Time of the Roses

The roses are beginning to bloom despite all the black spot and molds from the humidity and rain. I think this is the rainiest June ever. Definitely since we've been here.

I'm really pushing it on greenhouse space. Eight tomato plants, four beans, two squash, bunches of basil, six peppers, dill, oregano and a few kohlrabi are packed in here. We are considering adding a hoop house because things grow so much better for me under cover than outside.

 Lettuce is doing OK but the ducks have taken a liking to it and trim up all the heads as far as they can reach.

And here are the little devils acting innocent.

A pretty poppy.

Clumsy me. I dropped a fish while trying to hang it. It split into three pieces which I have glued together but there are a few chips that need to be filled and the epoxy I need for that is somewhat specialized and not available around here. I ordered through Amazon but tracking shows the package was shipped to Alaska and disappeared. So I will try something else then try to match paint to finish.

But this is really only an exercise in repair because I can just make another one!

New Favorite

Peony Krinkled White. It opens the palest pink. And it's much bigger than I expected!

Time to come in for these rain damaged flowers.

The Rain has Won

A bouquet of Red Charm's huge flowers flopped right over the supports. I had no choice but to put them in a vase. Next year I will get taller and sturdier supports, but I am secretly enjoying these blooms just as much indoors as out.

 
I'm suddenly getting many compliments on my garden and I haven't even paid out any bribes. The flower show was spectacular while it lasted. More rain today looking to cause trouble though.

 I finally broke down and ordered a Bartzella ITOH peony to plant this fall. I don't like to spend that much on one flower but it will be dedicated to Tux. With huge yellow flowers it will look good surrounded by the deep red plants in the Japanese maple bed.

 

And so the rain strikes again. A waterlogged Princess Victoria Louise Oriental poppy. This is the wettest June since we've moved here.

Raindrops

Flowers in the rain. I made a .GIF this time. Rain in June? It's nice that I don't need to water, but it's cold, fungi are thriving, and my veggies aren't happy.

Useless Stinky Lilac

Some time in the past, before we moved here, a lilac was planted next the garage man-door and for two weeks every year the scent is so strong it is nearly impossible to walk through it. If the wind blows, it's almost impossible to be in the yard. The scent is strong. And I do not like it. But something does and I spot one of these critters in it every year. The white lined sphinx moth. It hovers and flies like a hummingbird and it's the only thing that makes this plant tolerable because I get to watch this moth unfurl it's long proboscis and feed on the nectar. I've been closely watching the bumble bees in the raspberries, too. Another fascinating way to spend some time during the pandemic.

Notice that the sheep are looking sleek and relatively clean without their winter coats. They were happy to be plucked but now expect chest and back rubs whenever I'm around. Hattie is the only thing between them and my sanity. Humans have only two hands and there are five sheep to rub. A significant shortcoming on my part.

In Motion

A different presentation....

Build the Wall

We are beginning new projects on the rental house. Last week we put in a retaining wall and steps up the slope to the odd little enclosure on the side of the house. Later we'll be ripping that fencing down and enclosing a larger area to make a courtyard, then fencing the back yard to keep out the ravenous, destructive deer mobs that hang out there, and doing a little more landscaping. We had planned to do interior remodeling but will hold off another year for that and work outside instead. It's our coronavirus plan.

We used railroad ties from the 40's, same age as the house, to make the wall and steps. When the new courtyard is finished we'll backfill  the wall with soil to plant shrubs deer don't like. This project took a good bit of digging gravelly dirt and moving heavy, splintery beams in record heat. Which was 73, I think. Hot for us. It's the humidity.

The back stairs, which get the most use, need to be painted and I have the idea (I shouldn't entertain ideas! It means a lot of work!) to tile the stair risers. Making the tiles myself. So I'm thinking of impressing leaves or other interesting natural objects in the clay. Not sure of any of this yet. All I've done so far is measure the risers and collect leaves to make test tiles.

My ITOH Grows

While the country burns, my garden still grows. And the bumblebees are very busy.

Hattie is scheduled for dental work in two weeks. She was going out for her ball, not watching where she headed, and ran smack into a rocking chair with enough force to knock it over. She hit hard on her face and was stunned for a moment, then seemed to recover. But several days later I heard some crunching that sounded like chewing a rock or bone. No such luck. It was the large premolar tooth cracking on the side of her face she hit. So now we are in store for a big bill over a thousand dollars for cleaning and extraction. It's hard being a dog, but even harder being a dog mom.

 Meet my ITOH peony, Cora Louise. I was hoping it was Bartzella, but she is pretty spectacular too. This was one of several peonies purchased from a catalog nursery that doesn't specialize in peonies. They were the saddest roots, shriveled and dry, and half of them never grew, but at the sale price I got them for it wasn't unexpected. The surprise is this one turning out so nice. I'm so impressed that I will now pay the ridiculous full price to get Bartzella from a peony specialist.

 

And a beautiful pink poppy to close.

 

I remember when it was sunny

A few pictures from the the nicer days. It is back to rain today.

Bumblebees on the peonies. Sugars that usually attract ants are excreted by the buds, but here we have bumblebees instead. I guess we don't have many ants.

Evening sheep dilemma. To get a scratch or continue eating.

It is she who plucks and scratches. I am going.

Oh. The dog. Maybe not.

A pretty lilac to close.

Diamond and Ferdinand

The mini Herefords! Ms. Diamond wanted money to pose for pictures. Fat chance!

She threatened me with the big guns. I laughed.

And Ferdinand came to the rescue (although he seemed like a pretty nice boy, all in all).

Here is a picture that shows the weird beard extensions from the previous post. I think there is a name for them but if it isn't something I think about daily I'm not likely to remember it. And thinking about it, if you aren't familiar with irises you might not even recognize what I'm calling the weird thing, so just never mind.

My Bionic Knee
Two year check up yesterday. All is good.

My Backyard Jungle

Morning safari through my garden jungle. Cistus blooming happily

And there are two new irises opening. This one has the funny tongue-like beards that you can see if you know where to focus.

The big poppies are showing off.

And here you get a feel for how jungle-y the garden is becoming.

Peony sequence from bud...

 

to cup shape...

and a fully opened bomb.

 I moved this rhodie a couple times before finding its happy spot.

More of the jungle. Sends shivers of delight down my spine.

Sheep Notes
Yesterday a small flock of starlings was sitting on Gimpy's back and head during his afternoon cud chewing siesta. He appears to enjoy their attentions. No camera with me of course, so I will have to lug one around for a while in hopes of catching another scene like that.

Bird Notes
My crow is back, nesting in nearby trees and watching my every move. I set out a little sweet mix or soft shell duck egg and she immediately swoops in to claim it. And if I forget to put something out for her when I feed the other animals she doesn't hesitate to tell me. I will work at getting a picture because her puffy legs are adorable and unique among the local crows.