CHOMPED!!

OK....so they were here first. OK...so it's hot and it's dry and they're looking for whatever they can find to eat. BUT....could they back off just a little????

We have the fenced veggie garden. We even put deer netting along one side, with a contraption of tomato cages to keep it away from the fence. That way, the beans and peas and cucumbers can climb up the fence.

Things are hanging on by a thread in there, with this heat. But, the cucumbers are still making.

The plants aren't as nice as last month. But, they were better than this:

It took some doing, but the deer netting got torn and the cucumbers on the outside of the fence got chomped!

This.....

was attached to this. With some good-sized cucumbers.

At first, I thought it had to be some kind of catapillar. I wasn't sure I wanted to see something big enough to do this damage....all those leaves...all those cucumbers. But, there's the fence...and there's the netting...and I spray along the outside of the netting with 'Deer Fence' pretty regularly.

But, then we found the tear in the netting. Had to be a deer.

Then, this morning.....more chomping. The cannas in the pot by the garden have been chomped....again. They left the ones on the other side of the house alone. But.....

this.... is now this.

Now, Gazania is 'deer resistant'.....and, silly me, I thought it was true. This has been there for several weeks. Not the best place...it needs more sun. But, it hadn't been touched by the deer. Oh well....I replanted it and hope it comes back.

I made a double-strong batch of the deer fence. (I now buy it in concentrate to make by the gallon.) And now, the whole place reeks of the stuff. EVERYthing has been sprayed.....again.

I'll just have to be more diligent with the spray. It seems to work. We just have to apply it more often than the label says....and, especially after watering, if it gets washed off....or, in case it ever actually rains again.

Thanks for listening to my tales of woe. I'm sure there will be more. We've just started this gardening among the limestone and deer.

Daily Delights

Every day brings more daylilies to enjoy. These were all gifts from some very dear friends. So far, most all survived the dry winter and the withering heat we have already this summer. The first to arrive was "Happy Returns"....a clear buttercup yellow. It's a rebloomer, and is giving us more beautiful blooms now.

The second to bloom was "Over There". A vivid red, with a bright yellow throat. There are a few pretty pinks. This one is "Pink Playmate". Isn't she lovely? Another pink is a big guy. "Royal Palace Prince"....with a 4 inch bloom.

This very soft, pale yellow is "Miss Amelia". She hasn't bloomed much, but she's quite lovely.

"So Lovely" has given us many days of blooms. She's soft yellow, with a 5 inch bloom. "Miss Tinkerbell" has bloomed only a couple of times. A soft pink peach with a darker rose eyezone. Or...this pinker version. This is "Pardon Me". A dark burgundy red, with a yellow throat. We've had many blooms from her.

" Pandora's Box" has bloomed every day for a couple weeks, with more blooms to come. She's pale cream, with a dark purple eyezone. And, my favorite so far......"Country Fair Winds". This is a 6 inch bloom. It's pale peach pink, ,with a gold ruffled edge. It's bloomed several times.

There are more to bloom. Since I didn't take time to mark them when they were planted, I have to try to match them up with pictures and descriptions in the catalog.

But, it's worth it. A gift to enjoy all over again, each day. >

The Watering Hole

We have a concrete birdbath in the back yard. This is a watering hole that does a lot of business.....and, not just with the birds.

Bluejays stop by for a drink.

There are these Whitewing Doves, as well as Mourning Doves. We had a pair of Inca Doves, but they must be off on a summer trip.

There are lots of the despised Grackles. They are noisy, messy and mean. But, there's not much we can do about them.

The Starlings love to take big, splashy baths.

And the Golden-fronted Woodpecker likes the cool water.

There are lots of other birds....cardinals, titmouse, chicadees, finces, and more. They come to our feeders and stop by the watering hole for a drink, or two.

Bigger customers show up there, too.

One of our many squirrelly residents.

Mother and baby stop by for a midday sip.

Even this guy likes it. He's our neighbor's cat, Willow.

We have another birdbath in the front yard, and a big plastic pot saucer out in the deer grove. These all have to be refilled a couple times a day, in this heat.

And one other watering "hole" is a hummingbird feeder. We enjoy the hummingbirds flitting around....even fighting with one another over the feeder. We had another feeder, but it fell and broke. Really need to get a new one.

Some other visitors to this feeder aren't hummers. They're those Golden-fronted Woodpeckers.

And, I didn't even know they had a sweet tooth.

June is Busting Out All Over on Bloom Day

Here it is the middle of June already....it is still June, right? Feels more like August. The heat has really hit early. And, the garden is feeling it. But, there are lots of things blooming out there. The Rock Rose, Pavonia lasiopetala, that came from the old house. Periwinkle 'Cora Apricot', in a hanging basket in the garage side bed Another Periwinkle in a bright rosy pink. Deer don't eat Periwinkles!

A bright yellow Gazania, in another hanging basket in the garage side bed. Our new Mexican Oregano, Poliomintha longiflora. There are several of these in the neighborhood. Deer don't eat these, either. I think I might need a few more of these. A nice pink Mexican Petunia, Upright Ruellia pink chi chi. Anothe "deer resistant" plant. But, it's been trimmed a couple times since it was planted.

A pale pink Calibrachoa that I got for Mother's Day. Although this is another deer resistant, it's on the back deck. There's a brighter pink one in a basket outside the fenced veggie garden that the deer haven't bothered.

Maybe I need these all over the yard.

There's a bright red Cyclamen left from Christmas that seems quite happy on the deck. The new Society Garlic, Tulbaghia violacea, in the "rock" garden.

In the fenced veggie garden, there are lots of blooms.

' Royal Palace Prince' continues to put on a show. 'Country Fair Winds' still shows her pretty face everyday. And the lovely yellow of 'Happy Returns'. 'So Lovely' is still hanging in there. As is, 'Pandora's Box'.The Pole Beans are producing. As are the Purple Hull peas. Not enough of either for a meal, yet. Next time I should plant either one or the other. There's not enough room for both. There are still squash, although I lost one vine to squash vine borers just yesterday. I'm sure there will be more lost soon. We've had lots of cucumbers. These are 'Straight Eight'....very sweet and tasty. The Malabar Spinach has a little, insignificant bloom. But, the leaves are delicious. The only Hyacinth Bean to survive the April freeze is blooming nicely.

There are more things blooming:

Yellow Esperanza, tecoma stans.

Verbena

Red and Fucia Autumn Sage, salvia greggii

Salmon Impatients

Yellow Lantana

'Dallas Red' Lantana, lantana camara

'Red Ember' Blanket Flower, gaillardia

Purple Cape Plumbago, plumbago auriculata

Purple Heart, Setcreasea pallida

Yellow Bulbine

Jeruselem Sage, phlomis fruticosa

Blackfoot Daisy, melampodium leucanthum

Seed "blooms" on the Inland Sea Oats

And this all has to be watered by hand. No sprinklers allowed right now in our area.

And the summer is just starting......

Thanks to May Dreams Gardens for bringing us all together.

Happy Bloom Day