In the Gardens

66 this morning, following a day of light rain. Red sky last night.

More errands yesterday, picking up hay for mulch from our son's barn, getting a new phone for Larry because his had something break where the charger attaches, picking up garden seed and flowers, etc. I think we're caught up. I hope.  I dislike being out two or three days in a row; it seems like it just wears me out. But sometimes that's what we must do. Today I'll be working at the antique mall, a bit of a break, unless it's a busy day. Still, another day away from home.

At least I made good use of the evening, getting the big flower bed cleaned up and the new plants put in. It was quite a job, taking me about 3 hours to get all the iris leaves cut back, spent plants either pulled or cut back, and weeds pulled. I have a mess to clean up this evening when I get home, but it feels good to get this done, and it looks so much better. I still have the other flower beds to do, maybe this evening or tomorrow.

Around the gardens: a bit messy still since I haven't been in them much for the past few weeks. That's changing now that I have no upcoming obligations that will keep me away.Can you hear my big sigh of relief?

Tiny cabbage seedlings. This tub has been very useful. First it had lettuce andradishes, then cucumber seedlings that we transplanted, and now cabbage. 

My new rose for this year. Can I remember its name? Of course not. I should do better at that. The pansies were in a planter but looked so poorly I pulled them and planted something else. But they seem to like this damp, shady corner with the rose.

I do love phlox, and have tried in vain to get other colors started. This is the old-fashioned pink. I do have one other one, a white, that needs to be moved as it's mixed in with the monkshood and is too shaded to spread.

The last of the native daylilies--well, I guess they're native, because they grow wild everywhere. Perhaps they were an import? 

Basil living happily in its planter. I will be cutting and drying some of it tomorrow.

Our new-to-us garden bench. We got it at an auction last year, painted it a bright turquoise and tried to sell it with no luck. So we sold our old beat-up red glider instead, and kept the bench, and I am so glad we did. We repainted to a color I liked better.

A happy planter. I used to ignore coleus for my gardens, but it has grown on me, and Larry loves it.

Annabelle hydrangea. This was a new start last year, given to me by a friend. It has grown amazingly well, and the best thing is that it blooms on new wood so no worries about it freezing off in the winters. The black tape is videotape, which we now have around all the flower beds to scare off the deer. I don't like the way it looks, but it's better than having everything eaten.

Can anyone tell me what this tall, ferny plant is? I don't know if it's something I planted or if it's a weed. It shows no sign of blooming yet.

Yesterday evening's slaughter, or a small part of it anyway. Lots of mulch for the garden.

After the cleanup, and with the new plants in place. This is one end of the bed.

And here's the other end. 

This little coreopsis has thrived in this location. I wanted more coreopsis this year, but they were hard to find locally. They seem to love our soil.

The lamb's ears self-seed, and move from one place to another in this garden.

Still have to put down new mulch, and I need a few more plants in here, but it's coming along.

The smaller vegetable garden, early morning light. It's done well so far, and has a lot more coming on.

Oh, here's our new truck, the one our son gave us. Isn't it pretty?

The upper end of the veggie garden. The far end has cucumbers, melons and pumpkins, with a row of kale, carrots, and basil on the right. In the foreground and hard to distinguish in this light are squash, cabbages, kale, and tomatoes on the right. Also in here are some flowers, lettuce, beets, a few green beans, leeks, and rhubarb. The tomatoes will be late tomatoes, as they were planted about a month after the others.

The grapes are loaded and so far no sign of blackrot. I have my fingers crossed, but it usually shows up in mid-July and ruins most of our grapes. The only cures seem to be strong poisons, which I hate to use.

The pretty drift roses, coming into bloom again.

This garden is my next project. There are things blooming but they can't be seen for the iris and other things that need trimming back.

And finally back to the house, where Daisy is waiting for us.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.