Summer garden assessments

As always, the garden is a combination of the good, the bad, and the ugly; what keeps you gardening is that it's never the same. Here in the upper midwest, the very wet June and July zapped many people's tomatoes and bush beans. TPP got lucky in using containers this year, and while the early  blight will forshorten the tomato season, right now the Phactors have a lot of tomatoes. Crab grass is beginning to make its way into our gardens. Ugly. Finally getting on top of the unusually large crop of maple seedlings.  And where the ever loving heck do all the poke weeds come from, and how do they grow so bloody fast?  Annual and summer flowering plants are providing a lot of color and hopefull a lot of flowers for wedding decorations. Last year wax bells and beauty berry were a bust, but this year they look to be pretty spectacular. After dealing with very wet conditions so far, now some rain is needed or gardens will have to be watered in ernest. Actually had to water the annual cut flowers to keep them going strong for use as wedding flowers. Limelighter hydrangea is looking great. Oops, TTP thought he was planting late bush beans, but they are pole beans so had to put up some supports. Fall snap peas are up and growing too. People forget that in August you can replant spring crops, as long as you keep them watered. After the wedding craziness is done, fall lettuce will be planted too. Got a couple of cheapy late season specials to add some color in places where plants have pooped out making a blank spot in our gardens. On the whole, the gardens are looking OK for this time of year.