August garden update

It's harvest season! While I'm overwhelmed by the sheer abundance of the zucchini, everything else is wonderful. The butterflies are loving the zinnias, and I like that the cucumber vines are compact.

All the basils are doing well, and the tomatoes are ripening.

I'm finally getting green beans! I'm digging up an occasional carrot, and the strawberries (background) are recovering and sending out runners. For fall harvest, I've planted some bok choy and lettuce (garden bed not shown...because...boring). Note in the background that the grass is brown and dry. We're in a drought, and I'm only watering as necessary. Plus I'm using water from the dehumidifier and the rain barrel. 

Newly Planted Shrubs

The photo above is NOT my yard. It is the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, where I find inspiration and relaxation. We had a lovely trip when I finished teaching my summer class. Below is my addition of five honeysuckle 'Kodiak Orange' shrubs. That circle of dirt was a fire pit, which was too deep to be effective. We dug out a metal tractor tire insert and several bricks. Our plan is to have an above-ground fire pit area in the center. That's more digging, and I will wait for cooler weather since temps are in the 90s F this week. You can see that I water the shrubs (deeply, once a week) but not the grass. Not pictured are three serviceberry 'Regent.' The far left are native viburnum cranberry bush (five of them), the center is the honeysuckle, and the right is three hydrangea 'Limelight.' I know that the hydrangeas are not pollinator plants, but these are for myself. I have been consistently spraying the shrubs with repellent, so they haven't been eaten (yet). I'm trying to get a nice shady, naturalized area. It will never look like the Arboretum, but I'm hoping it will be a good place to relax. 

Rabbit Fence Update

After socializing (I know! so lovely after months of quarantining!), I learned that rabbits have been eating everything everywhere this year, even in areas where they haven't been a problem. Could it be a mild winter along with a drought? I'm not sure. In my yard, I have bunny food--a large patch of clover (which shows signs of being eaten) and grass (or had grass since it's looking dormant and perhaps dead). My lovely husband and I dug holes in dry, gritty, compacted soil for these U shaped stakes. Once in place, we hung poultry fence. This is flexible green vinyl with 3/4 inch openings. These baby bunnies are tiny, so I went for the smallest openings. At ground level, we bent the fencing out, which is supposed to prevent the rabbits from sneaking under. The "gate" (below) is the fence wrapped around a green garden pole. I align the pole with the U stake and attach it with a blue hair band. The bottom of the "gate" is attached with clothes pins. I don't want any gaps.  I bend the fencing when I go in and out. The result? No new nibbling!

We ALL love green beans

We ALL love green beans. "All" is defined as humans, rabbits, and robins. I'm embarrassed to show this photo because it demonstrates how the rabbits and robins have decimated my beans, whether it's the plants, the sprouts, or the seeds. You can see the netting surrounding the garden bed. The rabbit leaned on the netting to get in. A robin hopped around inside, finding bean seeds. I will attempt planting again, but only after I work on a fence. I hope to start this weekend. And we ALL love strawberries. Even though I planted 20 plants, below is all I was able to rescue. The baby squirrels both dug at them and smashed them while roughhousing. Fun to watch? Yes. But no strawberries for this human this year. 

Lawns to Legumes Garden Update

I'm happy to report that many plants I bought with the Lawns to Legumes grant have survived and thrived. Here are some coreopsis and blanket flower. The butterfly weed is slow to grow. I added some marigolds. 

The prairie smoke is doing well. More on that in a future post. 

I added a water feature this summer--solar powered!

The wild lupine looked fantastic a couple weeks ago. It's going to seed in this hot weather. The rabbits are still a problem, but I'm planting chives and Siberian irises, which they don't like. I hope to find a rabbit-resistant fall bloomer that will work in this area, too. Lately we've had fewer bunnies around due to a predator. My neighbors say it's a fox, but I suspect it's a coyote. I saw it in the distance so I can't be sure. Yet the rabbits that are still here chow down on the asters. Sigh. 

Viburnum blooming

The native viburnum, or cranberry bush, I planted last spring is blooming. The shrubs have gained at least a foot, looking healthy and lush. Below is a lounging rabbit, fat and lazy after eating just about anything and everything I've planted. I'm trying to observe which plants they don't eat, and I'll focus on adding more of the same. I can't share rabbit advice yet because they aren't picky.

Crabapple and Lawn Sign

The city of Saint Joseph may have been busy today and yesterday because of the garage sales, but it should really be known for the crabapples. They're gorgeously blooming in a large number of gardens here in town. Above is a photo from our place. I delight in this tree's blooms! Below is my Lawns to Legumes sign. I'm proud of it and working to add more pollinator friendly plants.