Make no mistake about it: summer is here! Whoa Nellie is it hot; it’s supposed to be hot all week. My peppers are finally growing noticeably.  Raspberries are almost there:

Last year we picked our first raspberries on the 4th, so they’re a bit later (and closer to normal) this year.  Another 7-10 days and we should be knee deep in berries.

Asiatic lilies are blooming. Here’s one nestled in some garlic and fennel.

A pumpkin bloom! The pumpkin plants are so big they are starting to take over our deck as evidenced at the bottom of the following picture:

Look at the potato tower (bottom right)! Holy moly! It has wee white flowers at the top.

Other phenology notes for July 4, 2011:

– Strawberries are pretty much done, but we’ll still get alpine strawberries here and there
– Echinacea, asiatic lilies, cucumbers, pumpkins, and tomatoes all blooming
– Couple of green tomatoes coming in
– Garlic is almost done, and so is the first cabbage

Here’s a little wide-angle shot I photoshopped for you, showing the entire garden (click to enlarge):

Things will start changing soon — I plan to pick that large head of cabbage today and start harvesting all the garlic within a week or so. Take a deep breath, here we go!