The Slacker Attacker Has Returned

I woke up to rain this morning, so I decided to work on getting this blog up to date.

Can it really have been three months since my last posting? I had the best of intentions, but life seems to always get in the way when it comes to sitting down and creating a blurb.

I will now pretend that it is May and carry on from there.

MAY

I didn't get a whole lot done this month, I must confess. It was very rainy and I had to work more hours, so I kind of was a slacker. I did some veggie garden work and some clean-up work here and there, but really didn't get into any big projects. I did get some wood chips hauled and put in, but that's about it.

Oh, almost forgot to mention where I went on my secret trip last month. The divine Ms M invited me and a friend to the Cincinnati Flower Show. I had a great time and have some images to share.



JUNE

It was either too hot or too wet to do much work in the garden for what seemed weeks on end. Coupled with the fact that I had to work later really made it hard for me to get motivated to tackle what needed to be done. So, I decided to divide and conquer and quit with the ADD style of gardening I usually live by.

The first task was to get the veggie beds planted. The three raised beds (aka, A, B, C) got planted with 'maters and peppers and eggplant in Bed A; greens and lettuces in Bed B; and carrots and beets in Bed C. I planted some San Marzano paste tomatoes for the first time. Hopefully they will give me some good fruits I can use for a nice pasta sauce.

I also got my potato bins up and running and have been topping the growing spuds with straw. I have never grown potatoes, so it will be interesting to see if I have any tubers to harvest at the end of the season. Unless the harvest is good, I will probably use mulch rather than straw next year, as bales of straw are pretty darn expensive.

the fenced veggie bed got planted with more collards and kale and swiss chard and peas. I had a good crop of these.

As for the ornamental garden areas, I finally got a start on the shady side of the sundial bed. I planted garden sage and lambs ear and although the garden sage has taken a beating by Amy and Fiona, they are both hanging in there. I re-arranged the base of the hill and moved some red daylily to act as a border and interspersed them with some catmint. Well, just one catmint, but I have another to move later on and if I like it, I will add some more this fall.

I did some major trimming on the opposite side of the fence in hopes of having a sunny, dry patch, instead of dry shade, which is a nightmare to find plant material for. Chopping out the fence line also helps keep the wild grapevines from taking over, which is a constant battle.

Garden flunky was very crafting this month and rigged up two more water barrels for remote watering use. He uses a sump pump and pumps the rain barrel water from the house up the hill to each new container after a good rain. We have a total of 100 gallons of free water to use, which is great. I hope it makes a 'splash' in our water bill next month.

Finally got the last of the limbs bundled up for re-cycle. Well, that latest batch-there is always a next batch right around the corner.

I hacked out some honeysuckle bushes and planted three 'Techny' thuja trees on the other side of the fence to give some winter screening of the backside of the veggie garden. They don't get so tall that they will interfere with the electric lines to the house, but get fairly wide, which is perfect.

Still no new neighbors yet.

Fiona dug up and killed my new blueberry bushes! Oh, well, life with puppies is always 'interesting'.

I tackled the pergola and got the sides mulched and weeded. It looks really nice this year. The evergreen trees are digging in and taking hold, and the 'Autumn Bride' heuchera has grown a bit and is actually looking like a border.

Toward the end of the month I had a load of mulch (5 yards) delivered and have been a busy bee getting it deposited to needy spots. I found a place just a couple miles from my house, which is going to be really handy to travel to.


JULY

June made the record books as the hottest month on record. Why we couldn't have broke the record for the nicest weather is just the luck of the Ohio Valley. As saying goes; It's not the heat, but the humidity. July seems to be shaping up to be nearly as hot. It has really made it a challenge to work in the outdoors, that's for sure. The one good thing is that we have had some good rains to keep the soil from being so dried out in the high heat. We had a two week spell toward the end of June that was dry, but that has been the longest period without rain.

The rain barrel system is working great! Do I have a great garden flunky or what! I have only had to water once this year with the city water hose.

The mulch pile is no longer a pile, I'm proud to report. It's been backbreaking labor, but the long border has been weeded, covered with newspaper, and mulched. Ditto the shade border.

I have also kept on top of the weeding in the thyme bed I put in this spring in the stepping stones and it looks vedy, vedy good.

Garden flunky has been mowing the grass most of the time for me, which is a great thing. He is also taken the weed-whacking job, which I really hated to do. Of course it helps that he has a new weed whacker to play with. It's professional grade, so we hope it lasts even longer than our last one (15 years).

Getting some good tomatoes from the garden these days. Blackberries are in right now too. GF and I have been pretty good at picking the ripest ones, which are super sweet when you pick the right ones.

Pulled up the lettuces and will replant at some point. I still have some chard and kale, but am waiting for edamame and pole beans. I also pulled up the garlic and they are drying nicely in the shade of the lanai. Peppers and eggplants are still small.

Yesterday I weeded all day. I did some repair work with the stones that somehow, magically threw themselves onto the patio along with some mud. Hmm, I wonder how those fairly heavy rocks got there??? Big, giant, brindled mole, maybe?

I planted a tray of golden oregano on the sundial bed after I weeded. I think it will look nice when it fills in-if Amy and Fi don't do it in before that time.

I also filled in the attempted dig out by the front gate. I planted some cast-off annuals around the flag pole for a little bit of color with zero cost (well, no $ cost). I put in an ornamental pepper called 'Peggy's Hot' just for some interest. It fruit are black and it has silvery green foliage.

The first of the month I fiddled around in the front garden and did some weeding and mulching and planting of a few things. I had some bits of astible that I put in, and dug up a few odd items that were performing badly and will stash them elsewhere.

I must report that we carried out an execution in the garden this month. The wisteria was executed by lethal saw on July 3rd, 2010. It was a sparsely attended event and the wisteria had no last words to offer.

I have most of the plants I drug home from work planted except the two blueberries, the climbing hydrangea, and a tray of garden sage and a tray of thyme. I still need to put in some artemisia, the 'Becky' Daisy, some carex, and find a home for the cherry salvia.

News 4U: the vacant house has been sold and the new buyers seem very nice and have black Lab named Bella!

Coming attractions: the attack on the gravel parking pad.