Bee on a bee lawn

A rusty patched bumble bee enjoys the clover in my bee lawn. I admit I'm guessing on the identification, and it's hard to tell in this video. In any case, a pollinator is happy, and that makes me happy.  

Cutting back annuals

Should you cut back annuals? It depends on the plant. If it's getting "leggy" (a term that means the stems are long and floppy) or if it's stopped blossoming, then it can be good idea.

Above is the before photo. See how the center is green and the flowers are on the end of the stems? The stems were long, too. The plant is healthy now, but we're experiencing humid weather, so I thought I could give that plant some air circulation, too. The photo below is "after. I lost some flowers, but I cut back to where there was new growth, meaning I'll have more flowers soon. I also trimmed off some seed heads.

Below is what I removed. It's about 1/4 of the plants. I could have pruned more viciously, but I find I can't do it. Even a little bit helps. P. S. Happy Fourth of July!

Garden update

Bunnies don't eat marigolds. Thank goodness! These are Strawberry Blond marigolds from Burpee. However, bunnies will eat zinnia seedlings...every single zinnia seedling. The photo below is where there are supposed to be lovely, blooming zinnias. There may be one straggler in the upper left corner, but I'm guessing that'll get munched eventually. Even with cayenne pepper and an over-the-counter repellent, the rabbits have been ruthless, probably because there are so many of them and it's been so dry until recently. 

I rescued some lettuce by raising it up with a makeshift cage around it. 

The next three photos are basil, which bunnies seem to avoid. I'll have tomatoes and basil for eating, which makes me happy. Next year...fencing!