Just Before Summer: 10 Days in Photos

Here's a look at 10 days in the garden in mid- to late May.

Ah, this was before the lettuce bolted and we still had kale.

I saw the rabbit as I walked to my car to go to work. So far, it has stayed away from the veggie boxes. Could it be true that nasturtiums really do repel rabbits? Or does a mix of fragrant herbs confuse the bunny's sense of smell? We have rue, oregano, thyme, basil, dill, sage, parsley, cilantro, catnip, and probably more that I'm forgetting. I feel a superstitious sense that as I write this the bunny is out there munching...

The peony flower's life span is short. The peonies are done, a bedraggled mass of tattered pinkish white petals turning brown. But how beautiful to watch them unfold. 

Birds are peeping everywhere in the yard. For days, every time I walked in the backyard I heard rustlings and flutterings in the bushes as a group of four tiny Carolina wrens moved about. This little one is too young to have tail feathers. Adorable!

This is an unknown but very tall rose bush (more than 8 feet high) with lovely translucent pink flowers.

The cherry tomato plants were the first to begin flowering. 

A view of the side yard. In early spring, we took out a deck that took up much of the yard, including the sunniest spot, where the veggie boxes are now. 

The star jasmine is growing well off the front porch. 

The white-breasted nuthatch is one of the most common birds seen at our feeder. Today I saw a juvenile nuthatch sit on top of the pole with its mouth open and the parent feed it with seeds.

A fading but still beautiful rose. 

I am continuing to take daily photos in the garden. Please visit again in a few days for the next set of 10!

10 Days in May

The last week has been all about the bluebirds. I wake up each morning happy to hear the peeping of the babies in the box outside the bedroom window. 

Most of the irises at our new house are shades of purple, blue and white, but this yellow one was a cheerful surprise in the morning sun.

Sitting on the front porch, I saw awkward flutterings and a fledgling alight on the roof, then in the holly. I believe it is a young finch, as I saw the parent finches nearby. 

I nearly cut down this rose bush last fall during one of my pruning frenzies. The cane was ungainly and leaning awkwardly, I thought, on an azalea. Ha! I am often glad when I overcome my ideas about how things should look in the garden.

Swiss chard is growing well and I expect will be our only greens in the garden soon if the heat continues. Lettuce is still a near-daily treat. 

Carpenter bees (I think) have been busy pollinating the hollies. I have been very glad to see them, given the bee crisis. The tomato plants are beginning to flower, and they will need pollinators.

This iris takes my words away. 

My husband set up the tripod on a chest in the bedroom to capture bluebird photos.

The babies are getting active in the box and beginning to poke their heads out. Each day, I hate to leave the house because I want to see them fledge. 

A rose bush that I hacked to the ground produced one perfect rose. It smells like a rose should.