Hi all! Thought I’d show you how things are growing outside so far! FINALLY getting some color! Crossing fingers for some rain again tonight.
First bloom of my Asiatic lilies popped today! In another few weeks, they’ll be an explosion of color, can’t wait!
My Kintzley Ghost honeysuckle is in full bloom and the bees are loving it, the big bumblers especially. I took a closer look at my bee house and it appears some of the tubes are sealed off with mud, so the mason bees must have laid some eggs! There’s a chipping sparrow nest in the honeysuckle as well; I can’t see it, but mom and dad are in and out constantly with bugs and you can hear the babies chirping!
The other bee-magnet right now is my bridal wreath spirea – the sweat bees and hoverflies are the main visitors. I’m planning on giving this a hard pruning this year once its done blooming.
Continuing on the pollinator theme… the common milkweed has become well established in several of my gardens. I try to thin it out a touch before the monarchs return so I don’t accidentally remove a plant that has eggs or caterpillars otherwise it will completely take over. Looking at the patches now, I should have thinned a bit more! But the monarchs will be happy campers! I should be finding the first caterpillars any day now.
The containers are starting to fill in and I’m loving the petunias I started this year! They’re Daddy petunias and the colors are so vibrant – I’m really happy with them so far!
My William Baffin climbing rose has started to bloom. It’s had some amazing shows over the years, but I don’t think this year will be one of them. Its being attacked by sawfly larvae unfortunately. I don’t like using pesticides on anything that is blooming, so I guess they get a good meal this year. Booooo.
Veggies are having a good year so far though! I can practically watch the tomatoes grow right now with the heat we’ve been having. I’ve got onions mixed in with the tomatoes. The peas are hanging in like champs in this heat, and I’m hoping this year’s crop will be good! Blossoms shouldn’t be long now.
The other raised bed has peppers, cucumbers, brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, beans, asparagus, and a healthy patch of self-sowed cilantro! The cabbage worms were munching for a bit, but not enough for permanent damage. The apple trees were over-achievers this year. The one pictured is a Snow Sweet. I know it won’t be able to support the number of apples it currently has, but as the next couple of months pass, the wind will surely knock off a good number. We’ll just let it do its own thing.
So that was my walk-through this afternoon! I’ll try to stay up on updating photos here and on Facebook! Happy gardening!
