Mantis in miniature...

Mantis in miniature...
Originally uploaded by pjslomer

I'm delighted to see these creatures in my garden. I watched one have lunch... a red spider mite. It was amazing how fast the mantis moved.

End of June already...

This morning I had to laugh at the noisy scene i encountered. I walked out of the house to hear a nighbor with a chipper/shredder machine going... and then there was the pair of red squirrels... constant chatter between these two critters. And then i had a family of Tufted Titmice... calling back and forth to each other in that exasperated tone, and then there was the blue jays ready for peanuts. It was a very silly scene.

Today I did a lot of thinning out in the main flower bed. Too much woodruff, viola, lily-of-the-valley and california poppy under the contorted cedar. It felt good to reclaim some of the paths that had become impassable. I planted a dozen zinnias in two spots.

I moved some clumps of viola down to the woodland corner. I also transplanted on of the Bleeding Hearts to the front of the house... i'm hoping that the moist soil will be beneficial.

Currently in bloom: Stella d'oro Daylily, Pale yellow daylily, spiderwort, coral bells, lavendar, coreopsis, veronica, astilbe, snap dragons, california poppy.

Currently available for consumption: lettuce, basil, parsley, dill.

And I watched a very funny young bunny... running to and fro'... hopping... flopping... rolling... stretching and napping... having a wonderful time in the garden.

Woodland area...

Woodland area...
Originally uploaded by pjslomer

Here's the corner area recently created. Today I did more clearing out of weeds and turf in this corner.

New beds and cleaning up old ones...

Saturday, we cleaned out the grass that was around the rhododendrons in the south corner... extended the bed further toward the house and planted the new astilbe that i picked up at a plant exchange. I also planted a dozen zinnias in the front flower bed. Planted my new rabbit foot fern.

Sunday, Joseph and I created a new bed near the tall pines down on the southern edge of the property. (Eventually I plan on having a garden along the south edge) I transplanted a day lily that was growing very thick... split it into three, planted it along with some lily-of-the-valley and oatgrass. I also planted a dozen zinnias in the main flower bed.

Today, i weeded and mulched around the hemlock near the back patio. I also cleaned out the ground cover under the maple tree. I moved a few pieces of statuary (a house and barn) into the area... planted some creeping thyme and chicks n' hens. I'm pleased with the look of it. p.s. i didn't plant any zinnias today!

Fences...

I have a small vegetable garden this year. Its about 4 ft x 8 ft. I have the area that is growing lettuce and beets surrounded by a cage. I thought it was adequate protection from the critters. Yesterday I had to fence most of my garden... that was after chasing out an adolescent bunny who had a taste for cabbage. I called it a "hunky bunny". I was more fortunate than my Dad. Deer came in and decimated his garden... especially the tomato plants. Ironically, Dad was close to having his electric fence in place.

Iris, vegetables, and plant extras...

This morning I started out by taking all the little posts and plant trays and digging out a lot of the surplus plants that I have. I still have plenty. I dug out liriope, oatgrass, pineapple mint, chocolate mint, columbine and freckles violas. (All plants are destined for the Harmony plant exchange in a couple of weeks). I did something different this transplant time... once i potted the plants i placed it in a big bucket before watering... i watered and let them sit in the puddle of water for the day. They seemed to like it because they didn't wilt at all... even with the hot day (even tho' the weather folks predicted mostly cloudy... and we had totally sunny weather. With the hot weather, my iris are flying through their bloom cycle. We left this morning with six blooms and came home late afternoon to over a dozen blooms. They were so heavy that five stalks had bent over to the ground. I had to stake them back up.
This evening I did as Dad told me and mulched in my vegetable garden. Using newspaper as a base and adding a thick layer of grass clipping. I noticed that two seeds from the squash variety are up. I also noticed that the beet seeds have broken ground too.

Vegetables...

Today we went to Jesteadt's greenhouse and purchased vegetables along with flowers. I proceeded to plant the green peppers and yellow peppers, a variety of tomatoes (still need to find plum tomatoes which are my favorites). Basil... twelve plants will produce a lot of pesto. Parsley. Cabbage... a variety with beautiful leaves. Joseph commented that there's probably not a lot of people that buy cabbage based on appearance. I also planted lettuce seeds.

In the flower side of things... i purchased flax, bouganvillia, marigolds and salvia.