What's happening in your garden?

[Lily left the valley]

I love dahlias but, unfortunately, so did the voles.

Have you tried using scent detractors? I've had some luck with that. (Onion/leek/garlic variants--wild or cultivated)

[phil]

When I was a kid, my grandfather used the longest flat screwdriver he had (8" shaft or so?), and what he would do is plunge it into the ground a few times just outside the center stem, circling around it. That would help loosen the soil. If it had just rained, it would make it even easier to pull up. Yes, the tap roots don't always go straight down. But even if the plant isn't young, still makes it a lot easier to getting out. I used to do that until I found a decent tool that's probably similar to the one you can't find.

the garden store had screwdrivers with a little split near the blade. the one I had was like two stainless steel prongs that divided about 2 inches from the end. I can probably fashion one rather than driving around.

its been raining on and off more than usual so I get a little more chance before the ground hardens up. It just poured and will be sunny this weekend.

the weekend before last my car died I got towed home then insured my van and it wouldn't start, last weekend I fixed the car it was a bad sensor in the distributor. this weekend I hope to solve the van , it ran fine when I parked it. I'm replacing fuel pumps in both of them.. It might be that. I dont mind fixing stuff but when it lets me down by surprise it's so frustrating. my girlfriend has been having these bad mood spells again. Im not provoking it, If I go pull weeds it's a way to sort of vanish for an hour at a time and that helps me a little.. gets my hands busy and gives the brain a rest from it. If I bark back then a dogfight ensues. a week from next I get a week off and I need a holiday so bad. It seems like forever since I used the last couple of years holidays up on the roof. I wasn't one who got time off for covid and there is some good and some bad in that. feels like Im the only one in the world who didn't get a break during the crisis. hoping to get up the lake at least for a few days..then it''ll be more work doing what's essential but a change of pace. Hoping no one broke in over winter.

congratulations on your getting the shot. I never thought Id boast about getting the dose but I got my first one , the pfiser the next will come soon I guess.

[Manalto]

Have you tried using scent detractors? I've had some luck with that. (Onion/leek/garlic variants--wild or cultivated)

I've found that indignant pouting comes more naturally to me.

[Lily left the valley]

I've found that indignant pouting comes more naturally to me.

Whatever works.

A few more shots from last Thursday. It's currently still spitting rain outside and a cool-47°F. Quite a change from earlier in the month!
One of the Fritillary Butterflies in a patch of mock and common strawberries in the backyard.


The Rhodies in the front. The ones in the back were suddenly an explosion of blooms the same day I took this shot of the one in the front after being quite shy about blooming. I need to hack back the bushy beast that has been crowding the rhodie in the back.


The likely rusty patch bumblebee mooning the camera...


I tried to get a decent shot of the pollinators in the honeysuckle like blooms of the twinberry bush, but they were beyond blurry with the wind we had that day. Also tried to get a good shot of a new variant of dragonfly I don't remember seeing before, but...same.

[Gothichome]

Gardening philosophy at its best James, you must be a horticulturist at hart.
Unfortunately my irises are not rejuvenating as hoped. The flowers a starting to look a bit ruff around the edges. Oh well I do have others (not Yellow) and they are thriving. The tree lilies I planted are into their second year in the ground and have established well, they are as tall now as they got last year, a few bulbs have shot up two plants. I am a bit worried about my Dalia experiment though, it has been in the ground for a full month and still have not breached the surface.

Well I gently dug up my Dalia to see what’s happening. The tuber has not become squirrel or rabbit food. It is still firm and looks exactly how it was planted. On reading up it seems these things can take 6 to 8 weeks to start. Put it back in the soil and wait some more.

[Manalto]

The tuber has not become squirrel or rabbit food. It is still firm and looks exactly how it was planted. On reading up it seems these things can take 6 to 8 weeks to start. Put it back in the soil and wait some more.

That's good news. I've never had a problem with squirrels or rabbits (but I'm not ruling it out); only voles. It's still early up there by the Arctic Circle so the dahlias must be waiting for milder temperatures. Dahlias are heavy feeders; keep cutting blooms for in the house and it will happily keep producing, as long as you feed the beast.

[Gothichome]

Roses and peonies are starting to bloom. Film at eleven.

[Gothichome]

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[Manalto]

Wow! Looks good, Ron. Peonies are a favorite of mine, a brief but magnificent display.

[Lily left the valley]

Haven't been able to tend much, second shot was a doozy, then the mini heat wave, and thankfully some rains more than a shower of late.

Scrambling with the kitchen garden. Peas that were left to germinate too long in the kitchen window sill are the top performer so far. Sadly, the first batch we transplanted out is struggling after that cold snap quickly followed by the high 80s & 90s. Thankfully, the paste/plum tomato plant is flowering, not sure about fruit sets just yet! So many seed/lings going on now.

We ate our first two sequoia strawberries today. We had lost two good sized ones already from them getting too wet, but there are more growing in size so hopefully it's not been deterred by the temp swoops. Learning as we go. The natives along the driveway are spreading well, but they seem slow to set fruit, and I am starting to suspect the too hot too early weather may be why so many seem to have stopped developing and seem dried little sadness.

The front will hopefully get more attention this week now that I don't feel like I'm still fighting a bad flu.

Recently transplanted iris, captured late today because I wasn't sure how much longer the blooms would last.