Fun Monday - How does your garden grow?

Karmyn is hosting this week and this is what she's wondering:

WHAT'S GROWING IN YOUR GARDEN? (or yard, or patio pot).

About a month ago, we had a Fun Monday that was about what you do outside for fun. At that point, my gardening plans had been altered by the revival of the swimming pool - but I adapted.

I started a container garden on the back deck - so I thought for THIS Fun Monday, I'd update you on how that's going...

I started them all from seeds. Except for one mishap with the tomatoes where they got knocked over in their starter cups, the cucumbers, squash and tomatoes got off to a roaring start. Once I thought they were big enough, I transferred them to large containers.

I kept them on the covered part of the deck since our daily downpours would drown everything in a matter of a couple of days. I religiously turned the pots and checked for moistness - but they didn't seem to be growing quite the way I thought they should.

Thinking that they weren't getting enough direct sunlight, I moved them to the lower level, which was still mostly covered but had greater sun exposure. They lived on the wooden counter that was used for grilling and setting things out.

They LOVED the sun! But they did get a little bit of the runoff from the roof too, getting too wet. I moved them back a bit and they took off!

My cucumber plants... Notice that I actually have a couple of little blossoms on them! Something seems to be munching on the leaves, though. Haven't found the culprit yet.

Both tomato plants are in the same pot. One of them was decimated by a little caterpillar, but once we removed it, it came back pretty strong.

This one, the caterpillar didn't touch, for some reason. It does occur to me now that I need to stake these babies up as they're starting to lay over now.

And here are my squash. One day I had a container full of vigorous, healthy plants and the next day it looked like this. We found a very dead - probably from overeating - caterpillar lying against the side wall. He was pretty big.

So the cukes are doing pretty well, the tomatoes need to be staked, and the squash is no longer with us.

The front bed looks pretty much the same - except the little knockout rose has gone to town with blooms! Not bad for something I figured I'd pruned into submission until next year!

Go see how everyone else's garden grows - visit Karmyn for the list of participants! And I'm sure she'd love a volunteer to host next week...