Gardens: turning the mid-summer corner

The stump garden at The Hedges in Blue Mountain Lake, created by Virginia Jennings for Pat Benton. Photo: Virginia Jennings.
We’re picking tomatoes from our garden and the early corn is getting very close (by August 1, I’m guessing). On the other hand, the flower gardens around my house are a wreck–a combination of trampling by chickens and our house painting operation, as well as my failure to keep up with weeding.
You all are sending me some amazing photos. The collection today is from the past week and includes gardens from Raquette Lake to Ogdensburg, Blue Mountain Lake to Saranac Lake. Scroll through, get inspired, and send me your garden photos for next week’s garden-tracking post: [email protected]
Here are a few more photos from Virginia Jennings.

Another garden at The Hedges (in front of the dining room) in Blue Mountain Lake. Photo and garden: Viriginia Jennings
Tomatoes–not quite ripe in Ogdensburg, and getting going in Saranac Lake.
This is a great photo from a couple of weeks ago, sent in by Tracy Santagate at Timberdown, Paul Smith’s.

“Garden Shower,” watering nasturtiums, peas, beans, kale, spinach and lettuce. Photo: Tracy Santagate
Here’s another charming photo from Tracy’s garden.
The lilies this year have been stupendous. Lots of lily photos in last week’s post, but the rain has helped keep them going long and strong. Our garden photo friend Cassandra Corcoran from Monkton, Vermont faced a common problem: dealing with a garden that’s been left untended for a week or more because of vacation or work travel.

After 14 days of travel, I came home to my garden. Not looking too weedy. I missed the peas but the blueberries and currants are plentiful. Photo: Cassandra Corcoran, Monkton VT
This past weekend, I visited station friends Jeffrey Sellon and Marilyn Burns on Raquette Lake. Jeffrey’s floating dock garden has some celebrity status, not only on its home lake but across the Adirondacks. Here’s what it looked like yesterday.
Okay, you know what to do: snap those pictures and send them to [email protected], and remember to include your name and the town you live in.
Gardening tip of the week (this is actually the first time I’ve offered one of these): stay away from those bean plants when it’s wet.
Love the floating garden! Probably keeps the pests and disease problems to a minimum.
Wow the floating garden is amazing!
How beautiful and serene.