Rain
Two days of rain this week.
I should have put down some grass seed in the back yard Sunday.
My garden is looking rather worse for the wear. The weeds seem to have invaded the yard this year. Last year we had a fabulous postage stamp of lawn in the back. My herbs are sporadic. The cilantro had died, the tarragon is struggling and some something is attacking the purple basil. The sage, savory, chives and oragano, on the other hand are threatening to take over. The broze fennel looks fantastic! but there is this odd gap between it and the parsely where the aforementioned cilantro and tarragon are planted.
Also, all the marigolds I planted in hopes of keeping pest away are dying. They died last year, too. I don't get it.
On the vegetable side, one of my lettuces seems to have recovered, but I don't know what's eating the other two. The pepper has the same holes in the leaves as the purple basil. I think I have earwigs. Heithr says the only way to get rid of them is to dig up the entire garden and let it go fallow for a year. That makes me sad. I have some dust for creepy crawly bugs that says it's "chem-free" but I haven't used it because I'm nervous.
The tomatos are doing well in their new location, but they don't have many flowers. I thought they should have more by now. The cucumber has LOTS of flowers.
I have two beds with flowers that are pretty dismal. The transplanted standard poppies are barely hanging on. No flowers. Then new little poppies (Icelandic? I don't remember) did well, but they are past flowering :( Of ten iris I planted, only one came up. The tulips were pretty, but they of course are long gone. The anemone didn't come up. There are two lilies - one I "inherited"; one I planted. Hopefully they'll flower soon. I think this fall I need to dig up that bed completely and start over.
In the other bed are the two clematis (sp?) which I have no clue how to prune. Googling yields exactly opposite advice! The heather I planted beside the gate looks at least partly alive ... the edelweiss has the same kind of look. The phlox got partially buried by the tulips and the clemetis and looks rather sad now.
The lavender, on the other had is *loving* my garden. It's more than twice the size it ever got to last year! I forsee lots of sweet smelling lavender things later this summer.
I should have put down some grass seed in the back yard Sunday.
My garden is looking rather worse for the wear. The weeds seem to have invaded the yard this year. Last year we had a fabulous postage stamp of lawn in the back. My herbs are sporadic. The cilantro had died, the tarragon is struggling and some something is attacking the purple basil. The sage, savory, chives and oragano, on the other hand are threatening to take over. The broze fennel looks fantastic! but there is this odd gap between it and the parsely where the aforementioned cilantro and tarragon are planted.
Also, all the marigolds I planted in hopes of keeping pest away are dying. They died last year, too. I don't get it.
On the vegetable side, one of my lettuces seems to have recovered, but I don't know what's eating the other two. The pepper has the same holes in the leaves as the purple basil. I think I have earwigs. Heithr says the only way to get rid of them is to dig up the entire garden and let it go fallow for a year. That makes me sad. I have some dust for creepy crawly bugs that says it's "chem-free" but I haven't used it because I'm nervous.
The tomatos are doing well in their new location, but they don't have many flowers. I thought they should have more by now. The cucumber has LOTS of flowers.
I have two beds with flowers that are pretty dismal. The transplanted standard poppies are barely hanging on. No flowers. Then new little poppies (Icelandic? I don't remember) did well, but they are past flowering :( Of ten iris I planted, only one came up. The tulips were pretty, but they of course are long gone. The anemone didn't come up. There are two lilies - one I "inherited"; one I planted. Hopefully they'll flower soon. I think this fall I need to dig up that bed completely and start over.
In the other bed are the two clematis (sp?) which I have no clue how to prune. Googling yields exactly opposite advice! The heather I planted beside the gate looks at least partly alive ... the edelweiss has the same kind of look. The phlox got partially buried by the tulips and the clemetis and looks rather sad now.
The lavender, on the other had is *loving* my garden. It's more than twice the size it ever got to last year! I forsee lots of sweet smelling lavender things later this summer.