Raccoons?

Imagine my surprise to find the last blueberries gone! I had placed sturdy metal stakes into the ground. On top of the stakes I have plastic two liter bottles with the bottoms cut out to make climbing (or landing) impossible. I have covered everything, even the top, in netting. Well, something clever pushed the stakes so they tilted in the soft rain-soaked soil. This same something clever pushed the loose netting close to the blueberries, close enough to eat them. I've been outwitted by a wascal.

Impatiens

This was my challenge this year--to grow impatiens from seed. I had success, as you can see in these pots on the shady deck. However, I planted lots of seeds, with only one third becoming plants. After reading about the difficulties of impatiens from seed, I knew that could be a problem, so I over-planted. And I am happy with the results. Will I do it next year? I did save money and I tried a cool variety (Accent Star Mix), so maybe I will.

Sunflowers

These sunflowers are the Earthwalker variety. I have planted them near the mailbox. At first all the blooms faced east, away from the road, but tnow they are looking better. I counted 14 open flowers and 18 blooms (though I shouldn't count my blooms before the blossom!).

Delphinium

One of my favorite flowers is the delphinium. I love the tall spikes that punctuate the garden like an exclamation point. It's hard to photograph the feeling that these plants tower over you, that they glow with color, and that they sparkle with more than one shade of true blue.

Construction Update

Here are some photos from the garden re-construction. I'll call them "during" photos. The boxes are made of cedar and measure four feet by four feet. (The old beds were 16 x 4 and the wood bowed as it aged. You can see the rotted boards-but they lasted over ten years.) On the ground is landscape fabric, the kind that allows water to seep into the ground but keeps weeds out. That's four feet wide. We'll be laying down some cedar mulch on top of the fabric. Many thanks goes to my hubby who has taken great pride in his work and taken a few aspirin for the sore muscles.

Coming Soon

"Trouble-Shooting In The Garden: Discussion and Dessert" is the newest presentation that I will give on Monday, July 12, at 6:30 pm at Richmond Library (Minnesota). I'll have information about what to do about some of the peskiest garden problems.

I am very happy to report that three (yes, just three) cherries survived the frost. Once they ripen, who will get them first...the humans or the animals?

With more problems that I imagined, I am setting up my (our) new computer and soon hope to have some pictures on this site as a regular feature. My wonderful husband digs diligently, creating a fabulous remodeled garden.