Let’s take a look around the garden this week, shall we?

This purple tomatillo is just about the perfect stage of ripeness. I would have been able to demonstrate that better if the husk had stayed on when I picked it. Unfortunately, it stayed on the plant. You can see the difference in the purple color of the part that was exposed to the sun versus the part that was hidden under the husks.

Sticking with the purple theme, here’s our first ripe ‘Indigo Rose’ tomato. The purple coloration has been evident for a few weeks and also tends to increase with sun exposure. The under color, a rather bright orange shows that it’s ripe. Unfortunately when you mix orange and purple, you tend to get a rather ugly brown color. While unique, these definitely aren’t an attractive tomato. I haven’t tasted one yet, but from what I’ve heard the flavor also isn’t great.

This is a look at the unripe ‘Indigo Rose’ tomatoes. You can see the variability in purple coloration. (Also the spider mites on the leaves.) The dark purple one is much prettier, but still unripe and green when you look at the bottom.

We noticed on Tuesday morning that the mandevilla have these nice bright orange aphids all over them. We borrowed some ladybug larvae from the cucumbers to have a snack.

The Red Aztec Spinach has reached the point where it is putting up flower buds/seed heads. The leaves and the flower buds are generally considered to be the edible parts of the plant. My husband things the leaves taste like raw green beans. The bud clusters aren’t as big or thick as I wish they were. If you are interested, here are a couple links to recipes. (It is easier to find recipes by using the name “Huazontle.”)

• Mexican Huazontle Tart with Chiles
• Tortitas de Huazontle

This salvia has been hanging out in the Prairie Star Annual bed all summer and overall looking rather ugly and disgusting. Then, all of a sudden, after a couple weeks of cool weather, it is in full bloom and looks great! Now I have to wonder if it was the weather causing it to look bad or if it just doesn’t bloom well until later in the summer.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!