August Hope

Heading into August I'm wondering if I'll see a melon, taste my own tomatoes, or pluck a red pepper!  I am eating strawberries again, and they are big and juicy, a nice surprise.  We had about 4 cups of cherries turned into cherry/brandy sauce for icecream, yummy!  The perennials are doing great, the apples on the tree look good and I planted more green beans, hoping for a warm August.
More changes are coming to the back yard in the next few weeks.  We are finally removing the original landscaping rock and what remains of the plastic from the back of the house.  This means removing any plants I want to save, mainly milkweed and coneflower, and yes the monarchs arrived!  I've seen a monarch everyday this past week, hoping it is not the same one each time.  So, we have our work cut out for us, removing plants, then adding plants, and after that we'll have some large rock outcropping done on our small hill.  Out with old rocks, in with new rocks!


giant butterflyweed and bunny tails





mid july




bad bug




view from the patio




cherries




end of july



new perennial from seed
Wallflower



bunny tails




evening primrose




green pond- before oxygenator plants



CLEAR POND! after oxygenator plants!



the ponds

next time, the vegetable garden!
Greenie

A Summer of Change

After weeks of wet cool weather, summer is here.  It has been gorgeous, even with the humidity.  Everything is playing catchup and time will tell if it can.  Things to note on this first day of July;  I haven't seen many butterflies-one yellow swallow tail and a few small pale blue ones.  I have not seen one monarch in our yard.  We've had a few dragonflies, or the same ones returning.  Bees are rare, except for the very tiny ones which were all over the sedum flowers.  Only a couple of large bumble bee sightings, and very few other bees.  I'm hoping with more blooms the bees will increase.  We've only had infrequent visits by a hummingbird, probably the same one.  I have not heard our toad.  Our wrens are back, we have several goldfinches, and chickadees, and robins.  The nuthatch and woodpecker visit once in a while.  I have a bird I haven't been able to identify for sure, maybe a cat bird, and we've had a thrush visit, and the Cooper's Hawk!

lupine with tiger's eye sumac

bush clematis

trumpet vine on patio

cooper's hawk

Today is July 2, and I am starting to see more bees on the milkweed and pincushion flowers.  I'm still seeing hundreds of tiny bees but still no butterflies.  Here are more pictures of the garden!

bunny tails

delphinium

new plant with orange trumpet flowers in front of gallardia-no blooms yet.

red lilies just opening

pincushion bonanza

two new spurge plants and apricot coreopsis

small pond with new rocks- good spot for the fish!

snowsweet apple!

boom or bust again?

potatoes



rutabegas and beets




milkweed




a handful of strawberries a day-better next year?




large pond with water plants



start of new drawing using my cooper's hawk photos.

This gardening is great fun, but some days I feel like I have another full time job!  It is a great inspiration for my work, but I may be re-evaluating all of the vegetable gardening for next year.  I had quite a few perennials that didn't make it so I spent alot of time replacing plants.  Now the back of the house garden area needs to be redone, but the milkweed is staying in hopes of the Monarch's survival, and for the bees.

Greenie