Everbearing is right

Today seemed like a good day to plant garlic in the strawberry bed. Believe it or not, those everbearing strawberries are still bearing. Not a lot, mind you, and we haven't had a killing frost yet (maybe tonight), but still at it.

Does this look like a good idea? (Photo from somewhere else.) I'm intrigued by the concrete block part, not so much the 2x4 bit. Not sure where I would locate such a planter, nor what I would put in it. Herbs?

This critter was my 17th Trick or Treater last night, the final one.

From Wiki: "The banded woolly bear larva emerges from the egg in the fall and overwinters in its caterpillar form, by allowing most of its mass to freeze solid. First its heart stops beating, then its gut freezes, then its blood, followed by the rest of the body. It survives being frozen by producing a cryoprotectant in its tissues.[5] This freezing occurs outside of body cells, but not within. In the spring, it thaws."

Isn't nature amazing?

Aging well

Somewhere I read that one secret to aging well is to have something to look forward to. This past year I created Project 2025, all the things I wanted to accomplish in the yard, and those have come to fruition one way or another. A list for Project 2026 is already started, with 14 items (so far). Sometimes I wonder why I just didn't turn the whole yard into lawn - it would be much easier to take care of - but then how would I keep busy and active? Successful old age is not for couch potatoes.

I have tried several times and in several places to get some butterflyweed established, without luck. And yet here is a volunteer plant growing amongst the aromatic aster. No butterflies, though.

The ironweed on the south side of the house is starting to bloom, as well as the rudbeckia. Ironweed likes it wet, so maybe I will plant some by the rain garden next year.

This is a typical daily harvest from my food plants, just enough for me. One problem with growing yer own is it almost always tastes better than purchased, even from farmers markets.

Otherwise, not a lot going on around here. It's still hot and humid, with enough rain to keep the grass growing. I am looking forward to autumn already.

What's it good for? Queen of the prairie

The first time I saw Queen of the prairie (Filipendula rubra), I was in love. Although it tolerates clay soil, it likes to keep its feet wet, so it seemed like an unlikely candidate for my yard. Now that I have a rain garden, though, it's been added to the fringe. However, it may be a useless beauty unless you are interested in some of its medicinal uses. (I'm not.) I noticed a few pollinators on it.

I installed only one plant, but the clump it eventually forms may become quite large (4 feet across). Also, it spreads by seeds, which I hope does not become a problem. We'll see. Meanwhile, I will enjoy it - pretty in pink.

Elsewhere in the yard:

The strawberry patch looks very healthy. I've been able to pick a few berries from it every few days. Very tasty!

My granddaughter and I painted some small rocks to look like strawberries, to fool the birds. The faux berries need to be sprayed with fixative before I set them out. So far, the birds have left the harvest alone.

I keep trying to get a good pic of the "meadow". This one has the plants labeled, so if you enlarge it, you can at least tell what is there. Like many things, the meadow looks better in real life.

Up close and personal.

I don't think this Canada hemlock is going to make it. It looks peaked compared to its brethren. If it goes, a gold mop will replace it.

The latest addition to my flamingo collection. This one is supposed to glow, but it is either a dud or else just does not get enough sun. I'll move it and see if it does better elsewhere.

Another useless beauty, but I love the bright orange.

The first harvest from the green bean plants!

Fireflies and blooms (and booms)

In the gloaming, I like to sit on the deck and watch the fireflies. There are a LOT in my yard this year. I like to think my yardening practices have something to do with that. The larva winter over in the ground or under tree bark. I assume my habit of eschewing mulch, doing fall cleanup in the spring, and favoring native plants all help. With over 2000 species, I hate to be more specific about them, but in general the light-emitting ones are females attracting a male, to mate or eat.

The summer blooms are starting to come out. Is it early? I think not - tomorrow is July 1. It just feels early, probably because of our erratic weather patterns.

Coneflower

Common milkweed

Bee on milkweed

Bee balm

I've been relatively diligent about removing blossoms from the strawberry plants, but have missed a few. The resulting fruit is delicious! There is nothing like a sun-warmed strawberry plucked right off the plant.

A few cherry tomatoes have developed, so I am looking forward to dining on those as well in the near future.

I've been lacksidaisical about staking my one and only tomato plant, and this is what happened. I'm also learning that container plants require a daily watering no matter how much rain has fallen.

Now a pet peeve. Here in Indiana, individuals can purchase their own fireworks. In my city, there are limits as to when one can set them off. However, I live near the edge of the city limits and the county has no such rules. Fortunately, Clio is relatively okay with the noise as long as she is inside and near me.

And while we are on the subject, once upon a time, fireworks displays were limited to once or twice a year, thereby making them special events. Now it seems like almost any reason is cause for fireworks. At least xmas is still only once a year.

End of grumpy rant.

A mighty fortress is my garden

It appears (KNOCK ON WOOD) that we have forestalled further incursions by the woodchuck. A friend of mine suggested violence (he is a gun-owner), but I like to think I'm smarter than a groundhog. Meanwhile, other attempts to protect my food-producing plants have been less successful.

The strawberry bed cover didn't quite do the job, apparently. There was a small gap between the cover and the side of the raised bed, enough for this juvenile robin (and the next day, a slim adult) to squeeze through. That issue has been resolved.

Now I just need to figure out a way to keep the sparrows and finches from chewing on the pea plants. I don't know if the birds are after the plants themselves or aphids on the plants or what. They (the plants) look raggedy and are not blooming as they should.

And then there is the raspberry patch. The branches are laden with incipient fruit, a tempting prelude to what could become an avian feeding frenzy. I'm thinking a net of some sort is in order here.

One of these days, I will just build a cage over the whole garden.

First strawberry!

And by the time I picked this luscious berry about 15 minutes later, something (a robin?) had taken a few bites out of it. I ate it anyway.

Baby steps

The weather has been fairly temperate recently (except for the wind), so the garden is progressing appropriately. The onions are hanging in there, presumably putting down roots, as the tops look less than stellar. The garlic and rhubarb have made an appearance....

This past week, I planted peas, snap peas, spinach, lettuce, and radishes. And the daffodils are in bloom.

One problem with gardening in raised beds is perennials have a tougher time withstanding the winter weather since their roots are not deep within the earth proper. So far, I have not had a problem with garlic, which I mulch heavily. Last fall, I neglected to mulch the the asparagus and strawberries, both of which look not-so-good this spring.

I'm not happy with the strawberries anyway - the everbearing variety didn't everbear - so I am replacing them with a June-bearing variety. In all fairness, the strawberry bed probably did not receive enough sun, so it will also be relocated.

The asparagus may have bit the dust, as it is showing no signs of life. I'm not very experienced with asparagus; maybe it is too early? Regardless, I decided to plant more asparagus, a purple variety, which I did yesterday. I also gave the 25 new plants more elbow room room than I gave the previous 20 plants in the current bed. The new bed is also in a sunnier location.

In the never ending battles against rabbits and groundhogs, my SO is helping me build (and by "helping", he is doing most of the work) a garden fence. The idea is to run hardware cloth from the bottom to prevent digging and chicken wire from the top to prevent climbing. There will also be no posts set in the ground, so I can move the fence if need be. (I seem to change my mind a lot about the yard.)

Under the oh-ye-of-little-faith category, I am happy to report that all the indoor seedlings sprouted, with the exception of the 'Abe Lincoln' tomatoes, which I replanted yesterday.

I was planning to plant potatoes and transplant blueberries today, but "they" are predicting snow a few days from now. My gardening muscles are suffering a bit, but not as bad as I expected. Although the back of my neck felt like it was getting burned yesterday, it's not.

How does your garden grow?