14 thoughts on “My Second Garden Tour Of The Season….”
I envy your gardens, especially your impromptu milkweed. When we rented our first house in North Texas, spring surprised with a bright array of wildflowers. I decided they were too beautiful to mow. But our fire marshal didn’t agree. Growing within a lawn, wildflowers are seen as weeds.
Ah that’s too bad Donald, but understandable. Luckily we don’t have that issue here, we’re surrounded by hay fields that get mowed twice a year at least.
Your gardens are lovely. I so envy you the dahlias. I have never been able to grow them successfully. It may be that my soil is not the best for them. I don’t have access to donkey manure which may be a big help in enriching the soil. Also so great that you have sheep and donkeys to eat your lilac prunings. I just have to drag mine into the woods. Thanks or sharing. Jill
My goodness, Maria. It’s like a botanical garden. So lush, so diverse. How do you get everything done? It is just lovely. And so is Fate. Her face just looks full of joy. My milkweed spread a lot too.
It’s beginning to take care of itself Carolyn. I think you’d like the book by Wendy Williams about Butterflies. It’s called The Language of Butterflies.
Maria you must be in your glory in this wonderful natural garden. My dahlias are growing nicely although I had to move them after they where growing, my son built a shed in that area where they where. He also put a 12′ workbench inside for potting and growing plants. I finally feel like I live here. Thank you again.
Oh your garden shed sounds wonderful Uta. Nothing like your own garden to make you feel at home. I’ve found that these Dahlia’s are very hardy. I but they didn’t mind being moved.
Your gardens all look beautiful and healthy! Our vegetable gardens are making a comeback after the early hail storms got to them. It’s amazing how they are growing new leaves and two of the tomato plants have some flowers! The flower beds are springing up too! Happy gardening!
We have milkweed a plenty also and the butterflies are visiting. We had a bad storm last night 60 mph winds; some damage to the gardens, but I think they will come out of it OK. Each year I plant something new in my vegetable and flower gardens; the new thing in the flower garden was straw flowers. One had bloomed and the other had a bud on it and the penny size hail cut it clean off and one of my Amish cockscomb was broken otherwise the rest came through the storm fine. I want to dry my straw flowers. Part of life I guess. By the way Jon looked great in his apron, looked right at home in your kitchen. I think it is wonderful that he is so supportive of you. I had 4 brothers and 3 knew how to cook very well, the 4th one could not boil water:) I love Fates picture, she looks so happy.
I started to understand about how imperiled our pollinators are a few years ago. So I gathered some milkweed seed in the fall from a plant growing along the road on my way down to my dad’s farm, 35 miles away. I planted some of the seeds in the fall (I’ve learned that’s best, for them) and some in the spring. I think I got 3 plants that year, and the next year they got taller and multiplied, a lot. Now I have a number of them in one area and some in a second garden area I made over a year ago. I am always thrilled when I see Monarchs (my mother loved them) and when I see the caterpillars on the plants. I saw one teensy one a couple of weeks ago but haven’t seen any more since then. I love feeding the bees and butterflies and birds. I just wish it had not taken me till I was in my 60s to understand all of this, but I’m doing all I can, now, and loving seeing the flowers, too. I like butterfly weed type of milkweed (they are lower and orange blooms) and my first year I saw 6 caterpillars on them in one evening. I have lots of seeds from that from last year, if you’d like to try to grow that. I can mail you some.
I’ve been looking on my milkweed for caterpillars Melissa. I haven’t seen any yet but see that there are parts of leaves eaten, so maybe they’re around. It great that you planted milkweed, it does seem to spread easily. I think about the pollinating insects when I plant my gardens now too. It took me almost as long as you to figure that out. But I think people in general are more aware of it. I’d love some of the orange blossom seeds. I’d be honored to plant them.
I envy your gardens, especially your impromptu milkweed. When we rented our first house in North Texas, spring surprised with a bright array of wildflowers. I decided they were too beautiful to mow. But our fire marshal didn’t agree. Growing within a lawn, wildflowers are seen as weeds.
Ah that’s too bad Donald, but understandable. Luckily we don’t have that issue here, we’re surrounded by hay fields that get mowed twice a year at least.
Your gardens are lovely. I so envy you the dahlias. I have never been able to grow them successfully. It may be that my soil is not the best for them. I don’t have access to donkey manure which may be a big help in enriching the soil. Also so great that you have sheep and donkeys to eat your lilac prunings. I just have to drag mine into the woods. Thanks or sharing.
Jill
These Dahlia’s are very hardy Jill, it may be that the soil and manure helps though.
My goodness, Maria. It’s like a botanical garden. So lush, so diverse. How do you get everything done? It is just lovely. And so is Fate. Her face just looks full of joy. My milkweed spread a lot too.
It’s beginning to take care of itself Carolyn. I think you’d like the book by Wendy Williams about Butterflies. It’s called The Language of Butterflies.
Maria you must be in your glory in this wonderful natural garden. My dahlias are growing nicely although I had to move them after they where growing, my son built a shed in that area where they where. He also put a 12′ workbench inside for potting and growing plants. I finally feel like I live here. Thank you again.
Oh your garden shed sounds wonderful Uta. Nothing like your own garden to make you feel at home. I’ve found that these Dahlia’s are very hardy. I but they didn’t mind being moved.
Your gardens all look beautiful and healthy! Our vegetable gardens are making a comeback after the early hail storms got to them. It’s amazing how they are growing new leaves and two of the tomato plants have some flowers! The flower beds are springing up too! Happy gardening!
Same to you Josie!
We have milkweed a plenty also and the butterflies are visiting. We had a bad storm last night 60 mph winds; some damage to the gardens, but I think they will come out of it OK. Each year I plant something new in my vegetable and flower gardens; the new thing in the flower garden was straw flowers. One had bloomed and the other had a bud on it and the penny size hail cut it clean off and one of my Amish cockscomb was broken otherwise the rest came through the storm fine. I want to dry my straw flowers. Part of life I guess. By the way Jon looked great in his apron, looked right at home in your kitchen. I think it is wonderful that he is so supportive of you. I had 4 brothers and 3 knew how to cook very well, the 4th one could not boil water:) I love Fates picture, she looks so happy.
It’s a nice idea to always plant something new. I like that. Glad most of your gardens made it through the storm!
I started to understand about how imperiled our pollinators are a few years ago. So I gathered some milkweed seed in the fall from a plant growing along the road on my way down to my dad’s farm, 35 miles away. I planted some of the seeds in the fall (I’ve learned that’s best, for them) and some in the spring. I think I got 3 plants that year, and the next year they got taller and multiplied, a lot. Now I have a number of them in one area and some in a second garden area I made over a year ago. I am always thrilled when I see Monarchs (my mother loved them) and when I see the caterpillars on the plants. I saw one teensy one a couple of weeks ago but haven’t seen any more since then. I love feeding the bees and butterflies and birds. I just wish it had not taken me till I was in my 60s to understand all of this, but I’m doing all I can, now, and loving seeing the flowers, too. I like butterfly weed type of milkweed (they are lower and orange blooms) and my first year I saw 6 caterpillars on them in one evening. I have lots of seeds from that from last year, if you’d like to try to grow that. I can mail you some.
I’ve been looking on my milkweed for caterpillars Melissa. I haven’t seen any yet but see that there are parts of leaves eaten, so maybe they’re around. It great that you planted milkweed, it does seem to spread easily. I think about the pollinating insects when I plant my gardens now too. It took me almost as long as you to figure that out. But I think people in general are more aware of it. I’d love some of the orange blossom seeds. I’d be honored to plant them.