2017 Gardens

[taldesta]

Then it went again

edited to add: At least their language has progressed from "To unlock your account ..." to "Please update your account ..."

And by update they mean pay a lot. They are locking out accounts that have been built for years. I don't think polite will cut it.

 

[gonebad395]

Looks like they got gonebad395 this morning ... but as I was posting then editing about this his pic came back!

View attachment 726681

Ty for the heads up now have to figure something out

 

[taldesta]

Lumpy is good at predicting weather. If she is in her pot, the day will be dry. You can take it to the bank. With the constant rain this summer, she's been hanging out elsewhere. I think it is close by right under the porch because I see her waiting for bugs that visit the patio solar lights when I walk the dogs after dark.



The begonias from overwintered corms are blooming on the porch. They are tall and heavy with big leaves and blooms and large stems that snap if not supported. I've done better this year at securing them to uprights with foam coated wire.



Without a lot of sunny days, the morning glory is a little slow growing from seed ... but it will climb that willow lattice 8 ft up and circle the post a few times at the roofline. And the blooms are fresh every morning. That's crystal palace lobelia to the front of the pot. Colour is off in pic ... actually should show as a brilliant dark blue.




Dog day afternoon. All three girls are in this pic. Daisy was lolling with her eyes half closed until she caught an interesting sniff on the breeze. Tal is just beside her and Dez is hidden way back in the corner under the lawn chair.

 

[taldesta]

Ty for the heads up now have to figure something out

I am unsure about the limit for image files uploaded to BF with each membership type but will have to check it out. Also need to find the individual image file size limit. I always compress pics with software just to get them out here on dialup. The last pic above is 800 pixels wide X 600 and 71 kb

But this one below was compressed by using the email option in the file viewer ... then copied from email draft to desktop so I could locate and upload it. Also 800 X 600 and 58 kb

I might give Imgur a try.

 

[LEGION 12]

 

[taldesta]

Looking very healthy! The yellow celosia in background looking great as well. I see that you are enjoying growing in your new digs ... seems so great for gardening!

 

[LEGION 12]

Looking very healthy! The yellow celosia in background looking great as well. I see that you are enjoying growing in your new digs ... seems so great for gardening!

Thanks yes it's a improvement for sure.

 

[eisman]

Part of my plan last year, when doing the major changes, was to throw in some flowers strictly geared to hummingbirds and butterflies. I have hummers, but for some reason they don't use the feeder, and they are fairly rare. I'd like to have more. Hence the "attractions". I've got foxglove, coneflowers, lupine, and these tall red things I can't remember the name of. Considering they're all in the first year, I have high hopes for the next few. The sunflowers were an happy addition. My neighbor wanted to try some, and started over 100. He gave me a dozen and I figured "Why not" and stuck them in along the fence. They seem pretty happy there.

These roses get cut back very hard every year, but come back strong. Butterflies love them, and so do the bees. I never cut the flowers, just let them grow until the fall and then wack them back down. They will bloom all summer.

The ferns in between are growing in an huge old stump core. Very low maintenance....

 

[taldesta]

Those big, smiling sunflower faces look great along that fence. Last year one arrived here growing with a pepper plant I picked up. I had no idea, but it was quite the sight in the veg garden.

Here, I find that the hummingirds leave the feeders when the flowers they prefer are in abundance. Your gardens are looking so lush there ... perhaps above average rainfall, like here?


Bee balm with its brilliant red jester blooms are show stoppers when they grow in a patch like this. You hve to be fast to catch a good pic of the ruby throat and emerald green of a humming bird hovering over the bee balm. I have lots of images, but none as spectacular as I know they could be. I keep trying

 

[taldesta]

The monarch habitat is about 15' X 25' on this slope. Now, I've been watching monarchs flit around here for weeks ...




... and guess who finally came to dinner!

 

[taldesta]

Desta, the grass roller ... a blur - especially welcoming to see her play because she's been having a rough time lately with an eye that the vet and I are trying to bring back to good health. It is serum to the one eye, then antibiotic drops, then gel lube to both - applied every 4 hours, 1/2 hour apart and trips to the vet's in town every 2 or 3 days. Yesterday she had what the vet and I believe was a mild seizure. So, roll on Dez ... be happy!




All three girls at the dog watering station. As dogs do, they never pass up an opportunity to have a slurp on the way by
The petunias in the foreground are three colours from seed shipped from Prince Edward Island - the one especially, the African Sunset, has a subdued, old fashioned look to it. The plant just partly showing on the left is over-wintered indoors and is called Chenille ... or also known by its other name which I like better ... Red Hot Cattails

 

[LEGION 12]

Banana peppers almost ready.

 

[22-rimfire]

Like what you have done Eisman. The sunflowers are just plain cool and you have the room.

Hummingbirds have been a bit scarce in my yard. I have a feeder out as usual and change it weekly. I only see a female hummer regularly. There has to be more of them as they're consuming about a 20 oz of sugar water a week now.

