Mellow Yellow

The purple spider wort is done blooming, and all of the yellows have arrived.  The low walker mint and large pink blossomed geraniums and salvia are all still in bloom providing back drop to the yellows.  Looking at my photos I realized I would like some white in there, maybe mellow the yellow a bit more.

The peas and green onions are doing great with lots of consistent watering, the keeper onions not so good.  I think next year that area will be a raised garden bed, maybe for squash or potatoes.  The green beans are doing o.k, I think the trick is not to over water the bags, especially now that they are double bagged they are retaining more moisture.  Even my little tomato plants look o.k., one even has lots of cherries on it.  Speaking of cherry, our poor old cherry tree just can't produce fruit.  We've tried extensive watering and fertilizing.  The only thing we can think of is, it is either the large spruce tree roots, or the cherry has some disease.  I just hope our new little cherry doesn't succumb to the same problem, but it should be far enough away from the spruce trees.  Our little Honey Sweet apple tree has lost a lot of small apples, but there is still quite a few on there, and so far I'm not seeing any disease, but I will probably spray neem on the tree when the wind has calmed and temperatures cooled.

The garden flowers are short and stocky this year again due to our lack of rain the last few weeks, fortunately even a tenth of an inch of rain fills the rain barrel halfway so I can put that on the beans.  I did get all the soaker hoses set up but one, just need to decide who will get that.  The soaker hoses are fairly inexpensive so I'll eventually put them everywhere!  I've also used the pump in the rain barrel and that worked really well, now we just need rain! The upside to my dry straw lawn is that the rabbits have left for greener pastures! 

This isn't a complaint just the facts, our state is heating up and getting a lot windier, which will also create drier soil.  I have dry soil to start with so I need to think more about alternatives to my gardening.  Mulch and straw and drip lines all help but maybe adding a compost layer would be helpful too.  Something to explore.

Like last year I started putting in more drought tolerant perennials and shrubs.  Some are doing well, others not so great, but they need to get established and hopefully I'll be able to reduce watering.  The large Maple tree is also a thirsty tree so of course that area is always a challenge.

As a footnote, I have covid right now and feeling a bit miserable, hence the downer feel of this post.

yellow primrose, always shows up to the party!

experimenting with freezing green onion stalks, works with chives!

mellow yellow

Good pea harvest!

Greenie

Taking it Easy

POND PUMPS IN, WATER LILY IN.

SUPER SIZED GERANIUM

SWEET WILLIAM

BAPTISIA

FLUFFY PAX SEED HEADS

BIG BUMBLE BEES LOVE BAPTISIA

From my perspective I am taking it easy this week!  I've got the crops in, the pond pumps in and water plants in, I've got the last soaker hose set up so we shouldn't get any dry spells this summer, the asparagus is almost done producing and I've just got three more native plant to place.  Then no more digging until next week!  

I still have a lot of bare spots, problem areas, and encroaching shade into usually sunny spots that all need attention, but my plan is to plan, fewer "experiments".  Well, I guess I have learned a few things along the garden way.  Oh, I'll still throw caution to the wind on occasion, because there is always a spot open in the garden!

Greenie

No Complaints

It is a new World, a different country. An unthinkable war in Ukraine, and in our country, one million souls, probably more, lost to covid.

There will be no complaining of weather, growing progress, amount of sweat equity, rabbits, bugs, plant choices, or excessive winds, just reporting. 

It is a glorious day today with temps in the 70's and wind.  The yard looks great, the dandelions are going into full bloom, the fruit trees all have lots of bees busy at work.

So far I've moved a small juniper to a new location, planted a Nannyberry shrub back where the lilacs once resided, and Larry and I got the arbor finished and in place.  Now I need to decide what vine will be planted, I may just plant some morning glories to grow on the arbor this year.  I don't want to rush into anything!

I will be planting some more shrubs at the back of the yard along the fence. We had to prune up our big Spruce trees for the neighbors fence, and now we have a lot less protection for wildlife. So, we will add those shrubs and a couple of shrubs in the garden to add another dimension and some height plus more love for the birds. Birds love shrubs.  I'm considering American cranberrybush, dogwood, summersweet, snowberry and butterfly bush.  The fence area will probably be snowberry since that will tolerate shade and dry soil.

The old cherry tree looks good, full of blooms, hopefully that will result in cherries.  I did fertilize again this year, but it didn't seem to help last year, time will tell.  We are hopeful that the young 'sweet cherry pie' tree will do well with fruit, it is small but loaded with flowers. 

I'm in no rush to plant any more edibles, the weather will be wet and cool in the coming week, plus we've been getting lots of asparagus to eat.  The snow peas look good too, up a couple of inches.

We started Spring with four baby rabbits, but I'm now just seeing one bunny at a time in the yard, but maybe they take turns...

