Wild Blackberry Season + Garden Update

The garden has been going nuts. The wild blackberries in our yard are starting to ripen, we're picking cucumbers, lettuces, basil, and small sungold tomatoes from the garden, and in a few weeks we'll have squash, black krim tomatoes, melons, and pole beans.

We picked a bowl full of blackberries today and made plans for a jam or berry crisp, then promptly ate the entire bowl.

Four large cucumbers have been harvested from the garden.

The morning glory planted by the arbor has taken off.

Orange lilies and mystery pink roses popped up all over the yard a few weeks ago.

The sungold tomatoes have been turning ripe, but never make it back to the kitchen. It's too tempting to eat them right on the spot while weeding.

This photo is from a few weeks ago, and the garden is even more lush now.



Hard to believe we started with this only two months ago...

We really haven't had much trouble getting our plants to grow and thrive this year with the sunny/hot/rainy summer we've had. No deer, rabbit, or other critters have made it past the fence that we can tell. Japanese Beetles have been the only issue so far. We hung a trap on the arbor and have caught hundreds, but hundreds more are still in the garden eating the leaves and leaving little holes in everything. Anyone have tips for keeping them out? Something that doesn't involve chemicals or pesticides? Any info would be very much appreciated!