Making progress

Two years ago, I posted a photo of my flower bed.  It was a visual mess.  Tall flowers stuck up randomly all over the bed with no sense of cohesion.  It was just as if I had tossed my pillows and blankets all over the place.  It was just a little embarrassing.

2015

In these intervening summer seasons I've made some progress on making my bed.  Medium height Unwin dahlias are the "pillows" at the head of the bed.  The "quilt" is made up of low-growing New Gold lantana.  Just for fun, I've added a "throw" of cypress vine over the footboard.  My flower bed feels neatly "made."

2013

I would like to grow a "dust ruffle" of creeping jenny.  I've repeatedly sprigged it around the perimeter of the bed but for some reason, the sprigs aren't taking hold.  This amazes me since creeping jenny roots anywhere I accidentally drop it.  One of my theories is that the chemical in the treated boards is interfering with the rooting process in some way. 

I'll keep working on making my bed nicely for next year.

Friend or foe

There are literally millions of insects living in my gardens.   I tend to label each one as a "good" insect or a "bad" one based on their eating habits;  if they are eating my plants, they are bad!  However, sometimes the line between friend and enemy blurs.

For the first time in my memory I have deliberately left a fire ant mound to flourish in my yard.  This mound is next to my pea patch and those ants are devouring the aphids that can plague pea vines.  I barely see any aphids this year because the ants are eating them.  Of course, once the pea patch is finished for the year, the ants will have to go too.  They are still on my "bad" insect list.

Paper wasps are another of those garden "pests" that has earned a spot on the "good" list this year.  They are also busily consuming aphids on the pea vines and they are also containing the scale population that has tried to establish itself on our satsuma tree. 

Of course, both of these insect populations require a certain amount of care on my part.  When picking peas, I give the vines a little shake before I start picking to let my pest control friends know I'm there.  While I have gotten an ant bite or two, the wasps are perfectly willing to give me some space and I haven't been stung.

I don't have a problem using chemicals to control pest problems but it pleases me to let the natural cycle that God designed take care of it for me, especially on my food sources.   When God created them, I don't think he labeled the insects as friends or foes.  Each one has a place in his gardens. 

Pea paradise

One of the flavors of summer we look forward to all year is the delicate, nutty taste of fresh cream peas.  I pick them a little green and boil them gently with some bacon crumbles;  without a doubt they are my favorite southern vegetable.

For native southerners, growing any variety of field peas seems to be a talent instilled at birth, but as a northern transplant, I struggle every year to get it right.  This year has been no exception.

I thought I would be very clever and create a trellis system at planting time.  I attached it to the chain link fence to give it an extra measure of stability.  The pea seeds germinated at nearly 100% and vigorously filled the space I planned for them, all before creating the first blossom.  I knew I was going to be in trouble.

Sure enough, as soon as the vines began making peas, the trellis system failed.  It collapsed right into the chain link fence.  The pea vines are running everywhere; into the lawn, onto the perennials that anchor the bed, over the fence and onto the rose bushes behind the fence.

The good news is that even though I seem to lack basic field pea growing skills, the pea vines have forgiven me and we are enjoying a bumper crop.  Its a little corner of pea paradise.

Guest in my garden

My neighbor and I recently had a surprise visitor in our shared garden--a large yellow bellied slider turtle.  We live about half a mile from Buck Creek as the turtle would crawl but we have never had a turtle come up from the creek this far.  It had crossed my front yard but then was trapped by the chain link fence dividing our front yards from the back.   After a week, we decided that this poor turtle was "lost" and needed help to find its way back to the creek.  A yellow slider needs access to water in which it can submerge. 

I borrowed my tortoise's bathtub (plastic totes have many uses) and dechlorinated bath water to transport it.  It seemed quite pleased to be wet and back home where it belongs.

Disappointed

My husband and I love fresh corn on the cob.   Eating corn, slathered in real butter is an essential component of a perfect summer. 

Usually, we purchase our fresh corn but this year I decided that I would grow our corn.  I did my research to learn how to grow corn in small spaces, prepared my soil, and trotted on down to the farmer's co-op to purchase the right seed for our neck of the woods.

Only a few seeds germinated; puzzled by the poor showing of my corn crop, I decided to fill in with a second planting.  Much to my surprise, I found many fragments of chewed up corn kernels all through my garden.  My second planting didn't germinate any better than the first.  I tried again, with a third failure.  It was plain to see that a critter was treating my garden like its personal pantry.

It was clearly a lost cause.  I left the 15 corn stalks to do the best they could but corn needs dense and plentiful planting in order to pollinate all the kernels on the cobs, something that wasn't happening in my backyard.

This morning, I picked what we got--not much to show for $5 worth of silver king corn seed and an entire bed of my gardens. 

I've experienced some other damage in my gardens this year and have a suspicion that my culprit is a raccoon.  I'm working on a permanent solution to this problem.

But I think I'm done trying to grow corn.  Summer will still be perfect even if I can't grow fresh corn myself.

Grandchildren and gardens

It is a precious and rare occasion to have all my grandchildren with us.  To honor them,  I've displayed a garden statue in the front garden representing each child.  Even when they are not with me, I enjoy their representative art in my garden.

Recently, we were privileged to have all five of our grands together for their grandpa's birthday celebration.  I took photos of each of them posing with their statue, with the exception of Caleb who wanted to pose with Mordecai, the real tortoise.

I would like to introduce to you my amazing grandchildren.

Gabriel Fitzgerald, Olivia Whitenite

Caleb Fitzgerald; Mordecai

Christiana Fitzgerald

Rachel Fitzgerald

                               
                                 There is nothing better than grandchildren and gardens.