I'm hoping my little red squirrel returns, he was here this winter on and off, but I haven't seen him in several months.  It is fun to watch his antics, especially when he chases the grey squirrels.

I think we have a nesting pair of Chipping Sparrows, and they don't seem to mind me.  They are so tiny!

Time for some photos.  Greenie

View of new Nannyberry shrub and area for more shrubs

good start on snow peas!

My lovely Pasque flowers, I'm slowly adding more from seedlings!

My day brightener wild tulips. The yellow ones bloom first, now the red, orange and pink blooms!

I love all the blooming trees, just got to get me some other color, a little chartreuse, pink?

A Time for Everything, Now a Time to Stop. Well, Slow Down.

After digging out and replanting most of August, it seemed like a "good" idea to remove some of our over crowded and diseased lilac bushes.  We wanted to hire someone to do that, but the tree removal companies just wanted to grind them down, but without chemical killer those roots would be vigorously re-sprouting.

Larry, with a little bit of assistance from me, started digging, and it really didn't seem that horrible, until our backs, and my hip, said NO.  So for the last few weeks Larry's been tackling the 4 stumps with persistence, and has succeeded.  So far we haven't had to go to the doctor, but we have done a lot of ice packs on backs.  

We hope to save one clump of lilacs, it is a good privacy screen, but time will tell if it is healthy enough to save

ugly green service box

.  Until the fate of the last lilac is decided I probably won't be planting in that corner, well maybe a small bush to hide the ugly green service box.

Now, I just need to lay down some more landscape fabric, and mulch, clean out the ponds, harvest the runner beans, clean my tools, roll up my soaker hoses, reconfigure my raised beds... Happy October!

Greenie.

The Last Lilac Stump!

Beautiful non blooming Morning Glory

Larry's Arbor!

A Breath of Fresh Air

 It is September 1, and there is a dry, refreshing breeze just ever so lightly reminding me that changes are coming.  We've had substantial rain in the past week, 5 inches!  We are in line to get more soon.  I can see the difference in the garden immediately, the plants, like me, are taking a deep breath.

I'm in the beginning of clean up and Fall planting to prepare for next summer.  More drought tolerant plants, one or two drought tolerant fruit plants( honey berry).  

Clean up of diseased lilacs and cone flowers.

Parts of my garden look really barren, and parts of my garden are in more shade than last year, and parts of my garden are still providing an abundance of food for bees, butterflies and birds.

I've realized I can't be everything to every bee, butterfly and bird, but I can provide something for most of them.  I'm like a wayside rest.  Now I just need to decide if I'm satisfied with that.

aster

cucumber tally-2

hummer

hummer

c

cucumber tally-2

clean out area, honeysuckle shrub added

lilacs gone, now what?

apples!

sedum, the garden savior

Appreciate the Little Things

 So many sad and frightful events happening across the world right now, earthquakes, fires, floods, terrorist take overs,  it often feels over whelming.  No matter how frustrated I get with the garden it still is always a haven and I'm grateful to have it, but sometimes I need to remind myself how lucky I am.  All the little daily discoveries of hiding toads, giant dragonflies,  hummingbirds hovering in front of me and zipping off in lightening speed.  The call of a Red Tail hawk overhead, a pretty Blue Jay feather in the grass.  A plate of delicious Italian green beans, fresh pesto on warm bread.  The 54 Monarch butterflies released!  The hundreds of bees I see every day on the plants I provided, that is what it is all about.

x5 + 4!

Lilacs before and after, mistake or no?  Definitely have to plant to cover lovely green box.

                                                      japanese beetle eating marigold.  Still here.

Lessons Learned

This has definitely been the most uninspired summer of gardening ever! My dry soil couldn't get any drier, but I definitely learned what plants are the toughest! Hands down, Wild Petunia wins! Well, a caveat, the newly planted Millenium Allium and the Crazy Blue Russian Sage have also done really well. So, I'm trying some more sage, a Russian Sage, and a Spire Sage.  I'm also trying a Super Blue Lavender, a Hidcote Blue Lavender and a Phenomenal Lavender for drought tolerant plants, and I may try a couple of other plants, Darts Gold Ninebark, and some Geum, if I can find them this Fall at the garden center.  I also planted a Lemon Meringue Baptisia in a challenging spot near the Maple tree.

It has been a tough summer of watering, but we really made sure all of our trees were taken care of first, so hopefully they will continue to thrive.

The green beans are still doing well, but I'm not sure we'll see a cucumber.  I also learned that Japanese beetles like pole beans.  They have desiccated my new Cherry Tree, (now under cover) the cone flowers, and the evening primrose.

On the upside I have playful hummers, and I've raised 54 monarch butterflies!  Good Luck flutterflies!

Greenie

cherry under attack,  even the marigolds are getting chewed.

second blooming for butterfly weed!

allium millenium

naughty beetles

hanging in there!

lovely sage

tasty Italian beans

basil, my new crop of choice!