LyndaTrue's garden in 2015

I keep meaning to start my own thread. After reading this article a cousin posted on Facebook, I'm even more excited for Spring.

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/antidepressant-mi...

I'm not sure about the scientific basis in those claims, but there probably is something to it.

I'll be starting seedlings this week. My forsythia is on fire with yellow blooms, and that's enough for me. It's an early Spring. I have an enormous amount of clean up to do, but then, it's always worth it.

ETA: 2016 Arrived.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/188943#5515972

>1 Lyndatrue: The scientific basis (http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jul/raw-data-is-dirt-the-new-prozac) is a tad gruesome. I enjoy spring cleanup; first chance to work outside after several months cooped up, and the effort so obviously pays off.

>2 qebo: Wow! Great paper, and thanks for posting it. Nice to see that my preference for weeding (rather than just using massive quantities of roundup) is good for me too. I'll have to post this back on FB for my cousin to read.

>3 Lyndatrue: My link was listed as a reference for your link. :-)
I enjoy weeding rather less in July; it's endless, and by then I'm less excited to see stuff growing.

>1 Lyndatrue: & >2 qebo: Well, in that case, I should be all sort of happy. I was almost armpit deep in dirt all weekend long! Maybe that explains my mood this Monday morning. :)

>5 lesmel: The weather's gone back and forth, and I haven't been outside much in the last ten days. I look forward to a warm day without wind (I've had one, *or* the other). I'll probably start seeds this week. Common sense got the better of me; I was going to start them two weeks ago. It can still frost here; it isn't even April yet. Starting things now is about right.

>6 Lyndatrue: I'm tempting fate. We have been known to get a freeze -- hard enough to zap a few plants -- as late as Easter. And Easter is early this year!

Our late frost date used to be mid-May, but late April seems to be more likely recently. And this year we haven't come near a frost for weeks now.

Here you are! I dropped a star... :)

I'm terribly slow with adding pictures, but I still wanted to put some updates. Last fall I burned up my corded electric mower (a Craftsman, and sadly, we all know what a sham that name is now). I used it for edging, and once a season, at the beginning, I mowed all the lawn with it (to pick up debris and all the fuzzy seed things that come from some trees a few houses away). I was sad when the magic smoke came out (no actual fire, thank goodness). After doing a lot of research, I ended up with a Kobalt, from Lowe's, and I'm happy with it.

Mowing a third of an acre by hand is more work than it sounds like, and this year, I did it in two days, not one. I'm glad that I did, since today we are having a rare, precious rainfall. I'm sure there are people who are disappointed that it happened today, but our area is one of the top ten in providing food to the rest of the US, and most of us are grateful for the rain.

Back on point. For the rest of the season, I will only use the corded mower for edges, and the riding mower for the rest (thank goodness). I've pulled the weeds from the beds around the trees, and cleared out most of the sycamore leaves (from another neighbor's trees). Monday will probably be tree fertilizing (I use the stakes that go in the ground, which seem to work best here in the desert).

I have yet to start any seeds, even though I'm itching to get going, because there's no sense in having spindly plants that have been too long in planters, while waiting for the ground to warm. I'm considering putting black eyed peas in, though, since they're a plant that doesn't mind the cold soil.

>10 Lyndatrue: Mowing a third of an acre by hand is more work than it sounds like
Actually it sounds like a lotta work.

>10 Lyndatrue: I went through electric mower repair last season. The repair shop guys were very helpful and informative. They told me that a heavier gauge extension cord would prevent the motor from over heating. That will apply no matter what brand.

>12 2wonderY: Absolutely (on the gauge). My late husband found out the hard way that using my cords wasn't just a polite nicety, when the fancy wood chipper he'd bought (with a cord sold to him by an idiot salesman) wouldn't even start. Luckily it was okay (and I marked his new cord with blue electrical tape on both ends, to keep it from being used with heavy equipment again).

My old craftsman was just worn out, poor thing. Things wear out.

I have 1/3 of an acre, too. My dh (dear husband) has a riding mower that works most of the time, but when he went to mow on Saturday, it wouldn't start. He did part of the front yard and around the side with the push (power) mower. I really appreciated it, as I can't physically handle it myself.

I've been overwhelmed the past couple of weeks. Spring seems to have arrived in a rush, and my yard's been mostly neglected for a year. I'm in the process of moving pictures from Ipernity back to Flickr (for ease of use), and am finally ready to start keeping my normal garden journal.

The irrigation water was finally turned on this past Friday. I spent most of Saturday pulling stones from the back fence, seen here.



Sadly, the yard you see is no longer there. The house was sold, and there's now a dangerous dog, a shed, and any number of other things. I'll be having a fence put up in the next week or two, and then life will return to normal. Enough of that.

I fertilized all the trees, including the Crimson Maple, both Dogwoods, and the Redbud, and did general cleaning up. I have yet to put seeds into potting soil for later transplanting. I'm going to try starting some of the string beans early, although I've heard they don't take well to transplanting, and must be planted directly in the ground. There's certainly time enough to try both.

In the meantime, my wallflowers have taken off, providing ecstasy for the bees.



Spring is good.

>15 Lyndatrue: I like watching happy bees. Nice to see photos.

>15 Lyndatrue: pretty.

Good fences make good neighbors...or so it's been said.

I wish I were better on adding the photos, but there just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day.

So far today I've added Bonide Systemic to the tea roses (12 oz each), the Bourbon Queen rose (6 oz), the two Ebb Tides (9 oz each), the white dogwood (10 oz), the redbud (10 oz), the pink dogwood (15 oz), the weeping hydrangea (6 oz), the Betty Boop rose (18 oz), and three of the Ballerina roses (6, 6, and 9 oz). If I want to get the last Ballerina, I need more Bonide (I used up the gallon I had). I barely have time before it starts blooming.

I prefer this method to spraying, since it doesn't seem to bother the Mantis, or bees, and keeps the aphids away from my roses and trees. This is toxic to bees, if it gets on them, but not once it soaks into the soil. It's a good time of year to do it, since none of the roses are blooming yet (and they're very close to doing so).

Oh, we will expect pictures of your roses.

>19 2wonderY: yep, yep. It's an unwritten requirement here... ;)

Today I finally cleared a bed (bed #3), and will lay down compost tomorrow, and then plant. I'm a bit late on planting lettuce (which is what usually goes in this bed). The tomatoes and herbs are all started in their own little pots; hopefully all the early girl seeds will germinate.

You just can't have too many tomatoes.

Wow. Here it is, August, and I've posted nothing here. I wish i had the energy to keep up with the yard, and document it here too, but I have to choose the one that won't wait.

Here's a little sample:



That zucchini in the middle was hidden. I'm not sure *how* it was, but it was. Those are young black eyed peas hidden under it. Some people call them cowpeas.

I've never had a zucchini plant actually take hold and produce zucchini. But from what I hear...yeah, it hides under a leaf for just a couple days and you have a green baseball bat. Hope you've got some way to use those up. Nice tomatoes, too - are those Early Girls? I'm getting a (very) few Sungolds, and Japanese Black Trifele (yummmmm). None of the "normal" tomatoes are even beginning to change color yet.

>23 jjmcgaffey: I'm surprised to hear that you haven't had a plant that produced(*). Here, in the land of irrigation water rationing, and endless heat, it's still a plant that produces. That's the old kind of zucchini as well. I may let another one go on purpose, but that one was at the *top* of the plant, and would have caused the whole thing to break, the next time we have a high wind day.

Yes, those are early girls, poor things. I usually have so many tomatoes this time of year that I run out of people to give them away to. This year, I'm only encountering that with the green beans (running out of people).

When they first announced that we would have 53% of our normal allotment for the summer (it dropped to 47% later), I replanned my whole garden. My watering system is fancy enough to have multiple scheduling passes, and there are 11 stations. I walked out, mid-May, and told the grass it was all going to die. Some of it has; most of it is just brown and dormant...except the Bermuda. I used to fight it, but I've been encouraging it as drought tolerant for the past two years. It takes perhaps 10-15% of the water that the other does. It's the only grass in my yard that's still green.

My few vegetables are all planted among the perennials in various garden beds. Those beds are the only thing getting normal water (or what passes for normal this summer). I could go on, but I'd better stop (at least for now).

(*) My favorite zucchini story is how, in Marin County, you don't leave your car windows open in the summer, because your car will be filled with zucchini when you return. I always tell people that you really only need one or two plants per neighborhood.

Don't know, I just have bad luck with squash. This year I actually have three live plants (of three different types), one of which has produced an actual squash. The problem is, it was somebody else's volunteer, and I have no idea what kind of squash it is! Hoping it's a sugar pie pumpkin, but they bought them (I think) as decorative gourds, and it may have no flesh. It's just turning orange now, after being dark green - a bit larger than a baseball. One other plant, an "Early Sugar Pie", has produced a flower, but only one...so I'm not sure it will get fertilized and turn into a squash. And the Honey Nut is still alive, but shows no sign of flowering. And this is my best year for squash yet - I only killed 3 of the 6 I planted. Tomatoes I'm good at, and herbs, but squash doesn't like me/my garden.

I feel a bit overwhelmed with food. It makes me sad that I've run out of people to give away food to. I can't give it to local charities (sad commentary on modern life), and I'm probably going to give in, and just pull up some plants.

I picked these last night; I expect that many again tomorrow night (I pick beans every two days, in season). I planted enough for canning, but I don't have the time to can this year (at least not something so time consuming as string beans).





My iPhone took better pictures of the purple beans than my fancy camera. You never know.

>26 Lyndatrue: Oh my, that is kind of overwhelming.

>27 qebo: I managed to find people, but I had to work at it. I have that many again (every 2-3 days), but the weather is in the nineties, rather than the hundreds, and I think I'm going to put them up, and then start thinning the plants out. It'll be Autumn soon enough.

I'd originally planted that many because I wanted to can them, and then there was drought, and August temps in June (and July). I've been living vicariously with the butterfly parenting that you all are doing; it's been interesting.

I wish we lived closer so you could give me some of your zuccini and beans. Those were the two plants in my straw bale garden that didn't make it this year. The bush beans produced about two dozen beans, and the zuccini plants both died before the end of June.

On the other hand, thanks to your advice, I will have tomatoes through January (I hope), and the one lemon cuke did well but didn't produce enough as we all loved those cukes!

>29 Storeetllr: Of course, the beans are long gone, and so are the zucchini. I'd have been happy to share, though.

I would not expect string beans (either bush or pole) to have done well in your straw bale system. Anything nitrogen fixing wants to be in the ground. I think the bales let in too much are around the roots (which are normally very shallow). I'd guess the zucchini wanted more space to stretch, as well. Did you have any summer squash that liked the straw bale system? Just curious.

No, no summer squash this year, which was an experiment. Next year I plan to plant 2-4 more bales than I did this year. I had planted the beans in a container, not a bale, so that wasn't the problem. They did well at first, then just stopped producing. I'll probably try some summer squash next year, in addition to zucchini. My sis loves summer squash! Already planning.

