Hello sweet friends and followers............. I know it's been awhile. I just wanted to pop in and say hi. I've been spending alot of time in my yard, mostly enjoying having to do yardwork! I came across this poem when I was watching a 4 day (online) Cardmaker Success Sumit put on by Brandy Mahon on YouTube. Sharon Ware runs (or owns?) Prickley Pear Stamps and she said she wrote this poem. It really resonated with me.... tis the season to love all of the flowers, birds and nature!
I typed the poem in one of my design programs and added the bird and flowers, bees and dragonflies. It was such fun! And I keep it posted by my computer.
Here are some of my garden photos. I didn't plant as much this year as I have in previous years.. and I really planted late! I think it was July 6th before I got any of my veggie SEEDS planted. I may have planted the flowers a little earlier. I just couldn't seem to get "with it" this year as far as gardening. I did have some starts of lemon cucumbers, and 4 out of 7 plants survived. I also found only one yellow zuchini left at my local store by the time I had decided to plant a few veggies, which I wanted to try.
My cukes and zuchini are doing really well, although they need to be watered every day (well everything does, because of the horrible heat we've been having)....... and even with that, my zuchini wilts by the afternoon, even though I've moved in to a shadier spot.
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| My strawberries are doing great! They are everbearing, so are just now starting to turn red. I've eaten a few ripe ones and they are really good. I won't get near the crop as I was hoping though. |
I've had trouble this year (again) with bugs eating the leaves of my flowers and veggies, and fungus in my raspberries. That fungus spreads to my cucumbers too so I've had to be diligent about tearing off any leaves that show signs of it. My poor raspberries haven't done a thing... just a few little berries, but most get eaten by whatever pest I have. I babied those plants from the day they started coming up in February! I've re-dug, recomposted, sprayed for bugs, sprayed for fungus, fertilized, picked off brown and curled leaves, etc. but nothing has seemed to help. I may have to give up on them!
My peach tree so far, is OK and not eaten up by bugs! But it didn't bear any fruit this year.. it's only 2 years old. Hopefully next year I will have some, if the frost doesn't get the buds in early spring.
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| Raspberries are behind the peach tree. They looked good in May, and then when the heat wave started, and the bugs started, it was downhill from there. |
I have accomlished a few things on my old TO DO list.. which I'll show in future blogs. For now....... just enjoy my flowers!
Hope you are all enjoying your summer! It has gone by way too fast.
~Marilyn~
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Hi Marilyn! Glad to hear you’re doing well and enjoying the pleasures of your lovely garden and thoughtful crafts. I think if you often so it’s always a treat to read what you’ve been up to. We’re in NY for a month visiting our granddaughter who just turned one. She’s in from Singapore and will be returning in two weeks.
ReplyDeleteKeep plugging away at that to do list!
Oops…don’t know why my comment was anonymous but I’ll try to fix it. It appears I can’t put my url in.
ReplyDeleteDarlene.. it did work the second time! Glad to hear from you... I follow you on IG sometimes.. when I go there, which isn't very often! How fun to go to NY!!! Do you miss it that much? It seems like you are VERY active where you live now! We've had such a super HOT summer again.. that things are not growing real well here. I do what I can.. but am feeling like this house is too big for me as is my yard!!! Hugs.. Marilyn
DeleteMarilyn, I so enjoy seeing other gardens and of course this one is so far from Ohio and still so similar. I have a patio of containers with deer resistant plants such a zinnia and marigold. I also plant parsley not for me to eat but to get the Black Swallowtail Butterfly to lay eggs on. I have to chrysalis in the house now incubating. I cut the leaves when I find the eggs or babies and keep them totally indoors to avoid them being taken over by parasites. I tries sweet pea flowers this year and I wonder what your trick is with your peas looking so lush. My flowers are not going to bloom and are not lush. They are in the patio pots as out in the yard they would be deer food. So glad your yard is looking so very pretty and you could share the photos. Tomorrow I have a post showing some of my pots as I show off a family of rabbits on the patio, lol. Lynn
ReplyDeleteSorry, the rabbit story will be Friday a week away.
