45 full tank shot

on the railings

Glad I cut back my summer savory earlier.

They've grown back straighter, with multiple stems.

Chervil is flowering. I don't need to save seed from it this year, but left it alone because it looks kind of neat-

mound of lacy foliage reaching over the deck railing, flowers held high

the caterpillar that was eating my dill. Either a bird found him, or he crawled off to pupate. I took this photo a few days ago, haven't seen it since. It grew fast!

on the deck!

I have a lot more container plants this year- because some of them just do better on this upper level that gets more light, and it's more or less out of the bug zone in the garden. Left to right: stevia, rue, fenugreek, asiatic lily, rosemary, winter savory, coleus, basil.

around the same corner to the door: cucumbers, sweet basil, coleus, fig, geranium, amaratto basil, choc mint, chives- in front the cuban oregano, lemon balm, japanese maple seedling, another rue, thyme.

Other side of the door: bay leaf, geranium, nasturtium and ginger mint

Nasturtium flowers:

I like the peachy hue when they start to fade-

Of note: still haven't eaten any fenugreek. Brought an Asiatic lily around from the front- whatever was eating its head off left it alone up here. Two buds!

The fenugreek flowers look similar to clover

Corner behind the chair: sculpit, coleus, basil that doesn't flower (I haven't eaten it yet)

'gay delight' coleus looks really good this year

I had two sculpit plants- the one down in the garden died. I'm not sure if conditions were wrong for it, or it was out-competed by nearby parsley and other plants? Well, the one up here has pretty blue-green leaves

and is starting to make the balloon flowers!

Cucumbers sprawling-

view from over the railing

and down below

Lots of yellow flowers- a few tiny cukes starting to form.

Lime-and-orange (red) coleus is also doing great-

Fig tree is growing rapidly. My friend has the same kind, and hers (although smaller) has small fruits forming on it. Mine doesn't. I guess I have a male tree.

Amaratto basil is flowering!

This is the wild mint I dug out of a friend's yard. It wasn't doing great last year- pot sat down by the lower deck. Refreshed with new potting soil, mulch with bamboo and moved to the upper deck. Better now.

Ginger mint also doing better up here (it was down by the garden last year)

and of course, my favorite chocolate mint. I'm clipping from this nearly every day to steep in my green tea. So far no pests.

fish activity

It was actually kinda cool to carry Laddie downstairs in a 2 gallon bucket yesterday, he was cruising and looking up at me the whole time. I showed him to my kid "Say hi to Laddie!" and the fish came up curious to look at her. In the bucket. This morning I walk downstairs and as soon as I enter the room where his QT bin is, he darts over to the nearest corner to waggle at me. I don't have any other fish who are so confident. The others would all be cowering in a corner or washed out in this situation.

Of course, I guess that same boldness is what makes it hard to keep them together. I don't think I'll try to keep two again. I envy those who had mild-mannered paradise fish that could live in groups (I've seen them on the forum). Mine are feisty! (When they're not sick).

Perry didn't want his breakfast today. It was a small pinch of micro pellets, only about seven or eight tiny pellets. I dropped them in the shrimp bowl. Now the shrimps are zinging around the bowl like crazy, scuttling for the one piece nobody's found yet, and trying to shove each other out of the way. It's kind of odd to sit here across the room, out of the corner of my eye the large tank is very still, and the small bowl full of activity.

separation

I put Laddie in my QT bin- set up in basement window which gets bright indirect light (so the salvinia floaters I put in with him won't die)

He's doing fine. Looks dull in these photos because the bin sides are semi-opqaue, and it was backlit as well. I fed him flake about twenty minutes after moving him- he snapped at it eagerly, and now comes darting to the near side, wriggling his fins at me when I walk through the basement room- not much fazed at being in strange quarters.

Perry shows no improvement yet. Has the tank to himself for now- I'm not sure he noticed. I dosed with metro and prazi. Took apart a plastic folder and cleaned it, I'm going to fit the sheet against the existing wall to block sight- see if that helps any. It will be a temporary measure, I'll find a better wall if it turns out to be useful. I offered his favorite flake this morning, and he ate it but slowly. Now he's been just hanging at surface all day, not moving. If I glance over there, it's as if the tank is unoccupied  because I see no movement . . . I am hoping it's the medication distressing him now, and he'll look better when the treatment is done . . .

down in the garden

Heat is growing, so are the plants. Overhead shot- top left, the rue, then bed of beets, pink cosmos and leeks. Bottom row: perennial herb bed, middle is the bed of greens (collards, arugula, leaf beet chard and kale), right is the bed of turnips, epazote and carrots (not visible) with marigolds in among the now-cut-down epazote.

The three beds against the house wall look sparse- far left: amaranth growing where the lettuces came out, middle: peppers, cumin seed and sweet peas (haven't grown up their trellis yet), corner on the right: yellow snap peas have!

Closer up, on a walk through the garden: yellow rue flowers, floating over their blue foliage:

The beets are doing so much better than last year!

Golden ones in front:

Red behind:

In the herb bed- lavender is starting to grow flower stalks- too small to see in the picture yet. Nepitella- I still don't quite know what to do with that one. I will probably cut it to dry when the heat gets to be too much for it- and if I don't find a use by next spring, might pull up and use the space for something else next year. Lavender could probably use the elbow room, anyway.

Lemon balm in the middle here, perpetual green onions on the right. My lemon balm plant got flattened out from the center by the last thunderstorm we had. I've been going around the circle of it cutting the stems back, freezing some and using for tea. By the time I trim all around it, the first part I cut should be growing back.

Here's the sour leaf- sorrel.

After picking off a lot of caterpillars, I cut back some of my kale to the ground- the leaves were so riddled with bug holes it wouldn't have been worth the trouble to clean and cook. Letting those regrow- and even if they didn't, I still have enough.

In the center of the bed (not pictured) I pulled out all but two arugula plants, leaving those to set seed. Cut back a ton of arugula foliage also, so the collards can get more sun. They're doing fantastic! Time to eat more greens!

Leaf beet chard on the other side of arugula benefits from the trim, too.

What can I say about the turnips. They astound me. Bugs don't like turnip? I'm going to have to thin, soon!

In the newer bed, my fordhook giant chard is gaining size.

The asian greens mizuna and tatsoi, are not. Riddled with holes. Next year I am sowing these early in trays with the rest of them.

Green beans are climbing the poles! and that's it for now