More photos than words, trying to catch up with the intense round of gardening that has been our focus since late in May.
We have put in vegetables at the Dry Creek property as a sort of communal 'family garden', having planted the available space in the home garden.
This is the coolest June we have experienced in Kentucky, wonderful weather for working outdoors.
Rain, sometimes in torrential bursts, has broken the spell of dry weather.
A refined variety of milkweed for the benefit of butterflies.
Lauren's Grape poppies sprang up in several spots amongst the Knock-out roses.
A David Austin rose, one of the last to bloom before the plague of Japanese beetles began their destructive work.
The raspberry pink foxgloves started last season from seed.
Prairie Coneflower, the petals more delicate than the common variety.
I can see that it should be staked to be at its best.
First stage of the garden behind the west retaining wall. Jim suddenly took an interest in this project I had contemplated without any real idea how to proceed.
We brought the stones from the creek bed at the other property, along with topsoil for a raised planting area.
I had pointed out that the treated timbers were already here, salvaged from the fences we took down.
One of the Dry Creek gardens.
Preparing the garden at Dry Creek.
Beans began the climb up the fence.
We've been eating cucumbers for three weeks
A stand of purple coneflower, most of them started three years ago from seed, a few plants moved here have colonized.
Purple basil.
The earliest planted nasturtiums are tired now, but the seeds dropped will soon be reviving the planter.
I began sorting photos for this post during the last week of June, so both flower and vegetable gardens have changed since.
I sheared back the rose hedge, clipped the fading blooms from the nepeta, cut down the foxgloves.
July is the season of long hot and humid days, a time to work in the gardens early in the morning.
The great rush of planting is over; now we harvest, combat the 'bugs' and weeds, try to ward off tomato blight.
Everything looks so healthy. The deer have been eating off buds on all the flowers here except various bee balm. They even eat the day lilies, so I've been using cayenne pepper and it is helping.
ReplyDeletePhil; I discovered yesterday that many of the sunflowers planted at the Dry Creek garden have been nipped off--I suspect the deer as we've seen hoof prints. In Wyoming I had mule deer who came onto the porch and ate all the flowers in tubs and pots. The deer also ate rose bushes. Always something!
DeleteYou have been working very hard and everything is looking good. That claret poppy is stunning.
ReplyDeleteHere my cucumbers need a feed as they haven't even got a flower on yet!
The Dry Creek garden looks large enough to feed you all!
Jennie; Jim got carried away when he began plowing up the Dry Creek garden. Only the upper end is planted. Strange that of several varieties of poppies grown in the first Kentucky garden only the seeds of Lauren's Grape have moved with me.
DeleteWOW! You have some fantastic blooms, a great path project, wonderful gardens giving you good things to eat. Always a treat to see a new post from you ~ Have a lovely Sunday ~ FlowerLady
ReplyDeleteRainey; The garden is currently supplying us with more fresh food than we can consume. Many of the flowers are now past their prime, but the colors are still brilliant.
DeleteLovely to see the gardens and all the pretty blooms. Looks like you have been very busy! Fresh cucumbers sound wonderful to me.
ReplyDeleteKaren; it was a busy spring! I've let the planters of pansies go to seed and now wondering what i will do with literally dozens of pansy plants in the fall.
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