Why Mr Froad? Well, when he first turned up, he was brown (like a toad), except for surprisingly green eyebrows. Do not doubt me. I have witnesses. Then one day he moved from the earth in the pot to the moss and was suddenly bright green. Some sort of chameleon frog? Perhaps. But more mysterious was how the hell he got into the hanging pot in the first place. (Mystery solved by my friend Ginny, who pointed out that he was a tree frog and could therefore climb. Ah.)
You do not believe Mr Froad changes colour?
Okay, here he is a few hours later on the side of the pot. A completely different shade of green and the black stripes have disappeared. The Amazing Mr Froad.
Speaking of amazing… It’s the Gabriola Theatre Festival this weekend. Unlike last year when I was in it, having spent the entire summer learning half a play, this year I did some pre-festival volunteering on the ticket booth to earn a free pass to all the shows.
I’ve just come home from watching The Amazing and Impermeable Cromoli Brothers, an amazingly funny one-man show written and performed by festival favourite Lucas Myers.
Anyway, anyway… Back to the garden.
Since my last update, I’ve had my first batch of cherry tomatoes – and picked the last of the peas.
Oh, but wait a minute, you can plant more than one crop of peas per summer, can’t you?
Why, indeed you can – and look at them sprouting.
Lesson learnt from first planting: Bamboo poles are fine for growing peas up to a point. After that point they tend to fall over, so the once-upon-a-time lilac bush protector has been dragged out of the woods an put into service. (I’m already having visions of using something similar to grow beans next year. Oh, my.)
This is today’s pickings. Okay, it’s true: I’ve always managed blackberries and cherry tomatoes in the past. And two strawberries might not seem that impressive, but, please note, neither of the strawberries has a big bite out of it, so obviously the squirrels, like me, forgot the strawberries flower and bear fruit not once, but twice. Oh, and check out the tiny cherry tomatoes. These are from the mystery plant thrown in free at the market. There are millions of them on the plant. I’ve never seen such miniscule cherry tomatoes before in my life.
More courgettes coming along.
Oh, and look!
I now have not one, but two butternut squash growing. (Or should that be squashes? What is the plural of squash?)
This business of having decent, productive soil is going seriously to my head. Just think how much I could grow if I had another raised bed!
Elsewhere in the garden…
Not entirely sure my one apple has grown at all in the past month, but I remain (for some reason) optimistic.
And the stargazer lilies have opened up. God, they have an amazing scent. I’ve never been a particularly big fan of lilies, but these really are something else. I’m so glad Pat introduced me to them. I think I’ll just go outside now and sniff them again. Perhaps with a glass of wine.
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