2012 - June 30th

Amidst the heat and lack of rain, the fruits of our vegetable are struggling to survive.  June has been so hot and dry, with temperatures in the upper 90s and low 100s.   These three little Spaghetti Squashes are protected by the netting from the deer.

The Butterfly Bush is doing well with the drought.  I love how it keeps producing beautiful purple flowers throughout the summer for the hungry Butterflies, Bees, and many other nectar eating insects.

The deer netting is also protecting the Crab Apple nicely.  The tree has recovered nicely from the attacks from the hungry deer.

The morning sunlight shines on the backside of the house as Panda tries to stay cool on the walkway bricks.

Mimi's plant at the bottom is doing well along with my "Cat Vomit" plant (my mom calls it) with all it's new sprouts all over the plant.

Another pretty Sunflower bloomed in the Walmart Pot with the Daffodils.  I love the color variation of red with the yellow.

The heat has really taken a toll on the Inpatients.   The leaves are shriveling up into small echos of a leaf.

The Green Pepper is ALMOST ready to pluck!  It has done well.  It is small, but looks VERY tasty!

The Basil has been very delicious on our Margarita Pizzas. 

The Brussels Sprouts have taken the toll from the caterpillars, which have just about munched all the leaves off of this stalk.  I ended up pulling up this plant in hopes to get rid of some of the pesky eaters.

 The larger of the two stalks has only been sparsely munched on.  Thankfully. 

The Sunflowers in the Raised Garden are so pretty, but they are so freaking tall that I cannot thoroughly enjoy them.  Next year, I will put the shorter Sunflower varieties in the Raised bed and put the taller ones out on the fence line to see them from afar.

The Gypsy Pepper and the Tomato plants are struggling the most in the small pots.  I am not able to water them like I should with this drought.  The plants suffer from the heat and lack of water and have put out a limited supply of fruit.

The Cherry Tomatoes are getting ready to turn Red!!!

The Radish Seed Pods are full of seeds and look about ready to be pulled for collection.

The Snow Peas are definitely done.  The plants have turned to a crispy papery shell of a plant.

This is the third year for the Butterfly Garden.  It looks so rough.  The caterpillars have really done a number on the Cone Flowers.  After I divided the really pretty Red Lilies, it seems to declined in life.  It has gone dormant like it was turning winter.  I hope it survives.  I really love that plant.

The Mammoth Sunflower is getting taller and taller, while the Yuccas are done with their flowers as they produce seeds in their pods.

2012 - Pesky Pests

And it begins.  A swarm of Japanese Beetles have graced my garden.  My poor four year old Rose-of-Sharon Bush is finally providing me privacy from my neighbor is being eaten alive by this damaging pest.  I need to find some way to save it.  I used the rest of my insecticidal soap to kill the mating bugs in the act, but I fear it is minimal to zilch effect.  This flower is now devoured.  As well as the majority that have bloomed yesterday and today and the ones that are just opening.  A few beetles turned into hundreds.  Madness.

 

 On another note, the Spaghetti Squash is producing a few fruits.

 The Green Pepper is getting bigger!

The Peas are finishing their season and I am trying to decide what to put in their place for the summer rotation.

 The Brussel Sprouts are doing better.  Maybe by winter, they will be as tall as me and have lots of Sprouts!

 My pot of Sunflowers and Daffodils are almost as tall as me and starting to bloom.

Opening Soon!!!

2012 - May 3

RADISH

Wal-Mart Daffodils

Daffodil Displayed with Kale Leaf

SUPER SIZED RADISH

SUPER SIZED RADISH

2012 - A Month Later!

So much growth since a month ago!  The Butterfly Garden is getting so full!  I am going to have to split these Lilies up to free up some room.  Evan's new flower is looking really pretty with it's red and yellow blooms.

The red is prominent in this picture, while the yellow is on the back side of the plant.  Next time I will get an angle that has the two plants to show the different colors.  Behind it, the Russian Sage is looking very full and beautiful!

The Raised Garden is looking wonderful too!  The Kale chips really helped thin it out as you can see that it was over growing with lots of leaves!  I will have to thin it down to two plants I believe.  As well as the Beets.  They will be thinned to maybe four.

 Here's a nice overlook of the whole garden.  The Parsley has finally popped up as well as the Carrots!

There's those yummy Pea shoots.  I am never going to let them get tall if I keep eating the sprouts.

The Sunflowers are getting tall too!  I may have to thin them as they keep getting tangled into one another in the strong winds.  Their size contrasts so much comparably to the ones in the terracotta pot.  Another surprise is the Kentucky Pole beans, they seem to have taken off a bit since I last documented them.  I have a Soybean sprout in there as well, and thank God, because the deer have eaten the one out by the fence.  I may have to start some more to get them going again.

There is the Parsley next to the beet greens.  Not much out of the ground, but they are a slow grower.  The Cilantro is looking good and there are some new Radish Sprouts popping up next to them on the right.

The Dill is looking so lush with it's feathery foliage. 

The Daffodils are looking like they might just bloom.  I have read that I should cut them off and let the bulb build up energy for next year.  I really don't want to do that.  The sunflowers are looking good, but seem over crowded.

The Mesclun is looking really good in the fenced in garden.  Look a little closer at the top and those pesky Sunchokes are poking their ugly heads up out of the ground.  I do believe there are tubers under the concrete block that are impossible to get to.  Like I said before, EVERY bit of the tuber, root and plant must go.  What an invasive species.

Oh Deer.  Quit eating my stuff.  I know.  It's my fault for not covering these tasty little guys, but it still urks me that they would come into my yard and eat my food.  The nerve.  You foraging monsters.

Whatever.  I am not upset.  Just really glad they didn't eat the Spaghetti Squash.  The Peppers may come back.  I won't hold my breath, especially the Soybean plant that was completely demolished.

 
Here are the same flowers that are featured in the Front Yard right now.  They are packed in with these Pineapple Mint or Orange Mint.  I think they cross pollinated with the Spearmint, so they don't smell as good as they did last year.  They will soon take over the yard and when I mow it will smell so delicious when I chop them down.

The Butterfly Bush is looking good.  I hope the deer doesn't eat it like the peppers and soybeans.

The Crabapple is getting munched on as well.  So frustrating.  Why don't you get tall already mister tree so the deer can't reach your tall branches.  I think a fence to go around it will have to help it get back on the road to recovery so it can reach for the sky.

 The Lilly of the Valley is not doing much, but staying alive.  I'll take that.

The beautiful Mesclun is surrounded by some really pretty flowers that I have yet to plant, a whole month later.

 It's like a salad bowl.  It just needs some dressing.

The Johnny-ups in the top corner are coming along so slowly.  The seeds were from 2009, so I don't know if they are stunted by that fact.

The resilient flowers that need to be planted.  So pretty.  Pink is not my favorite color, but it looks good with yellow and green.