Little Birdbath Garden

This little birdbath garden has been a real battle to get going this summer. I think now it finally is starting to look like what I had envisioned when I dug it out in the fall. I bought some black-eyed susans and blue asters. Both are perrienials, so hopefully they will return and spread making this a fun oasis for the birds and squirrels.

Marigold Seeds

I've decided to dry out and save some marigold seeds for next year.

Garden

I kept the garden low key this summer. The mint, strawberries, shasta daisies and rosemary all came back. I added morning glories, pumpkins, bird house squash, and marigolds. Jason put up a squirrel feeder and we've been having fun watching the squirrels try to figure it out.

Trees and a New Garden

The trees are so pretty today against the gray sky. The weather has been warm, so I made another little garden (around our birdbath with rocks from my parent's yard). I plan to plant some wildflower seeds in the spring and who knows what else.

Daffodil Bulbs

I dug up a cluster of daffodil bulbs in my backyard last weekend and there were more than I thought there would be. They've probably been separating and spreading for at least 50 years. My mom and I planted about 25 at her house yesterday. I still have about 75 or so to plant in my yard. They look like little squids and we had fun planting them.

October starts tomorrow.

October starts tomorrow and my garden is in complete autumn disorder. In a few weeks, it will be time to collect seeds and tear it down. I still haven't picked my pumpkin, as I was hoping it might get a little bigger. Only the color changes, not the size.










The morning glories were blooming like crazy this morning (they must have really loved all the rain this past weekend).


























The trees were full of hundreds of black birds and this little guy was the only one down on the grass (though many more joined him after I went back inside).

Pumpkin Report.

The pumpkin continues to hold on, almost at the top of the fence! Grow pumpkin, grow!

4 O'Clocks Revisited and a Pumpkin on the Fence

Here are some nighttime photos of my garden. The four o'clocks have really grown and this crazy pumpkin is at the top of the fence!

Sunflowers and a Mystery Flower

The sunflowers bloomed yesterday and this blue flower is a mystery. I think it is an herb???

Four O'Clocks

One of my students gave me a Four O'Clock plant at the end of this school year. It has been an interesting addition to the garden. Four O'Clocks bloom from four o'clock in the afternoon until four o'clock in the morning (so they are very exciting like morning glories!). In this photo they are closed (even though it is cloudy today).

The Patio

Mexican roses are so fun and they are doing quite well on our back patio.

Summer

I expanded my garden this summer. I'm growing zucchini, pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelons, cherry tomatoes, green peppers, mint, marigolds, sunflowers, rosemary, shasta daisies, morning glories, and 4 o'clocks (my new favorite-stay tuned for a photo). If you look towards the bottom in the center of the 3rd photo, you can see the tiny watermelon growing (thanks to Uncle George for suggesting watermelons and pumpkins!).

Spring!

Grasshopper on the scene.

While watering tonight in the hot 100 degree wind, I noticed something hanging onto the cosmos.

It was hard to see at first because everything was moving around so much.

I was finally able to get a good look at this grasshopper! So neat!

Garden Update.

Blue and purple morning glories, peppers, zucchini, corn stalks, tomatoes and marigolds! The garden is growing wild. I hope to make some more zucchini bread soon. The first two loaves were a hit! The morning glories are just so lovely and magical though. I love flowers that only open up during certain times of the day and especially when they are blue!

A Visitor

When I went out to water this evening, I found this baby praying mantis chilling out on one of the cosmos and he let me take some photos! He's a little blurry, but he looked really cool in real life! I hope he visits again tomorrow.

Day lilies.

Rainy here today in Baltimore and the day lilies are in full bloom.

Gardens

Here are pictures of my gardens. I've been working on them for a few weeks now. I am growing zucchini, corn, peppers, tomatoes, daisies, marigolds, day lilies and other flowers that may attract butterflies. Lately some slugs have shown up on the scene and some bunnies tried out the corn, but the damage is under control for now. I will be planting some mint too, but may keep it separate from the rest. I hope to grow lots of zucchini and then learn to make zucchini bread and lasagna. If anyone knows a good zucchini bread recipe, please pass it on.