My bush beans were behind wire, but half-runners were probably within reach of the deer, and I never saw any fruit on those. Working on better fencing for next year.

>31 Storeetllr: There's another possibility for your beans. Most legumes are pollinated through the wind (bees might like the bean blossoms, but they don't have much to do with pollinating them). If your beans are in too sheltered an area, or if you don't have enough plants, they produce briefly at maturity, and then stop.

It's rather like corn; they like to have friends. :-}

Strangely, my varieties grow better and produce more of I don't mix them. I plant the wax beans together, the purple beans together, and the blue lake greens most everywhere else. Next year I'm back to mostly pole beans for the blue lakes, though. Take up less space, and oh, so much easier to pick at the height of the season. I'm too old for a hour of stoop labor.

>32 2wonderY: I am sometimes jealous of people who have deer visit them, but I suppose I wouldn't be as wistful if I was busy protecting my garden from them.

Pity that the topic header can't be edited. 2016 has arrived.

Last year I was very lackadaisical about keeping notes (they're still scattered everywhere on bits and pieces of paper. I'm determined to do better this year.

I treated everything with a systemic on the 16th. I used one and a half gallons (trees, some shrubs, and all the roses).

Tomorrow (March 20) I'll be putting fertilizer stakes in the ground.

- Evergreen stakes for the ninebark and forsythia (two per each).
- Regular tree stakes for the crimson maple (36).
- Fruit tree stakes for everything else: white dogwood (4), redbud (6), pink dogwood (18).

Hope it doesn't rain on me, but tomorrow's the day, no matter what.

March 20: I finished the Crimson Maple (which is blooming early), and did one Forsythia, in the front. I may get to the others today, but tomorrow is more likely.

>34 Lyndatrue: Or you could just start a new thread. :-)

>26 Lyndatrue: It's true, I could start a new thread, but it seems wasteful, somehow. Maybe next year?

>37 Lyndatrue: I don't think the LT database will suffer from a thread with only a few dozen posts. :-)

Okay, now I'm tired. Really, really tired. On the other hand, I finished the tree and shrub staking, so life is excellent. That means that most of it was done today, March 25th. I also gave the Redbud its first monthly snack of bloodmeal and bonemeal (I'm counting it as April, so it won't be necessary again until May). Both dogwoods also got a mix of bonemeal and bloodmeal.

I pulled weeds as well; it's a start. I really need to fertilize the rest of the perennials, and get the little potting cups ready to put seed in.

I love Spring.

I mowed the front today with the riding mower. I mowed the back on Wednesday. I really missed my riding mower, and it's nice to have it back (it sleeps elsewhere for the winter, and comes back in the spring after an oil change, new air filter, and a bath).

There are bees everywhere. I need to trim back the roses before I mow again, or else they'll be blooming when I next ride past, and I'll be playing the game of bee dodging. There are quite a few that look like the managed bees, so they must be from the orchards nearby (it's that time of year, after all). I've seen quite a few wild bees too (those are the most precious). They love the wallflowers, which are really coming on.

This shot is from last year.



I really need to upload pictures from my camera, so that I can take more. Spring goes by so very fast.

I have four Germander plants from the nursery, awaiting a spot to be cleared. I've heard that they draw bees more even than the wallflowers, but I cannot imagine that. This one is a dwarf variety, and is intended for a bed that is in a corner that usually ends up hosting things like milkweed.

I am letting them harden for a week (while I make a serious effort to clearing the beds). The bed they're intended for is unprotected, and I'd hate to see them frozen back (although I think that time is passed).



The bed (on both sides of the fence, to the viewer's left) is nearly perfect for wildflowers. It's not too close to anything I work on a lot, and gets good water, and all day sun.

>41 Lyndatrue: Such a nice, inviting spot! I'm waiting for our March snow and 32 degrees to pass--which they will, soon enough. We needed the snow for the moisture, so I'm not complaining.

First pass on weeding the back bed. I'd already done a bit the other day, but I got a third of it nearly done. I also trimmed the dead bits from one of the Ebb Tide roses. Poor thing, it looked like I should have paid more attention to it last fall.

First pass implies getting all the weeds that are quick growers, and all the dandelions. The other broadleafs can wait. They move slowly, and it'll be a while before they even send up a bloom. I hope to finish that bed tomorrow. There are a few volunteer Iris coming up (there were a ton of white ones until I took them out).

I hope to get the seedlings started tomorrow.

It's very slow going. I really need to get an earlier start to the day. Starting at 3PM is not going to get me too far in cleaning things up.

I trimmed back the two smaller Ballerinas, and at least now it'll be safe to walk past them, once they start blooming. I need to move to the garden beds that are next to the house, so that I can get the early seeds started. Lettuce, beets, chard; they all need to get a start, and need to be in the ground this week.

Yesterday I moved to one of the front beds (because it's where I plant the cold weather crops, and it'll take me another day or so to finish clearing it of weeds and debris). Today is going to have to be mowing, and then I'll see how much energy I have left.

You sound busy and productive! It's such a good feeling to get the cleanup done.

Nearly finished with a bed (meant for the cool weather crops, like lettuce and spinach). The Iris (still in pots) are in back, awaiting blooming (so I can decide where they go).

I planted seeds for seedlings in one of three trays. I wasn't paying attention to the seeds, and discovered that most of what I thought was full seed packets were the empty ones from last year (useful for notes, but I should have checked).

It's just as well. I need to drive out to the nursery tomorrow anyway.

They say rain tomorrow. I hope so, otherwise I'll have to drag the hose around to all the perennials (because the irrigation water doesn't reach this far in the canals for another week). Spring is getting there, by fits and starts.

You're back, so am I!

While reading about your Iris, I realized that I probably should attack my Iris bed soon. There's honeysuckle that I can't totally eradicate (it grows up from the ditch in the front yard) and it will be choking the Iris if I don't rip it out. Thanks.

The Iris are (mostly) in pots because I thought I might sell and move elsewhere. Each of the colors were either my late husband's, or my mother's, and I've moved them a few times already. Of course, being Iris, even though I dug all of them out of the beds they were in (giving a lot away, and throwing a *lot* more away), they just laughed. They're slowing restoring the massive clumps that Iris like to do, when they've found a spot they're happy in. I'll probably be putting most of them back where they were.

Here are some of them:





After looking at them, it just makes me want to get busy... :-}

>49 Lyndatrue: oh, gorgeous!

I saw a purple head (bloom) in my Iris bed when I got home from work, so I did a brief rip/yank weeding job. I got most of the undesirables either broken off at the base, or removed. I'll do more this weekend (rain is arriving tonight).

Well, *that* hurt. I'd just posted a message, and I hit preview, and I was happy with it, except... I didn't actually click post. I was tired last night, and forgot to post notes for yesterday.

I cleaned out around the hydrangea, and fertilized it. I also cleaned around the poor, decimated barberry, which I had to cut down to nubs so that the house could be painted (it's the same colors; I like yellow). I loved them, because they covered the lower half of the window. What's not to like? Filled with thorns, to hide the birds, and discourage predators (and anyone thinking that the open window was an easy target).

Here's a view from last fall:



I've cleaned out most of that bed (including around the Wallflowers). I need to finish it quickly, because once the Ballerina starts blooming, it'll be dangerous to mess with (because bees).

The hydrangea will be beautiful in a few weeks (it's barely starting to leaf out). It has an internal calendar. Bloom white in June, and then turn pink in September. I'm sure it's the length of the day that does it.

This is lovely. I had some Oak Leaf Hydrangea in Missouri that I loved. Do you have to keep yours cut back?

>52 labwriter: Every few years, I reduce the size a bit. This is the only kind I've ever grown successfully (Hydrangea Paniculata: "Little Lamb"). I've killed every other hydrangea I ever dealt with. My local nursery promised that this would be different, and that it was hard to kill. I've had it for several years, now, and it's still a delight.

>51 Lyndatrue: and anyone thinking that the open window was an easy target
A crime prevention garden!

>51 Lyndatrue: because bees
I have to clean out my mountain mint very early and very late in the season because in between I can't get at it through the bees and wasps.

>51 Lyndatrue: When we moved into what was my childhood home, my parents planted Pyracantha in front of every window. I think the only thing worse would have been Hawthorn. Isn't that the plant that the thorn sheath breaks away from the thorn and stay in your skin?

>55 lesmel: Yes, Hawthorn does the stabbity thing as best it can. Most things that grow naturally in the desert are pretty lethal though (I have at least three types of thistle, one of which has tiny fish hook barbs). I like Pyracantha, but I don't have any. A neighbor used to have a huge stand of it, but a well meaning church group came in to help with his yard, and cut it back to nearly nothing. It's just now beginning to green up again.

Pyracantha is also far more dense than the Barberry, and I like the little birds (finches, sparrows) to have that safety net.

I need something to plant in front of my living room windows after the siding is done (I'm removing a very unattractive juniper). Barberry might be a good choice. The juniper has sheltered many small birds over the years while they dart back and forth to the front yard feeders. There are some very attractive barberries that are hardy here. I was thinking about hydrangeas, too, but they might need too much water. Decisions, decisions!

If that wall faces south or west, hydrangeas will need more water than if north or east.

>58 2wonderY: The hydrangea (mine) is meant for the desert. It gets only morning sun. It lived just fine through our terrible drought last year (non-obvious, since that photo shows the effect of rain on the grass, but note the yellowing of the leaves on the rose). I'm not sure how well it would do up against a wall that gathered heat, though.

>57 tardis: The hydrangea (any, not just this one) don't really provide protection from cats and predatory birds. Barberry is quick growing. I love the sound outside my window when the finches decide that it's a good rest stop. It's almost deafening.

Seedling notes:

April 3: Tray A:
First Row. All Yellow Giant Belgian Tomato
Second Row: Box 1, Royal Burgundy Bean, Box 2, Wax Bean, Boxes 3 and 4, Green Bean
Third Row: All Green Pepper, California Wonder

The beans are mostly an exercise in motility of seed. I saved one or two of each from last year.

April 6: Tray B: All Early Girl Tomatoes (14 containers; hope it's enough)

April 6: Tray C:
First Row: Sweet Banana Peppers
Second Row: 4 of Italian Dark Green Flat Parsley
Third and Fourth Row: Four each row of Basil (Purple Petra)
In end of Rows 2-4: True Lavender (six plants total)

It's a relief to have them in. I could have probably waited a week or two more, and just put them in the ground, but tomatoes tend to be victims of cutworms when I do that. Better to have them strong.

>60 Lyndatrue: I used to make "collars" for my tomato plants, and never lost any to cutworms. To make a collar, you can cut the bottom out of a plastic drinking cup, or use milk/orange juice cartons, as I did.

I managed to feed the most precious of the roses (Queen of Bourbons), and finished cleaning out Bed 2. I need to get Bed 1 out of the way, and finish Bed 3, before the irrigation water arrives (although I think I'm about to lose that race).

