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!

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

Spirit pumpkin. I've never had one so healthy, so long. SVBs have always been a huge problem. This is a more compact cultivar.Golden Acre cabbage starting to form a head.Florence fennel. A volunteer. Note the black swallowtail caterpillar in the upper portion. He's already about an inch and a half long!
One of my three Sungold tomatoes started blossoming a few days ago. I can't wait for these tasty nuggets!
Sweet Basil planted last season. It overwintered and is now starting to flower. It came in a gift herb kit. I never harvested any of it, so I'm hoping the beneficials will like it. That's why it's still hanging around. Peas are planted on both sides of it. You can see my Spirit Pumpkin in the back left.
Below are my tomatoes, a Spirit pumpkin in the near-middle, Golden Acre cabbage in front of that, onions in the back right, peas lining the lower of the picture.
The birdhouse I built a few weeks ago has found its first resident. A lovely pair of wrens! You can see one on the tomato cage holding nesting material.
Ellagance Purple lavender that I started from seed last season. Smells lovely.
Jacob Kline monarda. Five feet tall already!!! My Endless Summer hydrangea is blooming as well.
Rosy Returns daylily.
Flamenco Torch Lily. More of a light apricot than the orange I expected. Perhaps because it is so shaded by the monarda.

Right now it is pouring AGAIN. While there was a bit of a break this morning, I ran out to see what was in bloom. This is what I saw. Alexander Fleming peony. It is supposed to be fragrant, but I guess the wet weather is interfering with that.
Felix Crousse
Felix Crousse up close
William Baffin climbing roses starting to open up.
Golden Zest rose. Lemon-scented! Although not with all the rain.
Jacob Kline monarda. Just added last fall. Initially there were 3 plants but one died. The two remaining are really taking off. I can see how these would get a bit pushy in the garden.
"Climbing" the wall on a trellis is Brite Eyes rose. To the left of it is a Double Knockout rose.
Brite Eyes up close.
Maynight Salvia with a Navaho blackberry flower that just opened.
The rain isn't all bad. Everything is getting pretty lush.