where I wanted to put it, but I knew I would find the right place if I found an arbor.  Well my arbor became a reality the other day... in the most unexpected place... JoAnn's.  It was in the clearance aisle and nearly 90% off the original price... couldn't pass it by.

We talked about where I would put it on the way home.  I was trying to come up with a good layout, something with the right sun exposure, but Ron made the suggestion of putting it on the deck.  I have learned not to toss out ideas Ron comes up with too quickly... at least not before I have weighed the pros and cons.  Late the same afternoon we opened the box and put it together on the deck... just to test that possibility.

I really was surprised how much I liked its ambiance.  It is like saying, "step down into my garden". Next morning I was at the nursery buying tomato plants and I asked about something that might survive in a planter on the deck... this time of year.  She showed me this "chocolate vine" that already had many vining branches.  I'm really liking what we created.

A few days ago I got thinking it was time to get my garden ready for Fall planting... especially tomatoes and peppers.  At the nursery they didn't have any pepper plants that I wanted, but I bought a Solar Fire Tomato and a Valley Girl.  Two tomato plants are plenty for us... Ron does not like tomatoes.  I also bought a couple Juliets... that smaller Roma shaped tomato that is so prolific.  I'm trying a new technique that I saw in my online garden research.  I may describe it in more detail a little further down the road once I know how good the idea is... but this is what it looks like now.  The white bucket has the Solar Fire and the Valley Girl on opposite sides.  The black bucket has the Juliets.

Check out the watermelons flowing out over their bed in the background.  I planted those fairly late, but that was one that was supposed to be able to withstand the heat.  Lots of blossoms and starting to see little baby watermelons. 

Looking forward to harvesting my sweet potatoes.  The rows of vines look very impressive... but then my white potato plants looked impressive, and I only got 1/2 bucket of potatoes.  I've got okra that I don't even know how to cook, but those plants are almost shoulder high.

Lemons and Tomatoes

I have been creative in the kitchen the past several days.  First was the chocolate cake I posted about yesterday.  Then yesterday we were supposed to have supper at a friend's house, so I didn't want to eat anything that would spoil my appetite, but I was in the "snack" mode.  Another friend had given me some fresh tomatoes the other day and I hadn't used them yet.  I'm the only one in the house that will eat fresh tomatoes, so it was a good choice for a snack.  A few weeks ago I received an email message that told all about lemons and how good they are to enhance whatever you might be cooking.  It suggested that you should not discard the lemon peel, but rather freeze your lemon whole and grate the lemon onto whatever you are cooking/preparing, right from the freezer.  I have a couple in the freezer right now in a Ziploc bag... so I decided I would try it on my tomato slices.  I sliced the tomato onto my plate.  I took a fine grater that you would typically use for lemon peel... I wasn't sure it would grate the lemon while still frozen... but it worked just fine.  On two slices I maybe used the equivalent of 1/2 teaspoon of grated lemon.  I then sprinkled some black pepper on them, and just a dash of salt.  The tomato flavor just popped.  Totally awesome.  A snack worth repeating.

Now if you are interested in the lemon article, I have it saved as a Word document, but I am not sure how to attach that here, so if you leave a comment or send an email message, I will send you the article.  It was definitely worth reading... and there are some good tips regarding the health benefits.