how all my plants are doing-

My beets are looking nice- healthier than ever I think. Some of the leaves get pale, bleached-looking patches I've read this is probably leaf miner and the best thing to do is just remove those leaves, throwing away the bugs on them in the process. I've been doing that and the incidents of bleach-patched leaves is reducing.

Carrots are also nice and thick now. Added more straw mulch and there's few weeds. Those bits I had pulled up earlier thinking they were carrots, turns out is a sedge. Still pulling some.

Tomatoes are planted out, around the tokyo bekana. About twice a week I cut all the tokyo bek (it grows back quickly) and we eat it sauteed in butter and salt. After cutting out the worst bits with slug holes, it's just enough for one side dish. I ought to set a slug trap again- the coffee grounds doesn't seem to be much deterrent.

Some of my tomato plants had yellowing leaves (see just lower left of center) at the end of their time in pots. But the new leaves are growing in a healthier green- as you can see on the upper part of this plant- so I think they'll be okay. There are some flowers appearing (top right)!

We have begun eating the chard:

Lettuces and tatsoi are starting to bolt, we're having a few days in the eighties now. The last cutting I took of lettuce was a bit bitter, blanched that out in cold water all day to make it edible, but now they're at end. On the right in bed 5, lavender on the near side of it is awfully scraggly- it suffered this past winter- but after flowering I will cut it back and hope it regrows nicer. 

On the far end, sorrel is overwhelming the bit of lemon balm. Which is okay, I never really use the lemon balm. Sorrel is sending up flower stalks which I regularly cut off. I will probably have to divide this plant soon, it's getting too big! There's green onions there in the middle and some sculpit, but too small to see from the overhead shot.

and the lower center plant is purple clematis climbing the deck post- just at the end of its bloom time

Turnips are doing okay here in bed 9, but collards remain small. I think it is because I made the mistake of putting layer sticks and wood bits over the cardboard when I started this bed years ago- nothing has done well in 8 or 9 since. Why do people recommend that so much? It definitely hasn't work for me. Other sources tell me that wood buried in the garden bed can tie up nitrogen for five to seven years! I am not positive of course, that's the reason my plants falter in this bed (tomatos did poorly here several years ago) but I'm not repeating the experiment.

In that round repurposed planter in the corner, I've put out the hyssop.

More later

brick edges

I've been doing a lot of work the past few weeks to replace old rotting wooden edges (railroad ties and fence posts) from beds 7 and 8 with concrete bricks to match the rest of the garden. First was all the work to waterproof seal and paint the bricks- two layers each on all sides, with time to dry between and periodic shifting into the house to avoid rain. Then waiting days for another dry spell to do more painting. Finally was able to set them in place. Here's a few work-in-progress pictures.

Bed 7 on the right is already redone, bed 8 on the left kinda out of picture has the old edges pulled off (long sides- the short ends previously had bricks)- and in the corner here you can see my pretty purple clematis!

Bed 8 with the sides removed and the mulch heaped up out of the way-

and complete!

7 done and 8 incomplete-

7 and 8 both done-

Here's bed 8 with lettuces and peas in the foreground (of bed 6)

I finished the job on a morning sprinkling rain but due to thunderstorm heavy in the afternoon- didn't want the raised built-up-with-riches soil to start washing away so I worked in the mud. Thus the bricks got dirty.

7 and 8 redone in the background, 9 in the foreground with young collard greens, leeks and turnips- and rosemary right up front. (It's the only one survived the winter- my other rosemary plant on the opposite end of the garden died).

So nice to have the beds all finally matching! And solid, and will last for decades. They are not perfectly straight, but much tidier than the old bricks- as you can see in some of the photos where the wobbly edge of bed 6 is across the way from bed 8- but that's merely asthetic, not a functional issue and it's easy enough to level them out when I care enough to find time.

Next structural project for the garden is to actually put the fence in- hence the red flags marking where an underground wire lies.

garden glory

pink clematis! (purple one just has fat buds and is all misshapen because I did a bad, hasty job of pruning it last year when not thinking straight) 

First columbine

Alliums are starting to open in the front bed

I thought my 'espresso' geranium was dead- but it's not! and blooming

Soon clary sage will too. One of my favorites.

baby snake

Found along the edge of garden bed, when I was trimming back the grass. After spending hours out there (or so it felt like) pulling the weeds from the beds. I saw this wriggle away and thought it was a large earthworm, but it moved differently. I actually saw three of them- and caught one (gently) just to take a picture.

Tiny Northern brown snake! (my best guess at identifying). I am fairly sure it is the same species I saw years ago as adult- I'm glad to know they're thriving in my yard. This one so small it's the width of my wedding ring. Literally.

I show nothing of the garden yet because it's in such terrible shape. But there are a few flowers lingering even though the heat- from a mixed packet my sister sent me last year. (I don't know which these are)

pink cactus

Several weeks ago I noticed my little zygo cactus had a bud. I thought it would bloom in time for Thanskgiving.