>60 Lyndatrue: I like your "seedling notes." DH keeps telling me to keep notes on mine. This is my first year ever for planting seeds (I really hate admitting that), so I wasn't exactly sure how to note them, other than "Oh hooray, the tomato seeds all sprouted" or something. Ha.

I had been warned that it's difficult to get lavender seeds to germinate. True?

>63 labwriter: I got a lavender plant in a herb gardening course, about 20 years ago, stuck it in on the south side of my house, and it's been growing ever since. It's not even supposed to be hardy in my zone (3a) and it self-seeds! I've had it germinate between patio stones, all by itself. I admit, the south side of my house has a microclimate somewhat warmer than the average, but even so, I'm impressed with this lavender. I'm working on spreading it to different areas of my yard.

>63 labwriter: Lavender is very hard to get going, and tough to keep around while tiny (at least for me, at least in my area). I've always either bought an established plant in a pot, or else planted them in the little starter containers, and waited until them seemed ready before putting them in the ground. I don't think I've ever, once, had lavender come up from seed in the ground.

I used to have lavender I loved (deep purple, good scent), but had to pull it all out after an especially severe winter. Now I wish I'd just cut it back severely, because I have never found one since I liked as well. I usually like a pot or two, that I can move around, and that will draw the bees to where I want them to go (and away from where I'm working), but this lavender is just going into the ground as a permanent stand.

The irrigation is on. I'm both relieved, and terrified (because there's still a LOT of work to do). At least now I can put lettuce seed (and other cold weather plants) in the ground.

Yesterday I finished clearing Bed 3, but was too tired to mix in amendments. I'll do that either this afternoon (or more likely) tomorrow. I water today, so right now, I'd just get wet.

I was startled to realize that the beans I'd planted from seed I save last year have already germinated. I saw tiny little green bits poking their heads out. I may have killed one of them, because I thought that the seed hull was something that had blown in, and yanked it off. That would be six days from planting to germination. Now I *know* I need to get busy (because the bed where I usually plant them is unworked, as yet).

I had to pull out the oregano from that bed a few days ago, because it looked like some wild bees were thinking of it as a nice home to build under. Nope. Nope nope nope. That would have been more excitement than I need. They weren't happy with me, either, but they'll find another home (hopefully in the wallflowers, which aren't disturbed again until the fall).

Those seeds often germinate a lot faster than one would think, especially beans!

>68 fuzzi: I'm especially interested in those seeds, since the plant they came from was a sport. I'm trying to decide if it's just a throwback from the Blue Lake bush beans I planted (and was annoyed at, btw, when I realized they were *not* pole beans). It may also be a cross between the Blue Lake and the Royal Burgundy (although I'm leaning more towards a throwback). I was very surprised when I was picking off that bush (that the seeds came from), when I realized it had strings. I'll be interested to see if it breeds true (i.e. carries the traits of the sport).

I'm hideously tired this evening. I knew I had to get seeds in the ground, and amendments in it before that, and that I needed to mow. I managed to do it all, but will probably save the notes until tomorrow.

I still need to enter all the details for Monday, but it'll have to wait. Luckily I take notes on paper, first.

Today, I cleaned out Garden Bed 10. The Iris are about to bloom, and I have to decide by Wednesday at the latest whether I want to put a vegetable in there. Once they're blooming, it'll be too chancy to put in seed. For some reason, the bees like them. I'm never sure what they want with them. They're probably just confused by the bright colors, and faint scent.

Tomorrow's irrigation, so I'll probably do nothing outside.

I'm very tired, but I need to make the effort to keep this up to date.

I managed to plant beets (Burpee Detroit Dark Red, ideal for canning) today, in what's left of Bed 10. The Iris have taken over almost half of it. It's just so ideal for beets. There are at least four rows, maybe five of six (not very long, but it should be decent enough).

I also put a few Sweet Peas along the fence, even though there's two or three already started from the seed left behind last fall. They're so lovely and pink; May should be delightful.

>71 Lyndatrue: that was my mother's favorite variety of beets. I love beets, but have never been able to get them to grow well, maybe they don't like it here.

She also liked Burpee's golden variety.

>72 fuzzi: I just now returned (I've been at an antique auction in another city since morning, and I'm ecstatic to be home). I tried a different variety of beets and was VERY disappointed when I canned them. I went back to the best. Your mother was wise. :-}

I've grown beets almost everywhere I've lived, but I prefer desert climates (winter or not, I want them dry). I don't have an easy answer, but maybe if you tried them in a raised bed where you could keep the soil drier, you might have better luck. I dunno.

Briefly. I managed to clear all of the back garden bed, and fertilized the Betty Boop Rose. I also trimmed it back a bit, because I had someone else come in and mow, and I was fairly sure that a face full of thorns while mowing would have been an unpleasant surprise. I considered *not* fertilizing it, but then decided that it wouldn't make a bit of difference as to the size.

These are the notes for >70 Lyndatrue:, above.

In the cold weather bed, left to right, back section. Two each, Mesclun (Botanical Interests), and Mesclun (Ferry-Morse, Organic). Two each, Radicchio (Burpee), Early Treviso. Alternating rows, two each, Green (Ferry-Morse), Black Seeded Simpson, Red (Livingston Seed), Royal Red, twice (so eight rows total). Slobolt (Livingston Seed) Heirloom, two rows. Romaine (Lilly Miller) Parris Island Cos.

Front section, mostly Marigolds, French Double Dwarf Mixed Colors.

I planted other lettuce seeds, but did NOT make notes. I also stuck a few more Sweet Pea seeds in the ground, near the volunteers at the front gate.

Most of the lettuce I planted on 4/15 is already coming up. Lettuce is always so amazing.

Yesterday I started clearing the bed along the side of the house. There were hundreds of little trash trees, and they're a misery to dig out. I've done about half of them, so far. The little monsters will break off just above the ground, and then, like mallow, leave the root below to grow large, and start another tree. I try to never leave one that's broken off, because the larger root is even harder to dig out. Here's an overhead shot of my house, from Google Maps:



The bed is on the south side, flanked by the pink dogwood. It's officially numbered as Garden Bed 4.

Just dig them out as you are able, when you are able. I find that doing just "a little at a time" helps me make a lot of progress without being overwhelmed!

>76 Lyndatrue: The overview is so helpful... I need to find one for my yard that's not obscured by trees.

If I were an expert in MS Paint (which I'm not), this would look fancier, but here it is. Yes, I've labeled the trees as garden beds. It makes it easier to keep track of what I've done, especially in the spring. I have older photographs of the beds, but I'm not going to post them. I'd rather take new ones, when they're not filled with weeds, and with the current plants in them. Sadly, I think the images are very tiny, and hard to read.



I'm afraid my white dogwood is doomed. It is only just leafing out, and the pink one is almost done blooming. You can see from the photograph taken by Google a couple of years ago that it should be covered in white blooms. I'm sad, but that's the way of things.

I rescued some of the Iris blooms from the pots that they're currently planted in. We've had fierce winds (not uncommon here), and I didn't want the long stalks to potentially rip the tubers out of the pots. I cut all those that seemed possibilities, and brought them in to make bouquets. Only the blue ones, and the yellow ones, seemed at risk, so that's what's represented here. I cut a couple of purple and white ones as well (they're in the gold vase).

>80 Lyndatrue: pretty! I've only had two blooms in my iris garden so far this year...

I've been working on the side bed, which is filled with orchardgrass (and yes, that is too a word), and the only way to get it out is just to dig it up, a clump at a time. :-(

On the plus side, I love making bouquets from the extra Iris blooms (extra, because when there are too many, they start to pull the tuber out of the pot).



Yes, that vase is Roseville. I love the Iris far more.

Your Iris are beautiful. I can smell them! I think everyone had Iris in their gardens when I was a kid.

And your Roseville vase--so perfect for the Iris. And your lovely pie crust table!

>83 labwriter: It's funny, the reactions I get to that picture. I've had a couple of people *horrified* that I would use a *Roseville* vase. One of them even asked if I'd put water in it. Did she honestly think that I would cut and bring in Iris stalks to just take a picture, and then wilt from lack of water? I just thought all the delicate color combinations was pretty.

Thanks for noticing the table. :-}

Nearly everything in my house is an antique, including me.

It's so cold here, right now, although nothing like you're seeing. The weatherman (who is right, now and then) says 88 by next Tuesday. The expected high today is 65. Ah, well, there's still work to do. I just don't want to do it.

>84 Lyndatrue: Well, Lynda, I don't own any Roseville, but I do own a good bit of new art pottery by a guy named Tim Eberhardt in St. Louis. I wouldn't hesitate to use it, nor would it bother me to put water in it. What does this person think putting water in a ceramic vase will do to it? I guess there are also people who put plastic on their furniture, but I wouldn't do that, either. Ha.

What's the point of owning things if you don't use them and enjoy them? A vase's whole point is to hold flowers, isn't it?

>86 MarthaJeanne: ding ding ding! Exactly.

Don't hold onto things just for the sake of having them, enjoy them!

Today I mowed the yard. You'd think that would just take part of a day, except that it hadn't been done for 13 days. I spent more time emptying the bags from the mower than I did mowing (or so it seemed).

It's nice to see the lettuce coming up, and the beets. I need to really press forward with weeding. Mother's Day approaches, and that's usually a good sign that things need to go in the ground.

My husband finds that if the grass is very high it is more efficient not to use the catcher, but to rake the grass afterwards. Not sure it's true. Actually, for him it probably is, as I usually start raking while he is still cutting, so he has help for that part of the job.

>89 MarthaJeanne: If I had to rake a third of an acre, I'd fall over and die. If I didn't have the riding mower, I'd probably have to hire a service to do it. I have an electric walk-behind, and I use it for the borders. That takes me a good hour or more. Usually the big mower takes about 20-30 minutes for the back, and a bit less for the front, but usually I don't leave it for two weeks.

Heck, I'm *still* tuckered out. Not actually complaining, though. I don't mind being physically tired when it's from being outside.

BTW, I've bought plants before because there were bees going crazy over them. That's also what first attracted me to the wallflowers (they are apparently an aphrodisiac for bees).

Today, I've been cleaning out (again) garden bed 9, which is where I normally put carrots. I plant them on both sides, in between the roses and the two ninebarks. Sometimes I laugh at how monochrome that line of plants is. The Ebb Tide is a deep purple, and the Barberry in the center is a dark wine, as are the two ninebarks at either edge. I used to have white iris in that mix, too. I'll probably put them back this fall.



In addition to garden bed 9, I cleared out the beds around the Redbud tree, and the White Dogwood, and gave the Redbud its monthly dose of bloodmeal. The first year I had it, it wasn't really thriving, and adding the extra iron via the bloodmeal was a final attempt to help it. It made an immediate difference. Our ground here does tend to be poor in iron; I should have thought of it more quickly.

Tomorrow I'm going to make a huge effort on moving pix from Ipernity to Flickr, so I can start uploading things that are more recent.

Today, I've nearly got bed 9 finished, excepting the last ninebark. I also went around getting the worst of the evil stuff that's been busy while I wasn't paying attention, including a few that had taken advantage of the thick foliage in one of the Ballerina roses to grow nearly four feet. Aughghgh!!!

