Photo dump & other notes

 I realized I had too many pictures to wait through two weeks.  So here's a quick photo dump.

tomato zoo:  'German Johnson' caged "pink" tomatoes

foreground: oregano and chives

All these lettuces were sown at the same time.  left: 'Green Ice', center: 'New Red Fire', right (sparse): 'Rouge D'Hiver'

'New Red Fire'

'Beit Alpha'  cucumbers

left: 'Calima' bush beans; right: 'Lilian's Caseload' peas

'Seaside' spinach

I hope to soon be able to sit on this bench and snack on ripe cherry tomatoes that I plan to train up on the wagon wheel.

'Supersweet 100' cherry tomatoes

When the potatoes first started coming up, it wasn't obvious which were 'All Blue' and which were 'Yukon Gold'.  Now that they're bigger, it's easy to tell.

'All Blue'

'Yukon Gold'

The beets are sprouted.  I sprayed them with neem oil before I left, but I'm afraid in two weeks' time, when I return, they might be full of insect damage.

'Babybeat' beets

I also felt I had to spray the rose bushes with Sevin (carbaryl) because Japanese beetles usually start showing up around the first of June, and I wanted to give them a fighting chance.  I hate to do it, though, and frankly, it might have been a waste since the blooms aren't yet open, and that's what the beetles attack.  I don't like spraying Seven when honeybees are about, and I could hear lots of buzzing in the thyme flowers on the floor of the rose bed.  

When I got a closer look, I realized it was not bees, but flies.  Large flies.

While flies also pollinate, I didn't feel as badly about them encountering a contact insecticide as I would have honeybees.   But...

I didn't know what kind of fly these were, as I don't think I've seen them before, and certainly not in the large numbers there were.  I set Google Lens to identifying them, and when I learned that they are in the Tachinid family, I felt badly again.  The Tachinids I'm used to seeing are much smaller.  Tachinid flies are quite beneficial besides their pollinating ability, as they parasitize caterpillars, so they could be a big help to control vegetable pests.  On the other hand, if they parasitize butterfly caterpillars, I wouldn't like that.  So I don't know how to feel about the whole deal.  Maybe I'll just call it a wash.

I'm amazed at the two Golden Muscat grapevines.  Early this spring I had to dig them out of the garden proper where they were taking over.  To do so, I had to disentangle them, so I chopped most of the tops off as well as most of the roots. There was about the same amount under gound as above ground - no more than two feet in each direction - when I put them in.  I just stuck them in the ground in the wildflower bed at the base of two birdhouse poles, watered them in, and left them to their own salvation.  Not only did they salvage themselves despite the dry March and April we had, they seem to be undaunted.

Overnight one night, somebody's baby fell into the basement window well.  Its mother may not have told it the cautionary tale of Peter Rabbit.  Although it was small, possums can scratch and bite (and hiss and growl, which are very unnerving, but not harmful), so it was quite the undertaking to get it out without injuring myself or it. I tried to prod it to walk up a board, but it was having none of it.  It rutted up some dead bald cypress leaves and stuck its head under them.  I assume, like a human baby, it thought if it couldn't see me, I couldn't see it.  

I tried to hoist it up using two thick pieces of tree limb, but couldn't keep it balanced on them. Finally, I lowered a bucket down over top with a quick flip to turn it upright, scooping the creature inside. Luckily it wasn't quick enough to get out before I lifted it out to the yard.  It moved quite slowly, probably worn out from its travails.  

Poor thing was rather lost when I turned it loose, and rather than running, ambled around in circles a while before it slowly struck out for somewhere else. I hope it found its way home before a large bird of prey spied it. (I once saw a bald eagle eating a possum at the edge of the yard.  It didn't leave much behind but fur.) 

Won't this baby's mom be surprised if it does show up!  "How on earth did you get out of that trap?!" Stories will be told for generations.

See you in a couple of weeks after I've spent the hours necessary to get two weeks' worth of weeds out of my garden and clip out dead flowers.

Already time for a photo dump

The tulip beds - which, admittedly, are mostly daffodils, so I may have to stop calling them tulip beds - are in full swing.

'Cynthia' (Tulipa clusiana)

'Cynthia' (Tulipa clusiana)

'Cynthia' (Tulipa clusiana) and creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera)

Most of the tulip varieties I've planted, while beautiful, have not been good at coming up in successive years, so I was happy to see 'Slawa' back this year (pronounced "slava", meaning glory in Ukrainian/Russian).

'Altruist' narcissi have better color this year than last.

'Barrett Browning' has a similar, but larger, orange corona to 'Altruist' and a white corolla instead of yellow.

On the other hand, 'Faith' is kind of disappointing to me.  It's smaller, shorter and more salmon than pink than I was expecting.  Maybe they'll get larger in the years to come, but I'm betting they don't get to be pink.

'Pink Charm' daffodils also have a more salmon than pink hue.  I think they must doctor the pictures in the online catalogs.

One of the other tulips that returned was 'Purple Dream' - a gorgeous lily flowering variety.  But I really miss the 'Purple Prince' and 'Mistress Mystic' classic tulips from previous years.

The Darwin hybrid tulips are great at coming back every year.  They made a lovely bouquet, even though the petals were a bit beaten up by the hailstorm we had. 

And as they aged, the petals got shinier and shinier.

I had to remove the falling down arch at the garden entrance because the grape vines, age and raccoons were taking it down.  I hacked off the grape vines' branches and roots to about a foot and a half each and stuck them in the wildflower garden next to birdhouse poles.  It seemed doubtful to me they would survive, but they did.  They now have little pink leaf buds popping out.

I love this time of year when the perennial bed starts to come alive and take off.

But I do get tired of taking care of the plants I've grown from seed.  The tomatoes are looking great though.

