This week, my lemon tree lost every single leaf (though there’s a happy ending to the story), my cucumbers flowered, the miracle of the late-season peas continued (we have pods!) and, thanks to all the rain, my Gaura ‘Pink Fountain’ looked like a firework. Click through for all the pretty pictures!

So, as you can see above, the peas have gone beyond just flowering. Despite my ridiculously late planting, looks like I may have a crop on my hands!

Then there are the cucumbers. Even though I’ve thinned them a few times, the plants are turning into giants, and I was looking at some serious crowding. I could have just cut out a few, but I hated the idea of chucking the plants now that they’re so big and healthy. So I attempted to transplant half of them to an open plot or two on the other side of the raised bed. For a couple of days the transplants were wilted and generally pathetic. I feared the worst. And then they bloomed! And now the leaves have perked back up as well. Transplant success. Ta da:

Speaking of close calls, remember the lemon tree I planted a few weeks back? In case you’ve forgotten, here’s a picture of the plant just after I potted it.

What happened next was a bit traumatic. I watched one leaf after the next drop from its tiny stem. The first leaf, no big deal. By the time it got to the tenth, I was trying all sorts of tricks: more water, less water, shade, sun. But I needn’t have worried. A day or two after the last of the old leaves dropped, it sprouted a whole bunch of new leaves. I think it’s going to pull through just fine.

Since we’ve been taking a closer look at corn this week, it’s required that I report on the corn I’m growing. And the report is: unexciting. It’s growing. It’s getting taller every day. It hasn’t hit puberty yet. Right now, its best trick is looking pretty in the wind, like so…

But enough delay, let’s get to the ‘Pink Fountain’. I thought this guy was fading. Nope. After the heavy rain on Tuesday, he came out in full regalia. It reminded me of wildflowers in the mountains in Utah after it rains. Such a pleasant morning surprise. Guess we’ll see what Sunday’s rains bring this week!