I also started working on garden bed 1 (it's the front one, and has two roses and the forsythia). Poor things, they've been neglected so far this year.

I'd like to get done with bed 9 in the next day or so, in order to get the carrots started. Besides, once that one's cleaned out, it tends to be easier to keep clean. I've yet to even touch bed 5. Last year, I put in summer squash in that bed, but I think I'd rather have them in the back corner, where I usually put them.

I'm really tired, but it'll get easier as spring wears on.

>91 Lyndatrue: It's so nice to have a numbered map for reference!
>92 Lyndatrue: I'm really tired
Hah, I can imagine.

>92 Lyndatrue: it's the beginning that's the most work, imo, but it's also fun, getting my hands in the dirt for the first time since late autumn...

Today was reasonably productive. I've left the last ninebark weeding until later, because they're in bloom now, and I'd just as soon not disturb the bees. It's funny to see them prefer the ninebark to the Ebb Tide roses, which are in full, show, fragrant spring display, but they do.

I fertilized the center bayberry, and both roses, and put amendments down for the entire bed, and FINALLY got the carrots in. I've put them between the ninebark and one of the roses on the right side, and a shorter stretch between the other rose and the unweeded ninebark. I used up a full envelope of "Organic" Ferry-Morse Carrot "Scarlet (Nantes Type)" which was marked for 2013, and half of another that was marked for 2016. Carrot seed stays good for a long time; I expect to see them poke up their little heads in about a week. It's funny to think that it's a cool weather crop. They usually last most of the summer (I can eat my weight in carrots).

I also managed to clear all of Garden Bed 8 (visible in the picture above as the narrow side of the large bed along the fence). I added amendments all along the bed.

I like to put in the climbing beans on that side, since they are so aggressive. They tend to shoot straight up and over. I'll probably put them in on Sunday or Monday. Tomorrow is irrigation, and I'll be hopefully moving more pictures from Ipernity to Flickr.

>95 Lyndatrue: an actual day for irrigation?

I like to plant little vegetables like carrots and chard in between flowers, anywhere they will fit. I would have used last year's seed, but I forgot to bring it inside, and over the winter someone in my shed nibbled a hole in the packages and ate my seeds...

>96 fuzzi: I run the irrigation water on Tuesday and Saturday, saturating things decently. If the summer gets too many 100+ days, then I add in a Thursday. Irrigation water is different than house water (for one thing, it'd be inadvisable to drink it). When I was a girl (living in Montana, on a ranch), we irrigated by flooding, using canvas dams. That's a LOT more work, but to be honest, it's probably the best ecologically. Sprinklers, no matter how efficient, no matter how close to the ground, still give up a lot of water to the air.

I've spent most of my life in one desert or another, and it's what I'm used to. Right now, because it's still spring, my lawn is unnerving in the bright green it still is. We had an unusually wet spring, and things are mostly recovered from last year's drought. Last year, by end of July, most of my lawn was yellow (I chose to use the allotted amount on perennials, and the tomatoes).

My, my, how I *do* run on.

I don't mind mixing vegetables and flowers, and usually do, but confess that I don't think of chard as little. That reminds me, I need to go buy some marigolds. I used up the seed, and forgot to plant any seedlings for transplanting. I stick marigolds just everywhere.

>97 Lyndatrue: I *do* run on
Oh do though, because it's informative to those of us in the rain-drenched east.

>97 Lyndatrue: run on all you like, I enjoy it.

I have a soaker hose I bought several years ago, but have never used it: we get plenty of rain most years. I checked a few days ago, and saw the official local rain totals so far in 2016 are over 20". Yep, we're green right now, and the toilet often gurgles after a rain shower.

Chard is little if you keep it picked. I love it when the leaves are less than 6", as it's very tender.

Marigolds are my favorite flower, I usually plant them everywhere...plus they are a pest deterrent.

> 99 I plant a lot of marigolds, both from seed, and from the local nursery (because it's easier to mix a couple of plants in here and there after the garden gets going). I love chard. I missed planting it in time this year, but there will be plenty at the local farmer's markets. I have my beets in; that was more important (because pickled beets are delicious in the winter).

Current plan is as follows:

Mow (done today).

Plant pole beans (tomorrow, or Wednesday).

Clear Bed 6 (for more beans)

Finish clearing Bed 5 (for tomatoes and herbs).

Clear 11, 12, and 13 (the back beds along the fence), and move the potted Iris there.

Put in tomatoes, herbs, parsley, and peppers.

Get set up for summer squash (in bed 13).

I'm tired just from typing it.

>101 Lyndatrue: I'm tired from reading it.

>101 Lyndatrue: go, go, GO!

:)

The pole beans went in the ground today. I planted Kentucky Wonder (Burpee, Heirloom), then Santa Anna (Ferry-Morse), which are new to me, and Blue Lake (Lilly Miller). I may put in some Blue Lake bush beans on the other side, as well. The fence should be nearly covered by mid-June or so.

There's probably 8 each of the Kentucky Wonder and the Santa Anna, and perhaps 6 or 7 of the Blue Lake. I ran out of beans this last winter. Never again. Until the next time, any way.

I also got most of Bed 6, but had to quit after cleaning out under the rose. Tomorrow is irrigation, and a doctor appointment. I'll probably drive out to the nursery because I need another bag of acid planting mix, more tall T Labels, and more marigolds. Always more marigolds.

My mother always ordered Kentucky Wonder pole bean seeds from Burpee.

Ditto on the Marigolds!

You're inspiring me to plant beans--maybe next year. I'm planting some kidney beans that dry on the bush. You pull up the whole plant and hang it upside-down to let the beans dry. I'm also planting Cannelinos. I make a lot of soup, so it will be great to have my own dried beans.

>106 labwriter: In years past, I've grown Cow Peas (aka Black-Eyed Beans or Black-Eyed Peas). I like them because they're delicious when immature, and we even canned them that way, when I was a girl (same time and recipe as green beans, if anyone ever considers doing it).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-eyed_pea

I provide the Wikipedia article because of the annoyance of Google wanting to tell me that there's a musical group by that name. I've bought seed from Victory Seed (I think), and still have a ton left that I have no idea what to do with.

http://www.victoryseeds.com/peas_southern.html

Although they're rumored to only do well in the southern climates, I've grown them everywhere. You just have to wait to put them in the ground until the soil is warm enough (but you can start them inside, after all). Watching the beans grow is fun (they can get VERY long). I don't know that I've EVER let them finish maturing. It's too easy to buy them dried, for that rare occasion where you'd want that, or in a can (because my daddy was from the south, and you have to eat them along with fatback on new year's day).

Here's a shot of them, from last year.



There were four varieties. I took pictures of the two prettiest blooms.

Bloom for black-eyed pea (I think this one's either Mississippi Purple or Early Scarlet).



This one is probably Black Crowder.



Okay, no more fun. Off to other things for a bit.

>100 Lyndatrue: My marigolds are such enthusiastic seeders that I haven't bought plants in _years_. Every spring I have literally hundreds of sprouts, which I give away or just pull up until I get only a dozen or so plants...but the sprouts continue to come up, and are quite complacent about being transplanted when they're small. So if I need a fill-in plant, there's plenty available at any time. I have too many plants to bother deadheading, so I get second and third generation sprouts the same year...

>108 jjmcgaffey: I have never, to my knowledge, had a marigold provide seed. The ones from seed, planted directly in the soil, always get massive, while the ones I buy from the nursery tend to be less volume (in comparison). On the other hand, I don't know that I'd pay any attention to them if they were providing seed, nor do I ever deadhead a marigold. The only plants I'll bother with in that respect are Iris, and the roses (except the Ballerina, which I prune, NOT KIDDING, with a hedge trimmer a couple of times a year).

Tea roses are especially unpleasant if the fading blooms are not removed, and even the floribunda type need to be cut back between blooming episodes. Thank goodness for the shrub rose (my Betty Boop is currently at least 7 or 8 feet wide, and certainly 7 feet in height).

Even when I lived in SoCal, I don't recall the marigolds seeding. I only grow the "French Marigold" (aka Tagetes patula); perhaps you are growing the "English Marigold" (aka Calendula officinalis)?

Yes, Calendula will selfseed like crazy. But if you had some special type, you lose that. I love Calendula. It's also edible, and the petals are pretty sprinkled over a salad.

However, my husband likes Tagetes. It is one of the few flowers he can smell. (Wrinkling my nose.) I've never seen it selfseed. I'm not fond of it, but I am fond of him, so I buy a few every year.

I planted a Brocade Mix Marigold from seed this year. I've never seen such healthy marigold plants. It's a classic French-type marigold which is the type that gives off thiophene in its roots and leaves. Aphids and white flies hate them. I'm told it will self-seed, but it's not invasive. I'm planting them around my tomatoes and peppers. My notes say not to plant them with beans.

Nope, looked up the Wiki pages on both types and mine are definitely Tagetes patula. I had no idea, I bought them as Color Spot flowers from a drugstore.



is a perfect illustration of their seeds - the flowers dry, the petals fall off, and there's this cone full of seed-sticks left. If you leave it that long, it's almost impossible to get the cone off without scattering seeds everywhere (or if you don't bother, they tilt over and spill out the seeds after a while) - and here, they grow. That's mostly in containers, which stay watered year-round (in the winter, it rains here...), though they also self-seeded in the garden. Again, though, I watered through the summer dry season and it rained the rest of the time. They may, like carrots and such, need constant moistness to germinate. Or rich soil - potting soil or heavily amended garden soil. Or they like the weather here (never really cold and seldom really hot for any length of time). Or something.

>112 jjmcgaffey: That explains it (at least to me). There's very little moisture, especially in the winter. I have actually seen seed cones, now that you provide me with a pictorial reminder. I'll probably go right on buying them in little packets, because they're so easy to find. I save seeds from things that I can't get otherwise, and life is finite. I have to choose. Which reminds me, I have to think of where to plant the old-fashioned four o'clocks, before the seed ages out. Mirabilis jalapa is the official name; Marvel of Peru. How could one resist such a plant?

Besides, the sphinx moth is attracted to them, and I'm fond of the annoying little beasts.

Marigold seed sticks; always fascinating, the things I learn here. Thank you.

Found it! Tagetes are killed by frost and need constant damp soil 'until well established'. 'Sow after all danger of frost is past.' So self-seeded ones here probably come up in the fall and are then killed by winter. Or come up at times when I am not constantly watering.

Calendula, on the other hand are hardy. 'Sow a few weeks before the last frost date.' Too late for that now, but I could buy some seed.

>114 MarthaJeanne: You could plant the Calendula now. They'll still come up just fine. I wonder if they'll self seed, if they have the opportunity?

Such an interesting little side trip on the Marigold this has all been.

