A Color Change

The middle of June brings a new color palette to the perennial garden. The predominate color is in the yellow end of the color wheel as the day lilies make their debut. Here are some of the new faces.

Vegetable Garden - Mid June

Thankfully my vegetable garden got watered while I was gone for two weeks. I was pleased to see it did so well in my absence, nothing that a morning in there couldn't take care of. Weeds, fertilizing, and tying up wayward plants were on the agenda on Thursday.

Green pepper, Rutgers tomato, and cherry tomatoes.

Amish paste tomato, green beans, and first zucchini blossom.

Cubanelle pepper and as you can see I did not thin my onions as much as I should have.

A volunteer petunia in the vegetables. I transplanted another two of these volunteers to the perennial garden but left this one for now.



The fence is serving well as support for three tomato plants.

Beans and tomatoes are doing well together.

Lettuce is still producing amongst the peppers and eggplants.

Onions will soon be falling over ready for pulling.

Peas have been pulled from this bed and now I have to decide what else to plant with the zucchini.

Cucumbers also climbing the fence with nice basil plants in front.

Disappointments

I know you have them, too: disappointments. New plants that don't thrive. Plants that don't grow. And plants that get eaten. Here are a few of mine.

Impatiens! I'm impatient for them to grow into the mounds that they used to grow to at my old house. Here in the midst of the woods you would think they would thrive in my glen garden. They aren't and to add insult to injury the ground hog or something has taken to munching on them.

This was a lovely little saxifrage - purple rose. It is the only plant that died during the time I was away. My teen watering team may not have given this one the water it needed or it may have succumbed to the high temps this region had last week. I haven't had much success in this spot with other plants either. Hmm .. could be the soil?

Okay - so my camera focused on the mulch behind but you can see the stems in the foreground have been nibbled. This is on a phlox that I got from a friend in Nebraska. My liquid fence treatment last month is wearing off and needs to be reapplied very soon. This plant won't have many blooms this year.

Rather than purchasing pre-planted hanging baskets I made my own. I bought new liners, fresh soil that holds water, and the plants. This basket looks great in the front but in the back you can see the plant that was to fill that spot didn't survive.

Okay this is a success. I couldn't end on such a negative note! Here's one of my pots planted. The flowers are more pink than the photo shows. Oh well, so my camera is a disappointment. May have to rectify that soon.

A Rainy Garden Visit: Part 2 - Inspiration Plantings

Emily and I took a little jaunt on Saturday to see Cider Hill Gardens and Gallery in Windsor, VT. I learned about this place when I went to the Vermont Show House.

I am always inspired by seeing what other gardeners do. Last year it was a visit to the Amish country of Ohio that inspired me to make a miniature garden. A visit to the Philadelphia Flower Show inspired the making of a terrarium garden.

These hostas in the tufa pot are lovely. Should I try to replicate that?

Gardens in Vermont have incredible rock walls to work with. I don't think I can replicate those.

But seeing some of the sizes of their plants inspires me to be patient and let mine grow.

I've seen the ads for millstones but I'm not inspired to get one. Can you imagine how that was put into place?

Hostas in a long view gives me a look into the future of my glen garden with its hosta assortment.

Allowing plants to naturally grow together is an inspiration to me too.

Finally I think I will be inspired to find some shrubbery that will thrive on the edge of the woods. I know just the spot for them.