DeleteLynn, my plants have to be "bug" resistent! And also, fungus resistent... somehow, my back yard as gotten a fungus in the plants or soil or something, so I fight that constantly... also ear wigs that eat everything. Though I live in town, there are deer that roam the streets and so they come up into my front yard now and then and eat all of my flowers, which they just did the other day. One day I had 5 pots of gorgeous petunias and pansies, and the next morning when I looked out, there was nothing! And my peas.... I planted them very late, from seed, and have been babying them.. but I see some of the brown fungus spots starting to attack them. It seems like we work so hard and then various things destroy our hard work, which is very frustrating. Maybe there IS a little joy in feeding the deer and rabbits??? not sure! Take care.. Marilyn
DeleteOh Marilyn! Your garden and back yard area looks wonderful! This heat has been hard on us too. It's been a very difficult year for gardening, for sure. Your peach tree looks wonderful! I've heard that they can take a few years to really be able to produce. Also, if you just planted raspberries in the spring, you won't get a crop this year. It all looks amazing, and I hope to find sometime soon in the next week or two to send you a card with some goodies, I am enjoying the beautiful package from you :) Many hugs and much love!
ReplyDeleteMarilyn, well it looks pretty good but I've seen much better years. My heart just wasn't in it so much this year, and that fungus in my soil is just getting onto everything! Thank goodness my peach tree is still OK. Maybe by next year, which will be its 3rd year, it'll get some buds, if the frost doesn't get them. My raspberries are about 10 years old, if not more. I brought them from Washougal when we moved to central Oregon, and planted them at each house! When they finally found a "home" year, 7 years ago, they did very very good the first couple of years, but now that fungus or the bugs or whatever it is, gets them every time, just before the berries start getting ripe. And maybe too, it's the heat and they are a variety that just can't tolerate the heat. I'm not sure. This year I've only had a fe berries, and the rest dry up on the vine before they even turn red. I water them alot, but it doesn't seem to help. Believe me too, I've done much searching of the internet, youtube, and my nursery lady, as to what is causing them to turn all brown. I'm probably going to have to give up on them and dig them all up! Though you've had the heat too, your bounties from your garden have been WONDERFUL!!! Hugs.. Marilyn
DeleteMarilyn your garden looks lovely and it's evident that you put a lot of hours into it. I don't see a weed anywhere; that's something I surely can't accomplish. I too have a bug problem but I hate using any kind of spray on my vegetables.
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful seeing you post again. I always enjoy reading your posts and seeing your photographs. Take care of yourself and stay out of the heat.
Connie.. I don't know about no weeds.. I really DO have them in alot of places.. especially the lawn! I try to keep them pulled (by hand) but any time I water it with the sprinkler, the weeds just pop up! The bug problem here is driving me nuts.. especially when I see them boring into my beautiful almost ripe strawberries! Enough is enough I say! I normally use Dr. Earth organic and harmless to people and pets, but it doesn't really work very well. I might have to get out the big guns for my strawberries. I do mostly work when there is shade, or in the evenings once the sun has gone down. I'm actually going to be glad when summer is done, or at least the veggies, etc. and I don't have to worry anymore about bugs! I AM at least getting a few peas and beans now, and my lemon cukes are starting to appear. My poor raspberries got taken over by the chomping bugs and some sort of disease so got hardly any and I'm just letting them go, not watering them, etc. and going to cut them all down soon! Thank God that disease hasn't (yet) gotten to my peach tree, which is pretty close to the raspberries. It's all a crap shoot! Hugs... Marilyn
DeleteHi Marilyn. Your garden and flowers are looking beautiful. I am envious of the ambition and hope that I can get some of mine back. Everything looks so trim and pretty and green. Our yard is a shambles and so dry looking. All the old school phlox has gone to seed and that doesn't make a pretty sight in the garden although it might be worth it when it is green and blooming. The kids are coming up next week to do some yard work so it will get better..Happy Tuesday..xxoJudy
ReplyDeleteJudy..... my yard is just getting to be too much for me! I try my best, but the bugs and chewy things keep chomping on everything, which is so frustrating. Your yard usually looks so pretty and wild and natural! It's hard to take care of when our backs bother us! My son did alot when he was here in March, but it's getting overgrown again. It's been so dry here too... I do water but not as much as I used to.. the water bill gets too high! I just do what I can... and have to keep telling myself that at least it's "there" and partially good! There are so good spots and not so good spots! xoxoxo Marilyn
ReplyDeleteThat's a lovely poem! Your garden is quite impressive! Enjoy the bounty!
ReplyDelete