Yesterday I did a pitiful amount of weeding. There's a stretch of ground in the garden bed (bed 6) that always seems to have the worst possible mess, and the most difficult to dig out weeds, and I think I managed to clear a four foot stretch, in four hours. Still, it has to be done. I need to add in another tomato bed along the grouping in bed 4. It's just easier to keep it clean from weeds than to have them planted directly in the ground. I may try to get some of that done today, even though I normally do other things on Thursday.

>115 Lyndatrue: I've bought the seed, and will sow it in a day or two.

>113 Lyndatrue: I planted four o'clocks in my Missouri garden and I got TREES--well, great huge bushes of them. The main stems of each plant were enormous. And of course they self seed everywhere. The girls next door, when they were little, loved collecting the seeds, which is what I did when I was a little girl too. I eventually got tired of yanking them out. You turn your back on them and they're everywhere.

>112 jjmcgaffey: Love the marigold seed pic. I guess the reason I wanted to plant my own marigolds from seed is because you never quite know what the nurseries (or the big box stores) spray on them. And since I planted them all over my vegetable garden, I'd rather know that they are chemical-free. You could still plant them from seeds. All of mine germinated and the plants look so healthy. Although I know what you mean--"life is finite" and you do have to choose how to spend your time. You seem to spend an enormous amount of time on your gardens as it is. I'm looking forward to seeing what it will all be like mid-summer.

Hey Lynda, how long before I see some sign of the carrots that I sowed into my raised beds? Thanks.

Carrots take ages. Mine, planted mid-April, are finally showing real carrot foliage, but are still tiny. One site I looked at said 1 - 3 weeks or longer. Sounds about right.

Thanks MarthaJeanne!

>119 labwriter: It depends on what kind you put in the ground, and on how consistent you've been with the watering. Carrots are funny little beasts. They need the moisture to germinate and poke their heads above the ground. On the other hand, they do not like too much water, especially once they've poked their heads above the ground.

I usually expect to see them between one and two weeks after planting. Just for you, I went outside, with my reading glasses, and looked. They're up. I planted them on the 6th (see >95 Lyndatrue:). I think that conditions have to be right; they don't want it too cold, or too damp, or too dry, or too hot. Once they've got started, they're easy. Don't for get that carrots, like green beans, are heavy feeders (in other words, they need fertilizer once a month while producing).

I mowed early (I usually do it on Sunday), because there might be rain on Saturday or Sunday, and wet grass is really unpleasant to deal with. It's shocking to see how much it grew in five days.

Now I just need to work up the enthusiasm to go make that last tomato bed...

To add to the partially finished list in >101 Lyndatrue:

I need to trim back the Forsythia in the back. Right now, that bed is one huge rose, and one huge forsythia. I don't mind the rose, of course. I really should make sure I have a shot of it for this year. It's just so astonishing.

Well, *that* didn't go as I'd planned. We've had an astonishing amount of rain, here. Nearly an inch (in two days), and for an area that normally gets about six inches in a year, that's an awful lot, all at once. One of the storm drains on my street (but just barely lower in elevation) is flooded, and the poor city guys have been there for two hours already, trying to get it pumped out enough to clear the obstructions (probably dead leaves).

I took a couple of pictures with my phone, just for the sake of remembering it. The last time that happened was 2007.

We think we've had a lot of rain when it's 3 tenths of an inch. I may have to replant the carrots, poor things. Everything else looks fine. I'll give the carrots a week, just to see if they manage to recover. I'm *so* glad I mowed on Friday. I'm also glad that common sense got the better of me, and that I didn't put any of my seedlings in the ground. They'd have been pounded into the mud.

Unsurprisingly, I am not planning on irrigating tomorrow. I turned the system off; I'll turn it back on tomorrow evening.

Poor little carrots.

>126 fuzzi: I'm pretty sure that they have no emotional response to drowning. Carrots are pretty tough, though. They'll probably come back. I could see a few when I went to look this afternoon. I'm just so far behind that they'll just have to fend for themselves.

I don't know what it is about carrots, but it's never mattered how many I grow. I eat every last one of them. Congrats on seed arrival!

Today I've spent the day playing catchup. Losing three days due to the rain makes it tough. I spent Friday mowing, and that was all I did (normally I mow on Sunday).

Way back in early April, I planted seeds in containers (>60 Lyndatrue:); I gave away two Early Girls, and a Yellow Giant Belgian, to friends (I usually start far more than I plant). I also gave them one of the California Wonder green peppers.

Today, I put in the following:

In bed 4 (along the house), I put up tomato cages, and put in two Yellow Giant Belgians, and two Purple Petra basil, in the first tomato bed, and two Early Girls and two basil each in the third and fourth tomato beds. The second still needs work, so those tomatoes and basil have to wait a day or two.

Next to the last tomato cage, between the tomato and the ballerina rose, I put my throwback string bean plants, and the Royal Burgundy. We'll see if those beans breed true (I'm quite curious).

I put in an Oregano plant (from the nursery; says Sicilian Oregano) opposite the Rosemary (which I'd given a severe haircut last week). If it does well, I'll put the other one next to it. The rosemary is at the end of bed 6, and the oregano is on the opposite side, in bed 8. I put two of the Italian Parsley opposite the rose (also in bed 8). They always seem to do well there, even though they only get afternoon sun (and I'm sure the rose tries to steal their nutrients).

I think three of the six Lavender seedlings seem to be trying to grow. I may put them in pots, later, once I get the basic garden stuff in. I'd really like to get it going; I love lavender.

Tomorrow, I need to weed and thin the lettuce and the marigolds planted in bed 3. There might be enough lettuce after thinning to throw in a sieve and rinse off, for part of a salad. :-}

I also need to clear out the space, and recreate the space, for tomato cage number two. Not sure what I'll do with the rest of the early girls, though. There will be about 4 to 6 plants left.

I'm not sure where I'll put the green and banana peppers. I also need to clear out the corner bed (bed 13), so I can plant the summer squash, and clear the other two beds, so that I can move the Iris back there, preparatory to planting them all there in the fall.

I also need to get out the level, and make the ground smooth, so that Buddha will sit correctly (it's still lop-sided), and then plant the marigolds. I also need to add a couple of marigolds by each of the tomatoes.

Busy, busy, busy!

Peppers do well in containers, if you don't have a space for them.

I had such plans for yesterday, but Buddha finally won out, and I spent most of the day clearing that bed, trimming back the forsythia, and FINALLY getting the soil precisely level so that I could situate Buddha in the center, and plant marigolds around the statue. I planted marigolds several years ago, and it was so lovely, I've never considered anything else since.



That was taken with a flash, in the late evening (in 2013). I should really take a few minutes to walk around today, and take pictures (even though there are a thousand weeds that need attending to). It's beginning to be so lovely. Spring is my favorite; except for Summer and Autumn. They're my favorites too. :-}

Spring is my favorite; except for Summer and Autumn. They're my favorites too. Ha.

That's a nice Buddha you have. We had one years ago that we bought on our honeymoon, in 1973. I wish we could find one like it again. We probably could if we put our minds to it.

>131 labwriter: Thank you; I've always loved it myself. I've seen many that were similar to this, but mine is stone (and unbelievably heavy). Most of those I've seen are cast cement sorts of things. I've had this since perhaps 2003, and the turtle (hidden in the marigolds) at about the same time.

I felt a change in the weather coming (and I was oh, so right), and decided to weed around my rose in bed 5, and to put off building the last tomato cage. Glad I did, since we just had a sudden drencher. I'm now wondering if I'll find my tomatoes I just put out there pounded into the ground. I'll look tomorrow; nothing I could do about it now.

Glad I have extra plants; I may be using them to replace the current ones. Then again, tomatoes are pretty tough.

My carrots are up. The pole beans are mostly poked through the ground. I planted bush beans in garden bed 6. Starting from the rosemary, 12 plants of Royal Burgundy, 10 plants of Golden Wax (I used up the last of the 2009 seed, and a bit from 2010), and 4 plants of Blue Lake. I surely hope my experimental plants survived that first bit of rain; it seemed pretty strong.

I knew that today was going to be just odds and ends, since I needed to mow, and that takes up so much of the day. It was probably a good day for it, since it was coldish, and even a bit brisk. After I was done, and through with a late lunch, I decided to put in the remaining two Yellow Giant Belgian tomatoes in the same bed with their siblings. I figure I'll wait until they start growing, and keep the strongest two. I also put in the other Sicilian Oregano, but in a sheltered spot, where I already have the experimental string beans.

Then I decided to do battle with the ants, or at least that's what it seemed like. I cleared away more weeds (and grass, stupid grass, invading my garden bed) from around the rose (in bed 5), and got stung enough times that I started to feel dizzy. It started raining (really misting, not actual rain), and it was cold, and I gave up. Still, it's a start. I'll go back to the last tomato bed clearing on Sunday or Monday, when it's warmer, or even Monday, when it'll be drier. I'm running the irrigation tomorrow, whether it rains or now. There's too much that's new growth, and it needs consistent water.

Basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley... yep, it's official. I have them all planted. Spring is in full swing. I need to fertilize ALL the roses on Monday.

ETA: Just a footnote. I keep Benadryl spray for just this sort of thing, and I'm sure I'll have tiny little red marks around my wrists tomorrow, but not really the worse for wear, otherwise. Thank goodness for gardening gloves, which I wear religiously.

>134 Lyndatrue: what kind of ants? Not Fire ants, I hope.

Ever consider putting on your hands some sort of smelly deterrent before weeding?

>135 fuzzi: I've heard them called pavement ants, but I'm not sure that's what they really are. They *do* like pavement and stone, but stay outside, and have never offered to invade the house (thank goodness).

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/pavement-ant

I haven't seen fire ants in many years. Fortunately, they prefer a climate without winter.

I'm just (mildly) allergic to the sting. There is *no* deterrent when you are disturbing an ant nest. All my beds are set off with stone. These ants build their nests under them. Normally, it's a live and let live kind of issue, but I'll probably get out a can of Sevin now that the orchards have quit hauling in bees for pollination, turn over the stones on the center bed, and douse them with it. Please note that I do this with the clearest of consciences. You can't really kill ants; you just encourage them to move. I like using Sevin because it seems to disturb other things the least, although I am very careful where I use it, and when. This bed normally has only flowers.

I note that the article says to use ant bait, and then says be careful about it because it's dangerous. I'm sticking with the Sevin. I'm not really trying to get rid of them; I'm just trying to get the weeds out of the bed, without being attacked.

Funny. I just looked at your profile to make sure where you lived (in one of those nice, friendly environments), and saw that you'd been in Montana. East side or west? One is prairie; the other is mountains. It's like two different states (then again, so is Washington).

>136 Lyndatrue: we just visited Montana for a week-long missions trip. We were at a boys' home located about a 40 minute drive from Havre, near the Canadian border. I loved the amber waves of grain, the Pronghorns, the Jack Rabbits, but not the thunderstorms! It was truly beautiful.

I spent the day mostly inside, barely venturing out to check on things. We had wind (and it was cold), and the wind was strong enough to knock me over. I spent the day on my project of moving pictures from Ipernity back to Flickr, and am now more than half way. At least it'll be warmer tomorrow, or so they say...

