The Mid-June Update

 Music and German Extra Hardy garlic.  I just removed the scapes earlier this week.  They are doing beautifully in the raised bed.

 Winona strawberry bed after being renovated.  Old foliage was removed.  The middle and rear plants were removed to leave room for air circulation.

 Snow Princess sweet alyssum that was started from seed.

 Jacob Kline Monarda

 Navaho blackberries are developing.

 Tiki Torch coneflower.  This is it's third year.  Not a very vigorous coneflower by any means.  Still not much bigger than when I ordered it.  Disappointing.

 Major Wheeler honeysuckle is blooming its heart out.  Hummingbirds have been visiting it!

 My "shell" garden.  Heirloom, vining petunias are along the left side.  Copra onions in front.  Scarlet Nantes carrots and Salad Bush cucumbers are to the right.  Two Tango celery plants are ready for harvest in the rear.

An interesting comparison.  Above are my Copra onions on June 2nd.

 Exactly 14 days later.  It is a great gardening year so far!

 Salad Bush cukes on their compact 3 foot vines are already ready for their first harvest.

 I bagged blossoms a few weeks ago.  I'm considering leaving on the bag to see what happens.  I will probably have to cut it away at some point since this is a Kellogg's Breakfast tomato.  They're not tiny.  :)

 A Sandul Moldovan, Kellogg's Breakfast, and two Sun Gold tomatoes in one of the 3' x 3' raised beds.  THRIVING!  Finally a great tomato year....so far.

 Fat N' Sassy bell peppers are doing wonderfully.

 They are already producing a bunch of peppers.

 One of my favorites.  Echinacea purpurea.  Unimproved, and perfect.

 My Meyer's Lemon is taking off.  Too bad the Lime (in the green container) has been a dud since day one.  Strange.

I have my first lemons developing and more blossoms!
Happy Gardening!

I went away on vacation last week. Unfortunately, the onions didn't enjoy themselves as much as I did. After a week without water in yet another intense heatwave the foliage had begun to wilt and flop over. The bulbs were forming quite until now. I watered them well on Saturday upon my arrival, but it looks like harvest time is quickly approaching despite my efforts. The onions partially shaded by my pumpkin plant are still doing very well.
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Copra and Red Zeppelin onions along with Salad Bush hybrid cucumbers harvested Sunday.Music garlic harvested Sunday. Portion of the border around the house:
Becky shasta daisies, dwarf barberry, Rosy Returns daylilies, mums, Navajo blackberry behind the coneflowers.Below is another portion of the house border:
Adonis Blue dwarf butterfly bush, irises (bottom front), Autumn Joy sedum (just forming buds) Lucifer crocosmia, purple coneflowers.
Another pleasant surprise I found was four Black Swallowtail cats on my Florence fennel. I planted tons of carrots in the same bed, but the fennel has always seemed to be their preference.

This morning I decided to bag some blossoms. I used bridal tulle circles to cover the blossoms. A bagged blossom. The clothespins are holding the "bags" together and their weight is supported by clipping them over the cages. I will remove the bags once I see tomatoes forming.
Fused tomato stems on my Lucky Cross tomato plant.
Copra and Red Zeppelin onions starting to bulb up.
Reliance Grapes
Blueray Blueberry
Newly expanded front garden. The entire middle portion was grass in the beginning of the season. Now it is filled with marigolds, dwarf sunflowers, lots of carrots, and other assorted annuals as fillers.
Scarlet Oklahoma Red Zinnia
Jacob Kline Monarda
Purple Coneflower

What's Happening in the Garden?

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus')
The first coneflower that has opened this season and it's a beauty. The butterflies, bumblebees, and goldfinches are going to be really happy this season.

Asclepias Tuberosa

I started this plant from seed two winters ago. I love it so much that I planted three others that I started this winter as well. This is a host plant for monarda butterflies. Every once in a while I run out to see if there are any munched leaves, eggs, or caterpillars. Nothing yet, but I hope to get some activity once the season progresses. Even if I don't, this is still a beautiful, native flower that has earned a place in my garden.

If You Think That's Ugly, Take A Look At This...

Well. I said when I started this blog that I was going to document the hits and misses. If you want to see ugly, then here it goes. The first contestant in the ugly plant contest would be my Salad Bush cucumber. Last year these cucumbers produced like crazy. I couldn't keep up with them. Unfortunately, I relocated them to a spot that they didn't like. They were overshadowed by a severely overgrown hedge that belongs to the house next door. Luckily it was finally sold, and the new neighbors invested in a hedge trimmer. It's too late for this guy though. This plant yielded two cucumbers...almost. You can see them hanging on the foliage-free plants. Nothing but vine. Sad looking thing, isn't it?

A strong competitor in the ugly plant contest would be my Jack Be Little pumpkin vine. We had a horrible stretch of rain and high humidity. The foliage held strong for the first few weeks. Once the first sign of powdery mildew took hold...it was all downhill from there. I did get two nice little pumpkins from the vine. I should have planted more than one vine so the female blossoms had a better chance of pollination.

The third contestant in the ugly plant contest would be this nightmare of a plant that I've hated since I first bought it two season ago. My eyesore, Sundown echinacea. What a sucky plant. From the time that I had it it had "crinkly leaf syndrome". They would turn brown and crispy. Sun scorch? Unlikely. It only received morning sun. Rust? Maybe. Every year the older foliage turns crispy. Then as the season progresses it gets powdery mildew to make it look even more disgusting. My gut says to just pull it. It's nothing but a headache. I just can't. If I cut away the blooms and the tall foliage, the base foliage is always healthy as can be. SOOOOOOO FRUSTRATING! If I didn't pay so much for this stupid plant it would be in the landfill right now (I would never compost this diseased mess).

Front Garden

Plants in order of top to bottom of picture:

Assorted hosta and heuchera at the very top and out of view

Black Adder Agastache- A bee magnet! 4'x2'; Sterile (doesn't not set seed), puts all it's energy into blooms.

Lime Rickey heuchera- lime green foliage

Stella De Oro Daylilies- A heavy Spring bloom followed by light rebloom.

Moonbeam Coreopsis

Acapulco Salmon and Pink Agastache- Purchased in the fall from High Country Gardens. A blooming machine. The colors are breathtaking, and if you rub the foliage it has a lovely lemon scent! I love this plant! Very healthy, clean foliage, no pest problems, 2'x2', overwintered well here in my zone 6b garden with a light, shredded leaf mulch. Have I mentioned that I love this plant!

Strawberry Candy Daylilies

Twilight Coneflower- front, left.

Goldmound Spirea- front right.

Spring is Blooming! Garden pictures!

'Graham Thomas' David Austin rose

It has an true tea scent. A lovely shade of yellow. Just one in a small vase can make a beautiful centerpiece for days.

To the right: 'Hollywood' Heuchera.

Although the foliage mound stays shorter than I expected (about 5 inches tall), these have the best blooms I have ever seen on a heuchera. Rich color and stems fully covered in blossoms. Absolutely gorgeous!

To the left:

'Maynight' Salvia

'Magnus' Coneflower

'Crimson Pygmy' Barberry
Name unknown Irises

'Double Knockout' rose
'Brite Eyes' climbing rose

Orange unnamed Asiatic lilies

Asclepias tuberosa

To the right:

'William Baffin' Rose

'Blue Spire' Russian Sage
'Sunshine Blue' Caryopteris (just purchased this year)