It's only just now opening up fully. Timing's kind of off, but still pretty!

just before

the freeze, I took these pictures. My older sister sent me a packet of wildflower seeds (deer resistant). It was late in the season, but I scattered them in one of the empty garden beds. And some grew! They came up a month or so ago. This is definitely a marigold- and one of the few left still alive after the chill.

These I think are alyssum

and this one came up in the middle of something else, looks like a monarda

I don't recognize the others- and it was hard to tease out the small weeds from among some of them

but they're all done for now anyways, from the cold

fall flowers

My wild chrysanthemum is so pretty

I really need more of this in other places in my yard. And I think I can do so easily- I had cut a few stems that were growing out of the space just few weeks ago, stuck them in a new spot, and didn't expect much. But look- not only did they survive, they're blooming too!

The standard mums in the front are full of flowers. Even though I only pinched once, they are bushy enough and not flopping over this year. So increase sun is a plus. I only have two left now- this pinkish purple

and the salmon colored one

My black-and-blue salvia is reblooming, after I did all that trimming. Not as much as in full summer, but plenty to enjoy looking at, and I hope the hummingbird appreciated it too. Haven't seen it at the cardinal climber in the past few days, I'm assuming it's gone on migration now.

the bigger sideyard

I still think of it as the 'sunny sideyard' and the narrower one with the steps as the 'shady sideyard' even though now they both get sun, what with trees removed years ago. So- it was all shabby and a mess over here. At least, the plants against the house. The huge hostas all eaten away, and edges dried out from the heat we had up until just recently, too. All the sensitive fern looking terrible- I ripped a lot of it out, that had spread too far.

There was sensitive fern encroaching on the pulmonaria- dug that all out, pulled mock strawberry, pulled out older dead leaves underneath that had aphid sign, and tidied it up. Mulched with leaf mould.

Sensitive fern had also grown in among the lily of the valley patch- cleaned that all up too. Lots of these crisped edges from the heat and dryness as well.

Here's a long shot of all that. It's so uneven. I really need to edge this bed with stones, too, and I want a path of big stepping stones or pavers all down the side, and then the main group of plants to the right (center of the hillside) just fill in so there will be no more mowing over here. That's my long-term plan.

Closer photo, though at an awkward angle- you can see from left to right (going uphill) the edge of beautyberry, spiderwort, lily of the valley, lungwort, sensitive fern and then ostrich ferns mixed in with the remnants of the hostas, euonymus and yellow salvia at the top corner. Really the ostrich ferns are doing the best here right now! 

I threw down dried seedheads cut off the spent joe pye weed on the other sideyard, into the bare gap against the wall here. Hoping they grow nice and tall. Don't know if they'd get enough sun, though.

Bright spot here, top of the middle flower bed, is the red-hot poker my friend gave me. I did water it extra during that super hot week we had- and cut off the flower stalks when they faded, and it surprised me by sprouting two more! So I think this one's going to do great here.

And when I was pulling up crabgrass and digging in the catmints, I found a little bit of hyssop in the other corner, still alive. I thought that plant had all died out in this area. It's nice to know there's still a bit here, because the one down in the planter by the rear deck, isn't looking great right now. (I've trimmed it and doused with soap against the bugs, and given it new mulch, so we'll see).

all beautyberry

I've been all about the beautyberry yesterday and today. So here's a ton of pictures! Vivid color is beading the graceful drooping stems; of course I went out to take pictures.

I really like how it's growing over the fence on this side.

On the other side- facing the large sideyard, the drooping stems were dragging on the ground. I propped some up from underneath with sticks.

It was kind of smothering and crushing spiderwort here on the other side-

And then I was shoving leaf mulch underneath, and found all these straight stems growing up just under the skirt edge of the branches- the main clump of stems is way further back by the fence. These forward stems were there last year but I wasn't sure if more beautyberry or some other volunteer. Now I compared the foliage closely- it must be more beautyberries grown from dropped berries.

I was thrilled to dig up/pull out seven substantial young plants-

plus four tiny ones which I stuck in pots.

I promptly planted two on the other side of the holly, and two more further up the slope, flanking the euonymus (where I yanked out a ton of yellow salvia- that plant is going rampant everywhere I put it years ago!) - not pictured- and then another two here on the lower end of the bed alongside the back lawn. It's behind the second rue, between pannicle hydrangea (bare stems where the deer have been eating it!) and false indigo- and the pale artemesia behind. The beautyberry will fill all this space, so I'm going to have to move most of these smaller plants- but I don't mind at all.

The last one I put between a bunch of stuff- there's the other hydrangea on the left, patch of turtlehead on the right, 'autumn joy' sedums in front. And a hosta kind of buried in there too. My plan is to dig up and move the sedums and half the turtlehead patch in spring, to give this beautyberry room to grow. But for now I've just left it tucked in there.

Here's that space from a wider view. Most of that turtlehead clump I'll be shifting over to the right.