Enough hiding from the wind. It's predicted to be here for the next several days, on and off. I girded my loins (so to speak), and went out and weeded the surviving marigolds I'd planted in bed 3. We had a real two-day soaker right after I planted the seed, and I think some of the seed was washed out to sea. The lettuce also seems to have redistributed itself, just a bit. I have decided to put most of the green peppers, and the parsley, in the empty spaces between the marigolds, and probably the other two Sicilian parsleys.

Tomorrow is irrigation, but I may be putting those plants in the bed late in the day, after the irrigation cycle is finished.

>139 Lyndatrue: Sigh, weather. Sometime stuff just has to get done.
Oh, did I not comment on the Buddha marigolds? An attractive arrangement.

Hearing about bird photographs makes me wish I was quicker with a camera. Lately I've had a pair of unusually pretty pigeons trying to start a family, and using my deck for their courtship dance. They have odd markings, new to me, including a black band across the back of the neck, and it seemed a bit of banding on the wings as well.

I'm off to look for them on "whatbird" (link below):

http://www.whatbird.com/browse/objs/all/birds_na_147/59/family/559/pigeons%20and...

ETA: Well, that was quick, and it explains why I've never seen one before.

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/887/overview/Eurasian_Collared-Dove.aspx

They are enormously graceful, and beautiful.

>141 Lyndatrue: The second I read "dove" and "black band" I was all set to tell you they were Eurasian Collared Doves. Heh. Although the Ringed Turtle-Dove is nearly identical according to Texas Invasives: http://www.texasinvasives.org/animal_database/detail.php?symbol=22

>142 lesmel: Not turtle dove, nope. Calls are different. They're so beautiful and graceful that I forgive them for being invasive. Besides, there are plenty of (non-indigenous, completely invasive) squirrels in the area, and they *love* bird eggs. My guess is they will take a year or two to successfully breed. Maybe. I've only seen this one pair (not that it doesn't mean there's a swarm somewhere).

I've put most of the seedling plants in the ground, and left a last tray in a sheltered (I hope) area until I can get to it tomorrow afternoon. They say this summer will be cooler than normal (in an area that can reach 110 for a week at a time, that's not as meaningful as it sounds).

I planted two of the four Germander plants I'd picked up at the nursery a month ago. I'm not sure what conditions are best for them, so I put one in a sheltered area, and the other in the very opposite, just on the other side of a little rock wall (one I use to control the watering). I planted all three California Wonder bell peppers; as long as one of them survives, I'm content. I only use them in canning; they disagree with me on their own. I planted three of the five banana peppers; I'm hoping all of them survive. I love them.

The pole beans are up, but they need hotter weather to get going. I await the bush beans pushing above the ground. I thinned the lettuce (overdue), and will have a nice salad of baby lettuces for dinner (I'll probably mix in some romaine and radicchio that I already have). I'm annoyed to realize I planted no radicchio. It's really too late for it to get going; maybe I'll plant some in the fall.

I also put the last two parsleys in the ground, and more basil (basil's my favorite).

On to thinning the beets, next, but they'll wait until Friday.

>141 Lyndatrue:, >142 lesmel: I have several pairs of Eurasian Collared Doves that hang around my yard because they like my bird feeders. They are bigger and more aggressive about "their" area than the Mourning Doves I was used to in Missouri.

I also have two pairs of smaller doves, that I've identified as Common Ground Doves. They all seem to get along pretty well, except sometimes the Collared Doves will "swoop" in screeching at someone who is at their bird feeder.

>144 Lyndatrue: I'm having stupid to no luck with my seeds. We had a week of cold weather right after I put them in. Maybe that's why. DH says I planted them too deep, but I didn't think so. Maybe he's right. Well, it won't cost me anything to try again--right?

Have fun in your garden!

>145 labwriter: The jury's still out on the survival of the pair of doves I've seen. They're beautiful, yes, but I also have recipes for squab. If the normal population of birds in my yard seems affected, lovely or not, they may end up as dinner. I dunno, though. I'm pretty old, and pretty lazy. I'm a lot older in the morning, while drinking coffee still, which is now, than later on. Sadly, the lazy part stays around all day.

I don't feed birds. Never have. As my mother would have said, it just gets them used to not finding their own food. On the other hand, I provide various spots where there's water, since I know those are harder to find than they should be, and my yard is mostly predator free, except for a single persistent cat, and she's getting old. Besides, she likes squirrels (to the tune of perhaps one every week or so).

Seeds are a different issue. Some of my lettuce was all over the place, and same with the carrots and the beets, due to rainstorms. Normally our rain is very light; more misty than rain. A normal rainfall total is often less than a tenth of an inch. It is very possible that you did plant the seeds too deep. What kind of seed? Beans don't care. Carrots and lettuce do. Cold ground also matters. I have an actual soil thermometer, which I use every few years or so, if sticking a finger in the soil doesn't give me the right information. One year I had Kentucky Wonder Beans show up at the end of my row of beans, and it took a while to realize that they'd been planted two years before (and never come up).

There are some things I only plant in containers, for later transplant, because (I'm guessing, but it's an educated guess) I believe the ants or other bugs haul off the seed for food. Tomatoes don't always come up from seed in the ground (for me), unless they're a variety from something I don't want (can you say cherry tomatoes?). I just plant them in trays, and then give away or toss out the extras.

Which seeds are not coming up? I'm curious.

>142 lesmel: >145 labwriter: Funny, though, when I think about it. I said I don't feed birds (and I don't), but my yard is alive with birds in the early morning, looking for random things in the lawn (probably grass seed, or small insects, but I've never asked them what they're eating). They especially love it on irrigation days, following the motion of the sprinklers (staying under, the whole time). I suspect that it's helping them to find insects. I seldom know the names of birds (nobody's perfect), but I know what they are, and who belongs. My mother called almost every black bird that wasn't a Crow a "Grackle" and you can imagine my astonishment to find that there was an actual species with the name.

Ah, well. I await the arrival of a magpie or two (now *there's* a bird whose name I know). Smart, and aggressive, and pretty.

>147 Lyndatrue: Texas is covered in Grackles. Ugh.

It's cold outside, and I'm still trying to force myself to get out there. The wind has blown for so many days I've lost count of them. I'm amazed at the resilience of the plants I put in the ground (although I've been giving them water every few hours to help anchor them in the ground, poor things). I think the only things that won't make it are two two basil seedlings, and it's not as though I don't have plenty.

I found some amusement while weeding the other day:



Those keys were underneath a block of cement poured for the *last* fence (before the one I put in, years ago). They've been in the ground at least twelve years. A couple of them are car keys. I'll bet someone looked a long, long time for them.

While I was driving home from the grocery store, I saw a rare thing in the sky. I stopped and pulled out my cell phone, and grabbed a shot, just in case. It was still there when I got home, so I got an even nicer one:



The fancy name for that is "Irisation" (when there are very tiny water droplets in the clouds, they create their own rainbow).

Why is it that I never see the typos until after I post the message?

>149 Lyndatrue: beautiful...

I spent part of the afternoon weeding the poor neglected beets, but the cold finally drove me back inside. The weather is predicted to hit double digits in 8-10 days. Tomorrow is irrigation, but I may try to do some work late in the afternoon.

I'd like to finish weeding the beets, at least. I may also spend some time cutting back roses. There's a lot of dead blooms that need to be taken off (although you almost can't tell with the Ebb Tide; they love spring).

>150 fuzzi: Thank you. It was amazing to see.

>145 labwriter: I was wondering here if the Collared Doves would drive off the smaller ones (the ones who are native to the area). But they all seem to coexist. It's fun watching a pair of them do their little mating dance up on the roof of my shed.

Seeds: I planted carrots, beets, and zucchini seeds on May 9. They are finally starting to appear. I still need my reading glasses to see the carrots. The zucchini so far is a no-show. The beets moved themselves to the walking part of my raised beds, so I need to transplant them. I think I'll do that today. Then I planted basil, sunflower, and cleome seeds on May 20. The sunflower seeds are up and so are the basil. Cleome not yet. We had a week or so of cold weather (and then some days of it here and there) after I planted the carrots, etc. I guess that slowed things down.

I've never seen anything like that rainbow--beautiful!

The collared doves have vanished, although I do hear doves now and then. It's about to get REALLY hot (they're saying 108 by next Saturday), and that may not be an environment they want to stay in. The weather was quite cool when I first saw them.

Today I finally weeded my neglected tea roses (in bed 1, at the front of the yard). I pruned them way back, and raised their canopy on the ground as well, so that I can fertilize them tomorrow. I also trimmed back the Bourbon Queen rose; no way do I want to see rose hips. Besides, now is the time of year to encourage growth (it's old fashioned, and blooms only on the previous year's growth).

I also cut back the main Ballerina rose (and I heard it laughing at me as I did it), so that I can get to the ground to put down fertilizer.

Tomorrow's going to be interesting. The back garage door is getting replaced, along with one of the windows (on a room I use for canning supplies, and rare books, and other odds and ends). The window has gotten old, and needs to be replaced. The last severe rainstorm, where rain was slamming sideways into the house, left water between the panes.

Yes, I understand about how double paned windows work, just in case someone reading this is about to explain. Oh, cool, here's a web site that explains:

https://www.nachi.org/condensation-double-paned-windows.htm

Naturally, all my Iris will be in the way of this, so I'll be moving them over to bed 12 (where more than half of them started). I hope to find time to trim back the other two Ballerina roses, and the two Ebb Tides, and fertilize them. I'm still trying to decide whether it makes sense to fertilize the Betty Boop rose. It's so large, and there are plenty of blooms. I probably will, because it seems cruel, somehow, not to.

Well, I had good intentions, anyway. The door was replaced, and the window, too. I love it when people are professional; the work was lovely.

I fertilized four roses in the front; Pope John Paul II, Sky's the Limit, Queen of Bourbons, and the monster Ballerina. I still have the other two Ballerinas, the two Ebb Tides, and the Betty Boop. I fertilized the Hydrangea, which seems poised to take over the county (it's nearing my height). It will be beautiful this summer. I fertilized the two Barberry plants that I had to cut back for the house painting. They look to reach their former height by fall.

I also gave the monthly box of bloodmeal to the Redbud tree. It seemed to be struggling when I first put it in, and after reading about it, I decided that the bloodmeal might have the extra nutrients that it wanted. It's been happy ever since, and put on an astonishing display this spring.

I also weeded more than half (the difficult parts) of bed 12. I moved the irrigation to tomorrow (because otherwise the guys putting in the window and door would have been pretty wet). Once it's all weeded, I'm going to lay down landscape fabric, and move the potted iris on top of it. They'll hold the fabric down so that the wind doesn't send it flying, and help to keep down the weeks. This fall, I'm putting the iris back in the ground.

I need the rest. Irrigation will be excellent.

I'm hoping for good workmen when I get my siding replaced, later this summer. I have SO many flowers planted by the sides of the house.