We're at what I think is the peak of the tomato season in my garden now. I have come to the conclusion that "double digging" works. Unlike last year, the later tomatoes are the same size as the first ones near the bottom of the plant. So, my theory is that the double digging allows water, roots, and so forth into better soils at depth than in the last previous years. The fruit develop to normal size rather than staying small. My tomatoes are their usual 5-6 ft+ tall in their concrete cages. The cages are 5 feet tall and the plants are a good foot above the tops and flopping over.

Love Bee Balm. Quite a mildweed spread Taldesta.

 

[taldesta]

Banana peppers almost ready.

Well, wouldn't I like to see some produce from my veg garden about now! Like those peppers

 

[taldesta]

Like what you have done Eisman. The sunflowers are just plain cool and you have the room.

Hummingbirds have been a bit scarce in my yard. I have a feeder out as usual and change it weekly. I only see a female hummer regularly. There has to be more of them as they're consuming about a 20 oz of sugar water a week now.

We're at what I think is the peak of the tomato season in my garden now. I have come to the conclusion that "double digging" works. Unlike last year, the later tomatoes are the same size as the first ones near the bottom of the plant. So, my theory is that the double digging allows water, roots, and so forth into better soils at depth than in the last previous years. The fruit develop to normal size rather than staying small. My tomatoes are their usual 5-6 ft+ tall in their concrete cages. The cages are 5 feet tall and the plants are a good foot above the tops and flopping over.

Love Bee Balm. Quite a mildweed spread Taldesta.

Hummingbirds are not as numerous as usual here, and they are definitely hitting the bounty of wild flowers that our extra rains have encouraged.

... and talk of ripe tomatoes, well, just makes me envious. Honestly, we are just starting to get enough reliable sunshine here through the rainiest spring and summer in my memory (long time).

My store-bought tomato plants are setting flower and some that I started from seed have little green cherry tomatoes. The pups know they are there. Next year, I will be double digging the soil too. Here, since I put in the underground soaker hose system in the veg garden, I haven't done digging to any depth to condition the soil like I used to. I know the place I am moving to has a wonderful garden area, historic river bottom and that during depression era, the veg garden supported well a family of 13.



Yes, what a treat to see the monarchs flitting around the milkweed and other flowers - they are rarely still long enough to photograph. From sighting one caterpillar and watching for munched leaves, I think there will be several chrysalis(s?) this year. Time for best pics is when the new monarchs are feeding before their migration in Sep. Their colours are intense and they set for a bit while eating. They love the giant marigolds.

I have never seen 1/4 acre of bee balm • yet •

 

[taldesta]

I had a setback to my patio garden and sod that took me years to grow thick and green - perhaps you recall my posts about battling the dogs' call of nature to this area?

Because I am scaling down and this means a move to a smaller place, I am prepping this property for others. So with probe and hammer in hand, I located the septic tank and dug it up to facilitate an inspection report and pumping. Surprise - it was part under my patio stones and part under my postage stamp sized patch of "good grass". Make that 30" down, 22" across and 88" long to expose both lids. My long handled shovel is no longer a friend to me

 

[taldesta]

Lumpy passed over the red pot set aside for her and parallel parked in an identical one under nasturtium seedlings. She slept through the entire excavation but didn't return the next day. I have noticed that there are a lot of 'teen' sized Lumpy look-alikes out after dark



Black eyed susans are being overrun by the wild roses - some dilema, eh?



Pansies and begonias loving the wet and cool. Red hot cattails just make me smile

 

[22-rimfire]

You dug down 30" yourself with shovels to your septic tank. Ouch!! I have done this as well, but I was being paid to do it. I have probes that allow me to find septic tanks relatively easily as long as they are within a couple feet of the surface. Been known to "witch" the drain field lines back to the septic tank on a few when they aren't anywhere close to where they should be or dig along the line from the house until I find the tank.

Have to say the Bee Balm is spectacular!!

 

[taldesta]

Yes ... vary hard work for me ... dug most the day before the inspection and finished the last lid early on the morning of. Not wanting to damage my precious garden area or grass surrounding, I dug it straight into a wheelbarrow and stored the soil on tarps in the laneway.

Because there was a morning showing of the property next day, I had to wheelbarrow the soil back to fill it in immediately after the inspection. Can't say I got the patio stones or the sod all that well levelled as I lost the light at the end of these two exhausting days - but it looked all right.

Between snow on the roofs here ... and this job, our next little home with a pointy roof may have a sign ... Done Shovellin'

Witching is amazing.

 

[22-rimfire]

I need to get my septic tank pumped. No problems. But I keep putting it off.

I feel for the job you had on your hands. THAT was a LOT of work. I know about home inspections, mold inspections, and so forth. I do drug inspections which sometimes involve septic tanks. : -) If I were the buyer, I would want you to just leave the soil on the tarp or on a pile so I could have access to the tank. Then I would get it pumped to start things "fresh".