While the rest of the tomato plants dissolve into blackened mush and mildew, Sun Gold soldiers on, still ripening its shiny little sweet/tart orbs. It clamored over the rest of the tomatoes, flung itself into the sunflowers and eensie weensie spidered up the water spout.
It was a beautiful summer for humans but a bad bad summer for tomatoes, and right now Sun Gold is the only one out of 6-8 varieties that will be invited back next year. "Ultra Super Extra Early?" Here that means last week of October. The word "Oregon" is included in the variety name? Best we can do . . . they don't breed a "Washington Spring." Buy plants from Territorial Seeds? Yeah yeah, they're the Big Dog in the Pacific Northwest, but that was just me being lazy. Next year I will start my own and use row covers. And sadly give up my love for the rowdy and extravagently foliaged but refuse-to-ripen indeterminates and go for the more plebian determinates.
This is my banana tree, purchased from Top Foods for about $10. It's companion is an avocado I raised from a pup.
Fuschias are supposed to spend the winter in the garage, but these are still blooming, I think I'll leave them out until Thanksgiving. 
While the rest of the tomato plants dissolve into blackened mush and mildew, Sun Gold soldiers on, still ripening its shiny little sweet/tart orbs. It clamored over the rest of the tomatoes, flung itself into the sunflowers and eensie weensie spidered up the water spout.
This is Pelargonium 'Vancouver Centennial' still blooming happily away in November. It spent last winter indoors (there are actually several plants in the pot). It was infested with aphids, and had to be cut down to the nubs and sprayed several times with insecticidal soap. During its hybernation, the foliage remained pale green, but the red returned when the plant was moved back outside in the spring. So far it has not experienced another Attack of the Aphids.
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