I have some bad news about your flowers. I think that, even when workers have good intentions, those flowers get destroyed. Are there any you can dig up and put in pots for the duration? I've had guys who were marvelously careful on plants, but they're the exception.

If it's possible for the workmen to step around them, and you've already asked them to be careful, you might end up with very few lost. There are going to be some; it can't be helped. I'd even let them know that you hope that they try, and that you'll understand if things don't work out.

I've been lucky (and also careful) in who I've used to do various things. I did go through three separate firms before I found a decent one to do cleanup, and there have been a few electricians (but I have a good one now, and have had for a few years).

@labwriter made me think about Iris, and then I started to wonder if I could identify the name of the Black Iris that I've had for many years. Oh. My. There are an awful lot of them.

http://www.schreinersgardens.com/black

Here's mine, in bright sunlight, from last year.



The one thing about them that I learned the hard way is that, as they wilt, the color rubs off onto clothing, or furniture (thank goodness I found it out by having them drip on something wooden, which was easily wiped off). Ah, but they are pretty, and spread like crazy. I started with ONE plant, many years ago, that my husband had in a pot.

>157 Lyndatrue: I want...

>157 Lyndatrue: http://www.schreinersgardens.com/black
Huh, I had no idea there were so many. The price differences are interesting, considering that to me they appear essentially identical.

>157 Lyndatrue: Elegant. Mysterious. Dazzling.

They are SO aggressive. I need to move the variegated ones into a bed on their own, because they're shorter than the others I have (Iris come in heights, and most of mine are tall). They always seem to be in a losing competition for resources (space, food, sunlight). They're a striking sight in spring, all that dense dark purple with the others all mixed in. I'll be glad to put them back into the ground this fall.

>158 fuzzi: If I divide the ones in the bed this fall (I should, but don't know whether I'll get to it), I'll announce it, and you can have some; they mail pretty easily. They like a well drained soil, and abuse and neglect. I provide all those.

>159 qebo: Funny. :-} I can see the differences, including color and shape, but there is no way, ever, not even if I won the lottery, that I'd give someone forty bucks for an Iris. For one, I'd be afraid that there would be the possibility of litigation if I chose to give some away. Forty dollars. Dang.

>161 Lyndatrue: thanks! I've mailed lilies and primroses and other perennials before, and they do travel well.

Well, I played hookey for a few days. I regret it, but not for the obvious reasons. Apparently I don't use one of my garden gates unless I'm gardening. Three days is enough time for a wasp to get started on a new home. It's a miracle I wasn't stung when I opened it, or when I was going back and forth through it. I only noticed it when I slammed the gate behind me (so that the lock would catch in the latch), and it not only didn't catch, but a suddenly annoyed wasp flew up and let me know that I was too close. I went in the house, and came back out with death in a can (Eco Smart Wasp and Hornet Killer), which I really like because it doesn't bother the bees or other things, and it takes care of wasps and hornets instantly.

I did a desperate lawn mowing (because it would NOT have waited until Wednesday, which would have been the next possible day). We're having a heat wave; it went from highs in the 70s and 80s to 100+ today (and 98 yesterday). I should really go outside and dig some lettuce for dinner; I just need to recover first.

The climbing beans are up and ready to start climbing (and someone needs to weed them, soonest). I didn't even look at anything else (although the beets are looking close to pulling, which I noticed while I was mowing). Carrots probably need to be thinned. Heck, I *know* they do. I'm glad that there's only two days left to the heat, and then it'll get back to normal for June. At least it's been decent at night.

My project of moving my photos from Ipernity back to Flickr is on track. I have 180 photos left to move (I'm doing them one at a time; not quick but I know that it's correct that way). I know I've made some links to pictures I had there in a thread or so here. I hope to find them, so that I can update them to the same picture on Flickr instead.

>164 Lyndatrue: 100+ degrees in June. Ack. We had a summer or two like that not that long ago in Missouri. I just hate it for the plants (and for me, too--ha) when the temps are so out of whack.

>165 labwriter: No worries. That was just me, being vaguely annoyed at having to mow. Mowing is my least favorite outside thing to do, and I will put it off all day until I finally force myself to do it. I'm just not willing to give up the large $$$ that it would take for someone else to do it. I can find plenty that will do it for small $$$, but I'm never happy with their work.

The weather has been out of whack for years. I know it isn't going to get better. It makes me sad, but that's the way it is. I admit that I'd rather have *my* hot temps, than Missouri ones, though. Humidity is the killer (yesterday, my humidity was about 14%). I feel bad for the cherry growers. This spring was hard (so smaller crop), and the heat will make them split. I think the Bing are the most easily affected. I don't care so much for me, since I don't like them, and I love the Chelan and Rainier varieties (and they're just coming into season).

Most of my plants care about water. Even the lettuce will be fine with two or three hot days (but not more, because that'll encourage them to go to seed). Today there will be much less whining, because there's no mowing ;-} The temp this Saturday is expected to be 73 (a bit below normal, but much better than 104, which might happen today).

I also walked around (yesterday, before mowing) spraying Grass B Gone against borders where the Bermuda is insistent on invading. That's one of the concessions I make to being an old fart (anything that says don't get it on your skin, don't spray it anywhere near food plants, etc, can't really be a good thing). It's effective, but expensive. I just love the Redbud tree more than I love being good.

>164 Lyndatrue: If your Ipernity URLs have something unique, you might be able to search in Google like so:

UNIQUE_IPERNITY_STRING site:librarything.com

Example:

"photos/bloglass" site:librarything.com

>167 lesmel: Ah, you believe I have ambition. I've learned my lesson, and now download most anything to my gallery here, even if it's easily reachable via one of the sites. Ipernity goes out of their way to make it hard to show an image (one of several reasons I'm leaving).

That was just mostly a note to myself to make the effort, later, when it's cold outside, and I'm inside all the time.

Today, I waited until it had started to cool (for certain values of "cool"), and then worked on the worst set of weeds (bed 5 has been neglected for weeks). I was only out for 90 minutes, but everything helps, right? Tomorrow is irrigation, and then it starts getting back to normal on Wednesday. At least the tomatoes are happy, and the beans. Both of them love the heat.

Yes, anything helps - wish I could convince myself to get to my community garden plot and weed the bloody thing. I haven't been back in 3 months (and they haven't contacted me to ask if I was coming back...). But I'm over in a corner with a hedge between me and my next neighbor, so my neglect probably isn't bothering anyone else. If I just went once, I'd get back into the swing, but it's out of sight enough that something else always seems more important right now.

I am, more or less, finally working with my balcony garden - 6 tomatoes planted now, and growing well. And many more than that seedlings in pots now too small for them, intended for the community garden...sigh. But from the balcony - blueberries (almost a handful, every few days! Only two bushes and only one is presently producing, so that's pretty good), I've harvested real carrots (not little fingerlings for thinning) and probably should do so again, the NZ spinach is trying to take over again despite being harvested to within an inch of its life in order to transplant it out of a pot that needed cleaning.

We're getting the same sort of HOT HOT HOT cooler than usual....HOT HOT weather. And a brief spurt of rain a couple days ago, about two months after the rainy season was supposed to have ended...rain is always welcome, particularly Camelot rain (after sundown and clearing before midnight!).

Today the wind is pretty strong. Luckily I'm irrigating, and that just means that some parts of the yard will be really wet. Oh, wait, it'll all be wet, by the end of the day. The sprinkler system was designed with the expectation that there'd be wind. We've had more than usual this spring, but that's the way it goes.

Yesterday I weeded, and planted some marigolds near the tomatoes (and stuck a few leftovers here and there in the lettuce bed). If it's not too windy this afternoon, I may attempt to cut back the Ebb Tide roses, and maybe some other plants as well. They need it.

>169 jjmcgaffey: Now you make me want to go thin the carrots (they really need it). I love carrots so! I planted no spinach this year (just didn't get to it), and now I want to come visit.

Today was mowing, and the grass was pretty dense. It took up most of the day.

Yesterday afternoon when I was returning home, I noticed something moving in the yard, and was astonished and concerned to realize it was a mother goose (most likely Canadian Goose), with goslings that were perhaps a week old (or less). She was doing her best to hide them in the tall grass, and was maneuvering them towards the gate that opens into the STREET!!! I put the car away, and made a wide swing outside of the yard until I was outside the gate she was headed towards, and slowly herded her and the kids back towards the hole in the fence from my neighbor's yard, which is where I'd suspect she'd come from. I'd have just let her stay in the back yard, but I know how many feral cats there are, and the kids would have had no chance.

Normally I don't interfere with bad parenting decisions with wildlife, but that one was pretty easy to fix. I took pictures with my phone. I'll try to get them off the phone to post here later. Must have been her first time with the new family. Lucky for me there weren't extra geese parents around. Geese are pretty fierce attackers, especially when protecting the kids.

As mentioned, here's the Goose Family, moving across the yard. There would have been no hiding today, but the lawn will look the same next Sunday.

I stood just outside the gate, slowly encouraging mom to take the kids in the other direction:



When it looked like she was going to try and settle in and hide in the grass, I stepped inside, and gently herded her onward:



Finally headed in the right direction:



Close view of Goose with Goslings:

Good catch! How adorable.

You do have a lot of grass to mow, but it all looks very nice.

>171 Lyndatrue: bad parenting decisions
One down, who knows how many to go... Nice catch with the camera.

>171 Lyndatrue: most likely Canadian Goose
I'm going to be pedantic for 1/2 a second. It's Canada goose (Branta canadensis) not Canadian. Great pic, though! I love watching goslings and ducklings.

>175 lesmel: You're correct, but you've lost that battle, at least in my area. I no longer call them that, because I'd just get corrected (I was, when I first said it). Thanks for the Latin name. I'm always glad to have those. Hmmm, if it's Canada Goose, is it still Canada Geese, or is it Canadian Geese? Don't hurt me, I can't help it. :-} There are really a lot of variations in the species. She was very small. I almost doubted myself on calling her a Canada Goose, but the markings were correct.

After I convinced her to go back in the back yard, I let her be, because she seemed headed in the right direction. I did hang out long enough to make sure that Princess the cat (she lives at one of my neighbors) didn't notice them, and come visit. She's a pretty fearsome predator, and mom could fly, but not those babies. I'm not sure how it would have turned out.

I counted six (or maybe seven) goslings, which tells me that she's not hanging out with a flock. She's probably hanging out at one of the irrigation runoff ponds. Hopefully she found her way back. I haven't seen any sign of dead goslings, nor of a battle royale between mom and predator.

The Canada geese (yes, it is Canada geese LOL) around here do this shared child care thing - you can see two or three adults with dozens of goslings. They're pretty fierce birds when threatened - I think a cat or other predator would come off worst in any attempt to snatch a baby.

>177 tardis: You're describing normal behavior for most of the geese I know about, domestic and wild. Geese are the best watchdogs ever, and are very fierce defenders of their territory. It's why I was surprised to see her, and even though there's about a zillion Canada Geese in the area, of at least three differing subspecies, I still wanted to protect her and the kids. I also didn't want her eating down all my fairly young plants (which they could have done). Mostly they were probably after the grass, though, which was pretty lush on Saturday. It had just been irrigated, so it was pleasant, and tall, and almost certainly inviting. Not so much today (I usually mow on Sunday).

