Look what Betsy found

It's a baby bunny! Unfortunately, the dog does not want to leave the poor thing alone, so she is banished to the house. Hopefully mama will come by and move the baby elsewhere.

Keeping up with this blog is more difficult than keeping up with the yard. I was out of town part of last weekend, which was good for my mental health but not for the garden. Memorial Day I mowed the backyard while my SO dug up more sod to create a nice path around the garden. Some mulch also got shifted but not much else.

And then it started to rain. And rain. And RAIN. Today it was threatening but I decided to mow the front yard anyway. I also set up the alternative Topsy Turvy planters, so now there are two tomatoes planted, Health Kick and Fourth of July. After all my kvetching about Burpee sending plants late, this year they arrived on time and I am the one that is late.

And then it rained again. Jeesh!



Keys of heaven, in case you were wondering, in a sea of Queen Anne's lace.

Dingleberry

After all my hard work, chopping and bundling brush, I forgot to put it out for trash pickup this morning. *sigh*

The thrill of spring is giving way to the steady rhythm of summer. The honeymoon is over, but there are still a few interesting things around the yard.

Up close and personal, the milkweed blossoms await their pollinators.



This plant grows from a crack between the driveway concrete and a wall of castle block. The volunteers in the 3B garden are not nearly as robust, in spite of having real dirt to grow in and lots of mulch to keep their feet moist.

The burning bush is starting to make these little fruit? seeds? that the sparrows like.



Hmmm. I just did a little research. The burning bush does produce fruit which the birds do like, BUT it is also considered a non-native invasive. I did not know that. I have not noticed my bush doing any invading in my yard, but the birds may be spreading the seeds far and wide. In my defense, this bush was here when I bought the house.

Yuccas are forever, but this one is struggling to bloom.



If memory serves me correctly, once upon a time I planted three yuccas in this spot. When I added more plants, I tried to eliminate some of the yuccas, but like a bad weed, more keep popping up. What remains has to compete with the asplenifolia and sandcherry for sunlight. The flower stem is quite spindly and not full at all. Not sure if I will do anything about it, though.

The next two pix were an attempt to showcase the 3B garden but my photog skills are lacking.



3B stands for Bees, Butterflies, Birds. This garden is successful in attracting all three. From a distance, it appears meadowlike, very green with highlights of color. The above photo shows the catmint and daisies, the picture below yarrow, pestemon, and keys of heaven.



The 3B is prettier in real life.

The two-leggeds need to eat as well.



The first pepper!

And here is the Mad Rabbit.

Gardener's Tan

The gardener's tan is usually a motley collection of pinks and browns. Today I started out wearing a racer back sports bra and yoga top, to try to fill in some color on my upper back, but after a few hours in the sun, wisely switched to a sleeveless polo plus sunscreen for my shoulders and arms. A broad brimmed hat, donned to keep the deer flies out of my hair, protected my face, but my feet are getting stripey from my gardening sandals. And my legs are the last to tan, except for my knee caps.

Yes, it was a long day of outdoor activity. HOT and HUMID, but at least there was a good breeze and plenty of clouds to keep it from being brutal. Amongst my achievements were mowing, front and back, transplanting black-eyed Susan and tickseed (which required much weed removal and the installation of a chicken-wire enclosure for rabbit protection), and planting thyme in the one apple tree pot lacking it.

Everyday, something new is blooming or blooming more. The pestemon is just starting...



while the keys of heaven are filling out...



and the catmint offsets the pinks with its strong blue.



All of the above are in the 3B garden - bees, butterflies, birds. This Shasta daisy is right around the corner from where some other Shastas bit the dust.



Debating on whether to transplant it to replace the lost ones.

Here is the first coneflower, such as it is.



And one lone scabiosa has popped up in the front of the house. Haven't had much luck with flowers on the east side of the house.



Proof that I did not over-whack the clematis on the front porch.



The climbing rose is above average this year...



... even peeking around the corner of the house.

Just So I Will Know Next Year

When most perennials and shrubs are bursting with life in the spring, there are always a worrisome few that are late to get started. I'm not talking about late bloomers. I'm talking late-to-show-any-signs-of-life-after-a-long-cold-winter. So here is proof that some of those ten o'clock flowers are still alive.

It is difficult to see in this shot, but the hibiscus survived.



It's surrounded by the Queen Anne's lace I let into the garden last year. (Big mistake.)

And the trumpet vine.



I planted this four years ago and it has yet to bloom. I think it doesn't get enough sun, but now that the silver maples are gone, maybe that will change.

In the foreground is the Rose of Sharon.



A neighbor a couple of blocks away has a larger specimen, and it is just as late as mine.

Now, onto the current bloomers.

Not a good shot, but this is thyme that is planted in the pot with a miniature apple tree.



It is just starting to bloom. We moved the apple trees to the north side of the backyard, so that they will be close to the other potted plants, just to make watering easier.

This is not a good shot, either, but it is yarrow that is starting to bloom.



I hope its neighboring bee balm holds off until I can get it moved. Tonight I pulled "weeds" where I want the bee balm to go, so maybe tomorrow I will move it. I read that bee balm is relatively shade tolerant, so it is going next to the fence and hopefully will block some of the invading catnip and nettles.

I have two peonies of one variety and one of another, so while the former are past their glory, the latter is just coming on.



This one is also more white than pink.

Some blossoms are easy to miss. These are on my asplenifolia.



They will turn into little orange berries that the sparrows love.

And the burning bush blooms as well.



I can't recall if there is resulting fruit. Probably. Mother Nature would not waste a perfectly good flower, would she?

Well, maybe she would, if it is true that the white onondaga blooms are sterile.



These photos show better the different stages of the blooms, from closed red to open pink to white border.



This is the best year ever for the onandago.

And for the "Blue Muffin" arrowwood viburnum as well.



This will be the first year I will get to see the blue muffin effect that earns this shrub its name. (Knock on wood!)

Now, what is this nestled amongst the bee balm?



Might be Keys of Heaven. I planted some but I don't think I have ever seen it bloom. I'll have to try not to disturb it when I move the bee balm.

And the columbine is still with us.



Tonight the weather is threatening. We really need a good soaking rain. Maybe if I wash my car....