Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category

I have a confession to make: this year my garden looks pitiful. It’s weedy, and brown, and dry, and just plain sad. Surprisingly enough, it’s producing a bounty of tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, and peppers to name a few. But it’s not pretty. It ain’t pretty at all. I can’t bear to show any pictures of the mess – it’s beginning to rival my laundry room.

Things just don’t look as healthy as in years past, except for this, a volunteer watermelon.

There are actually a total of three watermelon plants, I believe. They’ve popped up on a small slope near our garden and have been going strong. They’re healthy, vibrant and thriving with little rain.

We decided to scale the garden back (other than the tomatoes) this year, and didn’t plant any melons. It seems these watermelon plants had other plans in mind. And boy, am I glad they did.

Meet Bertha.

She’s the largest thus far, marching her way right toward a Melon Salad real soon. And she’s not alone. Bertha has a whole family following in her footsteps, five to be exact, as far as I can tell.

This one looks a little wonky, but I bet it’ll taste just fine.

Here’s a cute one. It’s fun to watch the watermelons grow a little bit each night.

And there are signs of more to join the clan.

How ironic is it that the plants we planted, fertilized, have watered and tended to are struggling to get by, but these volunteers are the strongest, healthiest plants in the garden?

Maybe next year I’ll not plant one thing, and see what pops up on its own. I may try it, just once.

So, how’s your garden growing this season? Any surprises? Anything new you’ve tried that you’d like to share?

This time of the year is bitter sweet in the garden.

Insects of all kinds flock to our garden.

They’re fun to watch and photograph.

At least most of them are.

Among the butterflies…

And a variety of bees…

We also get Japanese Beetles.

The Japanese Beetles did a number on our Purple Coneflower, but they’ve already come and gone. Thank goodness.

But look at these buggers, aphids.

Those aphids…I don’t like em. I don’t like em one bit.

We try our darndest to avoid using any pesticides, and opt instead for interplanting other bug repellant varieties close by, as well as the picking and stomping method. Or the picking and flicking method. That one works well too.

While pesticides, even organic ones, may get rid of the beetles and other pests, the other guests that we want to keep are usually affected as well. So we’ve held off using anything as much as possible.

And even though much of the purple coneflower looks pitiful, the bees and butterflies don’t seem to mind.

Still, I’ve been doing some research, but no method sounds all that fantastic to me. And as I said using other insecticides, even organic/natural ones, concern me a little, especially for the bees. Bees can return to their hive with just a little insecticide, and ruin a whole colony. Just like that. I’d rather have stinking looking flowers than worry about that.

I’m curious to hear what works for you to control a buggy sityeation. What have you tried that has worked like a charm? Do you have any tips or tricks for ridding the bad guys, while keeping the good?

Right now I’m hopeful for rain. Most everything in the garden is wilting and struggling until the next watering except this gem, lantana. There are several different types of lantana. This tri-colored one is called “Miss Huff” and is considered a reliable perennial in many zones. I love the bright, almost flourescent, colors.

This yellow lantana was just added to our garden this spring.

It’s so happy and growing like crazy already, even with the extreme heat we’ve been having lately, and very, very little rain.

These are my favorite kinds of plants, hardy enough for the harshness of summer around here, with little or no attention from us peeps. Thank goodness. Lantana is alright by me.

Do you have any tough plants you’ve had success with in your garden? Please share. I’m making a list and hunting them down.