When we raised them (when I was a girl, back in the dinosaur times), they all took turns setting on all of the eggs, sometimes two at a time when there were lots, and then the kids were also communal. I usually got assigned to pick out which were male and which female, because I could tell from body shape (and sexing a goose is otherwise unpleasant for all concerned, not to mention a bit risky if they object, and they usually do).

Geese are smart. I like them. I like them better if they don't visit my garden, though (for multiple reasons, including the cat population, and the fact that I'm not near any bodies of water for them to consider home). Many of the geese down at the Columbia River front are year round, rather than migrating. Our winters are usually very mild, and they get fed from handouts as well as the grass in the park. There's a large pond, with water from the river, and they can nest along inaccessible parts of the river back.

Okay, okay, I'll quit. Enough about geese.

I've decided that the wind is going to be endless, this year, and I just have to get out in it, and get things done. Today has been steady, with gusts close to 25-30 (mph). Not my idea of fun, but I managed to survive. I got a late start due to needing a lab test (shoots down an hour or so, considering driving there and back), but made some actual progress otherwise. I got all the weeds around the southern edge of the property, and they were fierce. The inside of the yard wasn't so bad, but the outside had all the tough ones. They're gone now, of course.

I also cleared and trimmed half of garden bed 7 (it has a fence running through the center, so I need to finish on the other side). I didn't put in gloves when I started, and had to learn the same lesson I do every single time. The soil here is really hard on hands. After clearing that bed, I went in the house, washed my hands, and dumped lotion on them. Then I put on gloves. Maybe it'll stick with me this time.

Wind or not, it was still a pretty day. Not too hot, not too cold, partly cloudy, but with enough sun to be pleasant. I admit to also looking to see if there were further signs of mother goose and the goslings. Nope.

My thyme in the path had a die back; not sure why, but it's been there an awfully long time. I'll see if the local nursery still has any plants left; if not, I'll just start some in pots, and then plant it there. Cutting out the bits that needed to come out was just the best smell. I really love thyme's fragrance. The wisteria is still coming up from the root, and I may have to take drastic measures. I really loved it; it was a lovely plant, but I can't be dodging bees all the time. Right now, I have a rosemary near where it grew, and I'm hoping that the natural habits of the rosemary to take all the resources will finally smother it.

Tomorrow is irrigation, but I'm hoping to trim the Ebb Tide roses after the watering's done, and maybe even cut back the Ballerina roses now that their first spring bloom is done.

Today was especially long, although I got very little done outside. I called my brothers, because it had been a while, and in that group, no news tends NOT to be good news. My sister-in-law's mother had passed away, and it was quite sad. As my late mother used to say (and it's true): The hardest part about growing older is that we lose those we love.

Enough of that.

I spent the little time that was left today repairing my little path under the arbor, which had a die back in the thyme. I put two sturdy plants (from the nursery) in likely places, and fertilized and watered the remaining leftovers. Tomorrow's irrigation, so they'll all be saturated. I trimmed some of the roses yesterday, and pulled a few weeds.

I may postpone the lawn mowing to Wednesday, so as to get after the weeds on Sunday (and perhaps a bit tomorrow, as well).

>180 Lyndatrue: no news tends NOT to be good news
I'm sorry your worry proved valid.

Where's the arbor?

>181 qebo: I probably should quit calling it an arbor, since the Wisteria's been gone for a couple of years, but...

You can see it edge on, in this shot.



Here's a photo of the Thyme, a couple of years ago, while there was still the bee magnet on the arbor (it separates the garden bed known as bed #7 from beds #6 and #8).

Today the weather finally started warming, and I cleaned out garden bed 1, which was filled with weeds. My poor house almost looked abandoned (at least at the front). I had acquired a pot with three reddish Dwarf Asiatic Lilies, and I intend to put them near the wallflowers, where they'll get sun, but very little wind. These were through blooming, but there's always next year. I'm excited to see what color they'll actually be.

Tomorrow I'll weed bed 2, bed 3, and probably all four trees as well. Those beds had been taken care of recently, so it should be quick enough (perhaps an hour for each). If there's any time left over, I'll continue trying to weed bed 4 (speaking of abandoned).

Tuesday, I may try to trim back the ballerinas, after irrigating (I keep trying to get to it).

My new thyme looks like it's going to do well, so I'm content.

I will be out there weeding with you today. Happy Monday!

>184 labwriter: I hope that you had a glorious and productive day. I spent most of the day inside, doing paperwork, and odds and ends. It was your turn; considering the weather you've had, it seems only fair.

>185 Lyndatrue: Thank you, Lynda. I transplanted seedlings--beans, basil, and sunflowers. Then weeds, weeds.

Today, mostly, I mowed the lawn. That was a ten day growth, and it ended up taking up most of the day. Tomorrow's mostly taken up with running errands, but I have big plans for Friday. Okay, I lied. I'll be doing the things on Friday that I keep saying I'm going to get to.

Weeds are always there, waiting.

I'm just in waiting mode. The wind seems determined to stay around, and I'm hopeful that Sunday will be a gardening day.

Today was nice (too warm for some, but I like it warm), and I actually made some clean spots among the weeds. I cleaned up both dogwoods, and trimmed the grass around them. I also pulled a bunch of lettuce, and cleaned it, since it was starting to bolt. I've invited a friend over to pick lettuce tomorrow, since some of it is in a spot where it gets all day sun, and June is almost over. It was some of the green (not the Slobolt) that bolted. I saw that I'd planted some radicchio (in >75 Lyndatrue:), but I'm not sure where it was. I never saw any.

Tomorrow, more weeding, and I'm interviewing someone for mowing, once a week. It's just beginning to be too much, and I'd rather garden than mow the lawn.

Over on Flickr (my current indoor project), I finally made it through 2015. A couple more serious efforts, and the photographs there will be from my current garden! That reminds me, I need to go out and take pictures of it all (including the weeds).

This is just a test of Flickr:



Ah, that's more like it (the final picture is 1/4 the original size). It's a photo from last year of the creeping thyme.

Oh, dear. I met the person who my neighbor has hired to do her yardwork. I think I'll use him for some basic cleanup, and to clean out a couple of sprinklers, but I have better tools. He doesn't even have a riding mower. Mowing my yard would take him half the day. Too bad.

Time to get busy outside.

I cleared out any of the bindweed that was about to bloom (I can no longer look at any Morning Glory without loathing), and trimmed one of the Ballerinas back (the one in Bed 6). There were some very nasty broadleaf plants growing, hidden next to the bush beans, and I had to grab the leather gloves to pull them out. As long as I was protecting myself from thorns, I figured I might as well do the haircut for the rose.

The bush beans are coming along, and I was pleased to see that the pole beans have FINALLY started to climb the fence. I know that the others are actually more productive, but pole beans are a lot easier to pick.

I had a friend come over and we pulled some of the lettuce for her to take home. It was in full sun, and now that summer's in full swing, it wouldn't have lasted long. There's still a lot left, of course. The Romaine did especially well. I'm glad I planted a ton of it.

I started on the long, slow cleanup of the beds. It doesn't take much neglect for the weeds to take hold. I'm planning on planting a ton of marigolds in all the empty spaces when I'm through. They're pretty, they discourage the bad bugs, and they crowd out the weeds. I also hope to finish building that fourth tomato bed; I got distracted with other things, and never got back to it.

Tomorrow's irrigation, and I'm going to brave the sprinklers to take pictures.

I hope you find someone to mow your lawn. It's hard to find good help, no matter what the project.

>193 labwriter: It's kind of you. It was as much to employ someone local, to be truthful. If it seems that he does well on the edging, then I may hire him to come around every two weeks to edge all the beds. That would be enormously helpful. My former neighbor's son used to do it, and it made a significant difference in the time I could then spend doing other things. Really, there ought to be a better term for it. I own an edger (which is too heavy for me to use, sadly). It cuts a nice little line in the ground around the beds, and they look very finished. This is just weed-whacking, and it's common with gardeners (I doubt they know anything else).

It *is* hard to find good help.

Today was hot. We've had hotter, already, this year, but it doesn't mean that I was ready for it. I hired the young man to clear the back beds, which were filled with a truly astonishing amount of weeds. I know that I'd have been more thorough, but I don't think I could afford to pay someone to pull weeds one at a time. I just needed it cleared, so that I could play musical chairs with the potted iris, yet again.

They need to go from here:



To here:



That's where they'll go, when I put them back in the ground. They might as well live there for the next month or so.

I'm still in triage mode. Normally, I'd be putting summer squash in (and it's usually already done in early June), but I think it's just going to have to be set aside this year. I've been pulling out morning glory everywhere. It's starting to bloom, and I don't need it to spread more than it already has. I gently disentangled it from the Royal Burgundy beans, and the Early Girls. Thank goodness it hasn't managed to spread to where the Giant Belgian is.

I also had Mike edge everywhere. He was ruthless (which is fine with me), and I told him not to bother cleaning it up. I appreciated his help, but didn't want to be responsible for him falling over from the heat. I don't think it reached the 100 degrees Fahrenheit that was predicted; maybe 97 (yes, there's a difference). I do like to help people that are doing their best to support their family, and move up in the world. He was a hard worker. Maybe he'll be able to afford a riding mower in a few years.

Tonight, for dinner, salad. :-}

Tomorrow; mowing, beet bed (and trim back Iris), then clean the carrots, and thin. I'm pretending that I'll also have time to get to the beans, because I like to amuse myself.

It makes me feel very strange to think of Si Ramo being gone; perhaps I thought he'd live forever.

Odd. I haven't had an actual duplicate post in a very long time.

Mowed today; I'm trying to move it back to Sunday, so I'm mowing every nine days. Having it edged helped a lot, but those two extra days of growth didn't help at all. ;-}

I trimmed roses instead of the Iris; the Ballerina in bed 4 truly needed it. I'm looking forward to this coming week, since the temperature is supposed to be mostly in the eighties. I don't mind the heat, but I get more done when the heat's not oppressive.

The Redbud tree got its monthly dose of blood meal. It's a small price to pay, and it makes a difference with this tree. I know that my ground tends to be short on iron, but the Redbud is the only plant that seems to be affected.

I took advantage of the wind lessening, and added half a bag (or more) of compost to a strip in the ground which is sunken (in comparison to the rest). It was where the pipe was run for the irrigation, nine years ago, and (like many things) the soil compacted over time. I've added sand in other years, but the compost is cheaper, and probably better for the grass.

Tomorrow I'll take pictures, and post a few of them here.

After much effort, I finally managed to get a picture of a butterfly. I have no idea what kind it is, but it definitely is one.



I'll be continuing this onto a new thread later this evening, or tomorrow morning.

>199 Lyndatrue: I don't know what kind either. Something exotic that we don't have here.