Garden in summer...................

My garden in summer heat has to take care of itself. I hate the heat, especially humidity. By this time of year I have pretty much given up on the garden. I do need to do some weeding but it will have to cool down quite a bit before that happens. It's the humidity that kills me.
The Daylilies are blooming, I would like to get some more, more diversity. They do so well in my garden that I want to stick with what works.
In this spot I have two climbers, the first one to bloom was pink, it had one flower and was done. Now the 2nd on is blooming and doing better
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I was surprised to see my Foxglove bloomed this year. I bought another before I saw that lasts years had come back, so maybe next year both will do well. The older (pink) one has doubled itself.

The Daisies are doing well this year. I had several plants and last year they didn't do well but are back this year and looking happy



One that I put in will need to be moved because the plants ahead of it have grown taller and hide it. It is a pretty Daisy too, fluffy looking.

I did feed everyone twice already but think I will have to do that again, I don't seem to get a whole lot of blooms all at once. It always looks sparse.The Daylilies have some pretty colours.



The red ones don't photograph well.




These flowers spread all over, I had to really pull them out this Spring. They are so pretty though. I do love them but they can kill others if not controlled.

More lilies



Lots of small plants that I wish would take off.






Some of the Roses did well, others never bloomed


The Bee Balm is blooming, I have 3 colours of that. Sort of straggly at the moment not sure I have any pictures yet.
Every year I have to replan things. This year I didn't have any money to spend. I want to continue the fence line and fix the area under the corner Pine tree, the ivy is doing well there so I think I will plant more until it covers the whole area. Once the fence is up then I can keep it under control and move one of my old ploughs under there.
The area near the road needs to be dug up and replanted. So much yet to do.

Maybe some Daylilies or a Knockout rose would do well. Or some Lavender. Anyway, come Fall I must weed it out and see what I can move into the garden.

Well that's it for now. I will post more when it cools down.

Update on Veggies.........

I put in a vegetable garden this year. Yes I did. Its doing OK. Maybe better than I expected. The tomato are doing OK they have little baby tommies on them. The smallest plant has cherry tomatoes and they had a few ripe ones today. We ate them.

I am not sure we will get a bumper crop that I can can (haha can can) but we will maybe have some to eat. I will try to do up the extras if there are enough. I remember canning tomatoes years ago and they made the very best chili.

When I had a garden before it was when we lived in the country and had a large one. This one is small and I was not at all sure what I could plant.


So this year is just an experiment really, I needed to see if there was enough light. I think there is but next year what I need to do is plan it better. The tomatoes got so big they are crowded. I put in one cucumber but its too far over it needs to be in better light. These are those Italian Roma tomatoes.

Cucumber.

It remains to be seen if the zucchini will do any good. There are a lot of flowers again, I am not sure there is enough sun but I can move that tub now to the driveway where there is a lot more sun. All these things next year.
Meanwhile the zucchini has a lot of flowers

The herbs are doing well enough but again need more space.This is the Dill, it got quite big and will come back up next year I think.

I let a few sunflowers grow to see how they would do.They will be for the birds

I can expand my garden by using tubs next year. I moved the sand box that gave me a whole new area to use. It's concrete but I can change that with tubs or even a raised bed. I will not do anything else this year but watch and plan for next year.
The Radish were a waste of time, with it being a late start I didnt thin them out in time. Thats OK. I also planted two green beans that wont do anything, they were Tristens from school. I think I planted the peppers in the wrong spot and it would be hard to change that now but I may do next week if I can find a good spot. They have flowers but thats all.

Tristens little beans

Some things had flowers when they went to seed. The Parsley is very pretty.

So to sum it up. Next year I will space the tomatoes out in a line. I will put the squash in the tub again but in a more sunny spot, it was fine in the Spring before the leaves came in. Then the cucumber in another one that I have that is the same size. They can go the other side of the fence. Plenty of room. I did put in some spinach, I need to harvest that before it gets tough. I had Kale in a pot and that did well but I didn't use it. So, what can I plant that I didn't? I really dont use a lot of things when they are ready, I must get better at that. Next week I will be proactive and see whats ready to use. I think I will get some Rhubarb and plant that in a space I have the other side of the fence. I can maybe do that still this year if I buy a biggish plant. We shall see when I get back. Going to Jasons this weekend.
Because it was late with the weather and getting the garden dug, I didn't do peas or beans and I will do that next year. I have room by the deck for some narrow boxes that I can do raised beds just for those things. I have windows that I am saving to use for early things that may get frost damage. So, all in all I think I have a plan for next year.

