New This Week: August Week 3

On the non-consumable side this week was the installation of a new evergreen specimen the cryptomeria japonica:

This is a beautiful slow growth cedar native to Japan (as the name might suggest!). This particular cultivar has a very unique branching habit. The branches extend out into what to me looks like pom-pom clusters of the needles. Eventually this should be a nice round mound. I needed to get some more winter-hardy stuff going so that as the summer/fall flowers die off I'll actually have something to look at this winter! I saw this plant featured on The Garden Guy with Paul James on HGTV a couple weeks ago and decided that I'd give it a shot. It's hardy in Zone 6, but I'm not sure how it will do in a pot. My other evergreens seem to do fine, so here's hoping!!

From an edible perspective this was the week of the pepper. I know this photo isn't the greatest... but it does give you an idea of the scope of the pepper varieties now coming to the table (clockwise from lower left):

• Another huge crop of banana peppers. I've already pickled this bunch since the last effort was so successful!
• Beautiful and yummy bell peppers.
• Jalapeno peppers that also ended up pickled (most of them).
• Orange habanero peppers... nothing yet... but they're destined for salsa as soon as the next batch of tomatoes ripens.
• Red sweet peppers. These guys (and a few of their colleagues) were roasted up for the baba ganoush and fresh spaghetti sauce we made this week.