Not Quite Contrary

Well it's officially summer and the lovely not-so-hot weather is behind us, but it's making things go gangbusters in the garden. Having a garden is such a treat. Everyday there is a surprise waiting for me. Since I don't garden with a great amount of structure or organization, there are many surprises. I have no idea what many of the plants are that are doing so well. I am expecting some butternut squash to be quite productive, if that is indeed what I think it is. Hopefully this year will bring some lovely melons like last year. The tomatoes are pretty happy and I have three pepper plants that love their location away from all the other peppers. My African Blue Basil is huge, a regular bush the size of a hydrangea.
One of my disappointments is my tomatillo plant. It is doing so well and is bushy and full of blooms, but I believe it needs a buddy to help it produce.
I am happy that my giant (volunteer) sunflowers are blooming and beautiful and while they are shading two tomato plants with tons of dying fruit on them, the up side is that they are a cheery focus and are attracting lots of honey bees and birds. The birds like to munch a little but mostly on my flowers and the bees are helping to pollenate everything, so that is a plus. Hoeny bees are a rich commodity and not very abundant. I have heard there is some sort of disease plaguing them and I am checking to see what that is.
My nemesis, the Japanese Beetle is still a destructive force, but I think as soon as they finish reproducing, they will be on the way out, hopefully over to my neighbor's! They truly are the bane of any gardner's existence. I would rather have deer mow everything down than have holy leaves or buds that fall off before they can bloom because a beetle has destroyed it. At least with deer, you can't see what you're missing! You just have a root ball left, or headless stems, like my hollyhocks.