Garden

I've been wanting to upload pictures from this year's garden for some time now. This year I had a few firsts. The Blue Iris above was one that I had planted the previous year but had to wait a full year for a bloom. It was worth waiting for. This was one of the many blooms Daniela and I got to see in the spring.
















The lupine was another perennial where we had to wait. For once something I started from seed turned out quite nice.















My tomatoes were a great success. Although I only used a small handful of organic fertilizer in late winter it appeared the biggest difference from last summer was from dumping my kitchen scraps in the raised bed and mixing in dehydrated manure and hummus into the soil in the spring. As a result, each handful of soil from the raised bed contained 2-3 earthworms which is very beneficial.





















This year it looks like I'll finally get a decent harvest from the pear tree. For the past two years squirrels have stolen my pears from my young tree before I could pick them. So far so good.















I did add a bed this year where I placed perennials such as purple coneflower, gayfeather and butterfly bush. The black currant bushes worked out really well this summer and gave me a good harvest despite its small size. I may try to add gooseberries or red currants this fall. To take up space in the young bed I also planted Scarlett runner bean vines and watermelon. Both had a great year and I'm waiting to pick my harvest any day now.
















We can usually see at least two monarch butterflies swarming around the bush each day.
















Another look of the new perennial bed with the arbor in the background. I took this photo from my neighbor's back porch. The pink hibiscus were purchased at a closeout sale for $1.00. Not a bad bargain.
















It was quite wet this summer so I had to battle a lot of diseases and mold. One of the things that suffered was my grapevine which developed a disease called black rot. This disease makes rust spots on the leaves and turns the fruit into stones.





















Therefore, I had to apply a rather aggressive fungicide. I don't like spreading chemicals about the yard but black rot can kill your entire harvest if left untreated. It did seem to have worked although I have been advised not to consume a large quantity of grapes because of the treatments I applied. So the bad news is no jam this year. Good news is in the long run it was the right thing to do to preserve my vines. I still have the wonderful smell the Concords produce each September and Daniela and I sit on the arbor whenever we get the chance.
















Overall it was a very good growing year. I'll try to add a few more pics of the yard as the fall approaches.

Czech Republic '08

Daniela went to the Czech Republic in June to visit family. I accompanied her in July. Since I was without the camera for most of the summer I never got to the blog. I plan to make up for it in the next few posts. I am having some technical difficulties as well. I hope to have them resolved soon.















About 20 minutes by car from where Daniela's parents live is Cesky Krumlov. Cesky Krumlov is one of my favorite towns in the Czech Republic and I love just walking around the streets. You can climb up a series of stairs to the top of the tower, which we have done on a few occasions. The castle on the left was built right into a mountainside. Just before you enter the castle you need to cross a bridge, which spans over a moat housing brown bears. Bears have been kept in the moat since 1707.















Daniela and I also visited Hluboka Castle. This is where we had our wedding ceremony for her family. On our trip this summer we made it to the top of the turret to get a nice view of the area.















Since I didn't look very good in any of the pictures we took at the top of the turret I'll post Daniela and her mother.















We did spend a fair amount of time in Ceske Budejovice. This is the town where Daniela and I lived right after I graduated from Kansas State University. Daniela was in her final year of graduate school then. We returned to the Black Tower (Cerna Vez) to take this picture of the town's square. This is also where I proposed to Daniela 10 years ago.
















During our time in Ceske Budejovice we were able to take a tour of the Budweiser Brewery. This is the original Budweiser and not the version found in America with the Clydesdale horses in the commercials. The taste is a bit different and not watered-down.




















Here are the copper tanks in which the yeast ferments. It was a chilly day outside so the 90 degree temperature in this room suited us fine.















Conversely, the celler was not quite 40 degrees. We did receive "all you can drink" samples of the unpasteurized and unfiltered beer. I will not be posting any of these photos. I think it's safe to say there was much learned from the former president of Iowa Central Community College, "Drunken Pirate" from MySpace fame and a slew of others. Just take my word for it. It was real good and suprisingly filling. Sadly, because of the beer's stout nature I was only able to down one cup. However, our tour guide was able to gulp down three cups before continuing our journey to the bottling area.