MEMORIAL DAY IS BEHIND us. We all got a paid day off and hopefully either had some people over or went to someone’s place to acknowledge our fallen soldiers. You probably fixed up your visiting area with a flag or spruced up your flower beds with some fresh, colorful blooms.
Mimi and I spent some evenings in our yard getting some weeds out, picking some veggies from the garden and looking around for any issues that need to be addressed. Our caladiums are the most knockout show that is going on in our yard right now. We went with some jumbo bulbs that produce giant white ears. We love them because they show up so well even later into the evening.
We used more white this year than we ever have. We have a full bed of good ole upright white vinca and Mimi found a new plant that looks like it would be in the Dusty Miller family called Angel Wings. The leaves are three times bigger than any Dusty Miller plant that I’ve seen and are sparkling white. Our Oakleaf Hydrangas are blooming giant white flowers now, too. With all those white blooms going on there is a moon like glow going on even after dark. We have Limelight Hydrangas sprinkled all over the yard so I think that as the oakleaf are finishing up the limelights will take over, so white will be the thingama-jigger for us this year.
I love it when we have a happy accident as Bob Ross would say. I did find quite a few potato beetles chewing on my old fashioned amaranth plants that are now approaching four feet tall. I used some insecticidal soap on them and have run the beetles off for now. To where they went I’m not sure but I’m keeping an eye out for them in my veggie garden because that is their fodder of choice. I don’t see anything else insectwise to worry about. Not seeing any spider mite damage yet and I’m not seeing any funguses that need a good talking to. I have cut all my roses back and am expecting to see fresh blooms on July 4th, 45 days from when I cut them.
Our garden is producing lots of lettuces, which I used as a ground cover this year under my tomatoes. My wax beans are producing just enough for us to have some in our meal every night. I expect them to peter out in a month or so which is when the Kentucky wonder beans will be kicking in. My crookneck squashes are putting out more than we can eat which is half the fun to me is to be able to give away produce to someone who doesn’t have any. I’m keeping the blooms off of my okra for another week or two to make sure the plants will be able to support the heavy load of okra coming our way. I don’t do a lot of peppers but this year I took a request from a friend and did some sashimi peppers and some spaghetti squash for them. That usually pays off for me in the form of something yummy for Mimi and I to try out.
Our Japanese persimmons trees are loaded with some very young fruit. they won’t be ready for picking until much later in the fall but they are really beautiful trees.
Our blueberries are loaded and I believe we might start picking some next week, they are one of my favorite things in the summer. I pick one for the bag and three for me to eat right then and there. I planted 30 papaya trees around the yard and so far they are two feet tall. I expect they will take a big jump in the weeks to come and will hopefully wind up around 15 feet tall and if we are lucky they will have some blooms and some young fruit on them before old man winter shows back up. It’s a race.
MIMI AND I LOVE the revolutions and evaluations that are constantly happening in our yard. We feel like most of the heavy work is done. Now we will stay in maintain mode by keeping the yard irrigated properly, watching for pests and adding slow release, organic fertilizer when we need to. When we do get to work in the yard together this is the fun time because we can pick an area to attack together and chat or listen to music and not chat sometimes.
We are beginning to have our nightly meals down by the pond where we can look across our yard and enjoy the sights and the sounds of summer. Anything to deter us from watching the rhetoric and nonsense going on the television these days.