Not A Lot Of Gardening Going On Here

But a lot of outdoor living!  I am stuck inside on weekdays, but I keep my camera on the couch next to me and when I see a cool bird on the feeder I snap it:

 

But more often than not a blue-jay or a grackle come along and frighten it away:

 

But the red-bellied woodpecker returned:

 

On a Saturday trip to Walmart I splurged and bought a new bird-feeder.  You can probably tell by the photo that it's a good bit larger than the last one, which is why I bought it.  We were so tired of having to fill it on a daily basis:

 

There's been a lot of good eating.  Pork fried rice and some incredibly expensive and tasty halibut that Lee poached in some sort of cilantro/scallion concoction: 

 

But basically I'm wandering around enjoying the garden.  The foxgloves are stunning in person and just not photographing the way I wish they would:

  

Actually this one's pretty good:

 

And I'm having fun trying to figure out what the various plants are.  I think this is the millet in the mix:

 

But while some things look fantastic:

 

Wait, what's going on with the creeping jenny in this container:

 

I'm so not happy about this:

 

Sawfly larva.  I plucked and smashed 7 that day and another 3 since, but there could be more:

 

Friday afternoon our little garden helper came by for the afternoon.  He's always up for watering the garden, but here he's helping Lee pluck debris from the raised bed (huge winds last week):

 

We're extremely lacking in the rain department (I'll be setting up the sprinkler tomorrow because everything's super dry).  Look at that golden oregano droop.  I think it recovered after I watered it, frankly I forgot to check:

 

When I went to wind the hose I spotted this guy: 

I'm pretty sure it's the bug I watched come from the soil in one of my containers last week: 

 

What is it?

 

So loving the fish container with the creeping jenny.  This was an inspired idea if I do say so myself: 

 

The strawberry patch is also making me extremely happy:

 

I may very well be picking and eating this strawberry tomorrow:

 

There are so many berries that we're hopeful we'll get a few before the birds hit them hard:

 

On Sunday Lee mowed and tackled his last project in the garden, getting the brick/much area for the double-lounger cleaned up.  He weeded it and at my suggestion turned the bricks on their sides for better stability:

 

We've been enjoying having the driveway clear of the Adirondack chairs, so I positioned them in front of the potatoes between the lounger and the raised bed.  It's probably the sunniest spot in the garden and pretty level (Lee wasn't pleased I was taking his photo in his mowing outfit):

 

I love being more in the garden.  I may very well move that tiki torch.  See the sun tea brewing?  It's delicious:

 

More of the view from my chair:

 

Zooming in a little, but the angle is correct from my chair:

 

I really need to deadhead the irises: 

 

The sage in flower:

 

Pretty, but too much distraction from the tomato plant.  I turned the container so the bloom was right in front of the fence.  Better:

 

And though this container is very pretty I kept thinking there was space for something small and wouldn't some basil look good.  So I put one of the mystery basils in there.  We'll see:

 

On Monday I will deadhead the irises while I run the sprinkler in the back of the garden and then shift it up when I'm done.  The grass is doing fine where it's established, but the blank spots that we seeded aren't doing so great:

 

Oh and I have to go buy more potting soil for the potatoes which need hilling again.  I swear, we had better get a gigantic potato harvest!

Comments

[Mummer]

Here I am in the land of biscuits, and blueberries....the featured dinner tonight at our local Moose Lodge is kielbasa and cabbage!
You guessed it - most things are run by displaced New Jersey-ites. And none have a garden like yours. I especially appreciate the serenity of your favorite garden view.
Down here we get to gaze at pole beans' progress.

[Layanee]

You have got to love the lushness of this June. Lee looks marvelous...even in lawn mowing gear. Your garden looks serene.

[Martin Svec]

That bug looks a lot like a big ol' mosquito :)

[fern]

Do you overwinter the strawberries in those pots, and if so, do you bring them inside, like in a cool basement?

I've got strawberries that keep growing in all the wrong places, and i've been meaning to put some up in an old watering can but was curious if they'd survive the winter.

[Heather's Garden]

Mom -- Ick.

Layanee -- The garden is serene. I'd love to sit out there, but the mosquitoes are out of control.

Martin -- It kind of does, but it's quite large.

Fern -- Yes, the strawberries overwinter in those pots. No problems at all. And they were buried under several feet of snow for the better part of this past winter!