This year, I buried the last of the pets, Miss Kitty.  So now, the pet cemetery (which is in the perennial bed) is getting a make-over.  I purchased a mini petunia (Calibrachoa hybrida) - an annual - to pretty up the memorial plaque, and I'll plant perennial pink veronica (V. spicata Rosea).  This year, it will probably also get another annual - Giant Rattle poppies.  I'd like to see if they self seed.

As for crops, rhubarb has been harvestable for a couple weeks now.  Peas I planted about 10 days ago are germinating, but the lettuces and onions I planted much earlier are still hibernating.

Still roasting, no rain

I went away for 10 days, watering the vegetable garden to almost an inch of water by sprinkler before I went.  Everything there looked fine when I returned.

Not so lucky in other areas.  I didn't realize there was a raccoon trap propped open.  I know there was no bait in it, but during the wild tear they went on, one got itself trapped anyway.  I feel badly because I assume it starved to death in the hell heat we had while I was gone.

On the other hand, I'm really pissed at them for digging up and killing five potted saplings and for what they did to my new roses:

Also, before I left, there were beautiful white flowers on the 'Navajo' blackberry.

It looks like the raccoons took out their aggression on it while I was gone, breaking down large branches.  Maybe they were retaliating for their trapped comrade.

And, of course, that was the week the Japanese beetles showed up.

They hit the roses, which were looking really good before I left:

But, the vegetables were unharmed.  There was a load of 'Calima' green beans ready for harvest.

And some volunteer 'Cardinal' basil, which I was happy to see, because I didn't get any seeded this year.

All the tomatoes look great.  And there were three little ripe 'Supersweet 100' cherry tomatoes.  

'German Johnson' tomato

Before I left, I netted the 'Golden Muscat' grapes in case they got ripe enough to attract raccoons and crossed my fingers, thinking they'd probably just tear the whole thing down, trellis and all.  Fortunately, they were unscathed.  But I'm not holding my breath they'll remain that way.

The perennial bed, which didn't get any water, looks lovely.

drumstick allium

If anyone knows a rain dance, please do it.

Ye Gods, It's Hot!

What a depressing 10-day forecast:

I heard the weatherman say Thursday's 96 will feel like 105.  Nice.  Next Tuesday's 100 should be great.

And not a drop of rain in that forecast.  I'm going to be gone all next week, so I guess I'll soak the garden as best I can before I leave and cross my fingers.

One rhubarb plant has one beautiful red leaf.  That's the color I expected the stalks to be, but they manage to stay green.  The two new plants I had hopes for were both killed in last year's flood conditions.

I've picked and eaten all the 'Premium' peas.  They were perfect.  'Miss Lillian's Case Load' is prolific, but has smaller peas, and I don't think they're as sweet.  I have some 'Lincoln' peas that are just now flowering because the rabbits have been keeping them pruned.  I planted that variety last year, and as I recall, they were sweet and had lots of peas per pod.

'Miss Lillian's Case Load'

My cabbages have gotten large enough that I put them in the ground.  I hope they make it through next week.  After planting I mulched them with straw to help keep the soil from drying out.  Fingers crossed.

'Primo Vantage' cabbages and 'Calima' green beans

I planted the same two varieties as last year.  Purple 'Omero' and green 'Primo Vantage'.  I wasn't that impressed with either, but I forgot to order different varieties for this year.

The grapes are getting large.  I'm going to try to cover them with a light crop cloth before I leave so they might - and I mean MIGHT - not get eaten by the raccoons before I get back.  The coyote urine I got doesn't seem to deter the little devils.  

It just occurred to me a couple of days ago that I should try transplanting some mint and oregano around the trellises the grapes climb on, because the raccoons don't try to go through those.  Too late this year.

'Golden muscat'

Blackberries and raspberries are blooming and setting fruit.  Sadly, half of my raspberries didn't survive winter this year.

The tomatoes have all started looking very good.  But this heat won't be good for setting flowers or fruit.

'Supersweet 100' cherry tomato

'German Johnson' tomato

I put in eight 'German Johnson' and two 'Missouri Pink Love Apple' tomato plants, both of which I've grown before, but not at the same time, to see how the taste compares.  Alas, I think the 'Missouri Pink' plants are going to get too much shade to do as well, and that will no doubt affect the flavor.  

Over in the flower world, there's a lovely pale apricot-colored hollyhock.

The misplaced plant I thought looked like some sort of melon, since it was in last year's melon plot, that I figured (!) was somehow a miracle that overwintered, is a pretty pink.

Late winter: hollyhock mistaken for a melon

Actual melon ('Savor' - a French charentais)

Most of the other hollyhocks are wine and red.

The bright blue delphinium is stunning.

There are lots of coneflowers (Echinacea and Ratibida) in the wildflower garden, but I planted pale purple (Echinacea pallida) and Ozark (Echinacea paradoxa) at the edge because I love the downturned petals.

pale purple coneflower and Ozark coneflower

Oriental poppies have bloomed and gone, but the annuals and Shirley (corn poppies) and breadseeds are blooming.  My Spanish poppies haven't shown up yet.  They should be blooming.

'Amazing Grey' corn poppy

 

'Pandora' corn poppy

An unexpected corn poppy appeared.   Either it came from a seed that got in the wrong packet or it's a mutant.  Whatever it is, it's lovely.

So far, this has been a good year for the roses. (Don't click on that link if you can't stand tear-jerker country songs.)

I managed to remember to get a systemic insecticide put down, and one early Sevin spray that seems to have taken care of the horrible aphid problem I had last year.  Hopefully it will also work to control Japanese beetles.  I hate to use it, because of the bees, but I haven't been able to control either of those pests in the past.

The rose garden in moonlight.