End of June.........................

Today in the garden we had a family of Chickadees. They had to have left the nest a few days to a week ago. They can fly but they hang around in a little gang and the parents feed them. They were getting lessons on the use of the bird feeders today. Cute little buggers.

This is how it's done says mum

They were out the front for a time in the Pine trees.

She took a moment for herself and had a bath.

Meanwhile out back the kids were chirping in the trees hoping for another morsel.


It was a matter of dodging them as they flew hither and yon, not being particularly careful. One year I got hit by one and it landed on my shoulder. Wonderful experience.
A few of the day lillies are blooming. I will do another flowery post later.

Wildflowers...............

Who is to say what is a weed and what is a flower. Not me. Wildflowers are just as beautiful as any garden flower.
This was down by the pond today, there were more of them than last week when I thought they were about done. I must find some yellow ones.

The fields look so pretty with daisies and buttercups and cow vetch etc.


There were a great many little bugs and butterfly amongst them.


Clover and many other things smelt so good.


Some things I can not name, most I can. Those I can not I do not look up, I used to. Perhaps I should as I am teaching the kids the names of the trees the flowers and animals. So I should really educate myself.

This one is from my garden but grows wild out there in the fields.

I love seeing the unmowed places along with the large mowed meadows for people to play in. This is a nice park, we go there often. The path is great to walk on but also for kids to roller skate, bike or use the scooters. We did that a few times last year. Let them go while we walked.
Down by the pond I got some nice pictures of dragon fly and other pretties.




It is difficult to get those critters to sit still and the frogs all jumped in before we could see them. Better luck next time.

Its hotter than a biscuit..............

It's certainly "flaming June" at the moment. We had some lovely days of temps in the high 70s and no humidity. This last couple have been up in the 80s, way to hot for me. I did manage to do some work though. I finished the front finally. Did the back and redid some of the gardens out there. Now the front needs doing again. We had several bouts of rain that made everything grow.
My tomato plants are too close to each other but I can't move them now. The squash may not have enough sun. Those are in a very large tub but it would be moveable if I have to. I don't want to.
Debbie gave us her bird feeder that was made by her dad, he delivered it for me. The house is getting ready to be sold and she didn't want to leave it. It is a beautiful job, it will be really nice for the winter.
This guy came to visit today, he must have taken a bath


He saw me watching

But carried on preening.

The bird house is really big and will hold a lot of seed. Trouble is it also restricts the view for taking pictures. I will hang feeders as well so not too worried. A pair of little Woodies stopped by but didn't stay

The Day Lillies are beginning to bloom. I enjoy it when they come out because I have a few different kinds. I want to get more when I can.

The vegetable garden is growing OK but I really don't think it will be too productive. The tomato plants are too close and the peppers are still quite small. Because it's been so hot I have had to water twice a day with the sprinkler and hand water as well. I think tomorrow I will feed everyone again.
One success has been the Roses this year. My old farm rose has bloomed well with several blooms and more buds. The first time since I transplanted it and the first in many years prior to that. My yellow rose is doing really well. Planted last year it didn't do much then, but this year is covered in blooms. The new one from this year struggles on, if I can keep it alive maybe it will do well next year.

This one was new last year and didn't do much but has caught up this year. So far I have avoided Black spot.

I have a few other roses that I may transplant this Fall. They are not doing well where they are and so I will move them in with the others that are doing well.I must keep the light best I can by trimming the pines each Spring.
I cant afford to buy new plants anymore so I must make good use of what I have. I took some Hosta from places where they had all but given up and moved those in the hope of them filling gaps in other gardens. Next year I will have to thin out some of the big ones. A few other plants came up this year. Since trimming the pines it seems to have helped. I hope so.

I do know I will get some Sweet William seeds and plant for next year. Buds next door are doing really well.

Its good to see plants reach maturity. I have had to thin out so much that I feel bad, I have always liked plants that spread, but now I know why that's not always a good thing.
I found this feather, isn't it pretty?

This is a weed, it's not in a good place but I will let it bloom before pulling it out. It's pretty.I see no point in destroying things because it's a weed.

The fish are still living, they enjoy some glass balls I put in the pond and they love the roots of the Iris to hide in.

The girls lay in the sun and watch me water the garden by hand, I fill up the fountain so the birds have a bath and keep the water moving.

There wont be much to show now until the Lillies bloom. Meanwhile I can weed out some of those over zealous plants that will choke out the others. I am hoping for some more cool days to work in.