Archives for July 2014

I am getting a lot of earwig damage this year.

I think the earwigs are plentiful.

Of course, you never see them during the day.

Only the evidence of their presence.

So I looked online for some solutions to the problem.

I gathered some shallow, small containers like this tuna can.

Put about 1/4 ” of vegetable oil in it.

I set the container right in a few pots, and here and there where I thought earwigs were eating the plants.

And this is what I got.

WARNING: The following scene may  be disturbing to some viewers.

 

 

On a regular basis, this container is full of dead earwigs.

It really worked!  And no chemicals.

 

So we had some excitement around here this afternoon.

My good husband was pruning some suckers and branches from various trees.

He was working on this tree.

He didn’t know what was just inches from his head.

Apparently, he bothered the occupants enough that they came after him.

He got stung several times, trying to outrun them.

A few minutes later, he wasn’t looking too good, nor feeling too good.  So off to the Emergency ward at the hospital.

It was definitely an allergic reaction, so we were thankful for drugs and medical attention.

A couple of hours later, I took him home, and he could sleep for a bit.

Poor guy.  He hasn’t been allergic to previous stings so this is a new reality for us.

Now we will have to keep an Epipen on hand.

And somehow we have to get rid of that wasp nest.

Any volunteers?

 

 

 

I bought a Clivia plant in late winter.  It was just ending its bloom,

but I bought it anyway, because it will bloom again next year.

I put it outside on the deck.  North light, but not in direct hot sunlight.

On June 27th, I noticed this!

It was going to bloom again!

(With a bite chewed out of it already.)

See the chewing marks all around that flower?

We left for holidays when it looked like this, so I was worried I might miss the show.

But the blooms lasted for a few weeks.

Just this week they are starting to drop.

Anyway, as I wasn’t expecting any blooms for a long while, it was a blooming bonus!

I was in the vegetable garden for the afternoon.

Just finishing up about 4 o’clock, when I happened to notice movement in the trees close by.

I quietly picked up my tools and left.

To go get my camera of course.

And the telephoto lens.

Do you see who came by?

He came along the fence, and under it, seeming to be quite familiar with the route.

He checked out the compost, and half an hour later when I went out to check, he was gone.

It was odd to see him out in the afternoon.  I’m hoping it doesn’t become a regular event!

I’m thankful again for the electric fence around the garden.

Once in awhile in the morning or late evening I have smelled him, so I knew there was a skunk around.

I just wasn’t planning to personally meet him.

 

I usually am a little late planting the beans, but they are finally blooming!

Full of blossoms this year.  We’ve had lots of rain and sunshine, so they are happy plants.

Tiny little beans full of promise.

Nothing like those first tender fresh beans from the garden.   I usually pick every other day or so for the rest of the summer, and they keep coming.

I’ve planted two more rows for a little later crop.

Lots to eat fresh, freeze and share.

I have this giant silvery thistle growing in my flower bed.

On purpose.

It is the Scottish Thistle.

It is really prickly, and I avoid all weeding close to it.

I think it is biennial.  Last year it just grew to about 30 cm or so.

This summer it will be taller than me, and each plant spreads more than a meter wide too.

Those plants don’t come back.

Instead it reseeds a few here and there.

I have it just for interest sake, but it’s flopping over the other plants and I don’t want it to go to seed.

They’re fun to see once,  but thistles aren’t really one of my favourites.

I have some visitors coming and they might like to see these striking plants, but after that I’ll be tearing them out.

Very, very carefully.

Just something to marvel at today.

The tissue paper petals of the poppies.

That beautiful soft pink colour.

And the flower centre.

Well, just have a look.

So amazing.

The work of the Creator is wondrous indeed.

One of my favourite annuals is torenia.

It doesn’t need full sun, so it does quite well in the shade on my patio.

When it needs water, it visibly droops.

Torenia can be blue, or this mauve, or a dark purple, sometimes bicolored.

Pretty tubular flowers cover the plant.

But you must regularly deadhead.  I spend a few minutes every few days, picking off every finished bloom, and the little green pods left behind.

Like this one.

Or this one.

It’s kind of tedious, but if you don’t do this, it will soon be ugly, with less and less flowers.

So it’s not really an easy care plant.  Maybe that’s why it’s not too common.

But I still try to find one every year.

I have a very small raspberry patch.

Well, it’s not even a patch,  it’s about 5 little canes.

But look what I found!

We’re going to have some raspberries this year!

Maybe one bowl full.  With ice cream.

I love raspberries.

I can hardly wait.

 

Are you experiencing a chipmunk invasion?

I’ve heard from a few people that the chipmunks are wreaking havoc in their gardens this year.

High numbers of chipmunks.

We currently have four very active, very friendly chipmunks keeping us company in the yard.

Here’s three of them cleaning up the fallen seed from the bird feeder.

They do dig a few holes here and there, and even the pots get disturbed.

But so far I haven’t seen any terrible damage.

They come and drink from the pond, and children love watching them scoot around the patio, sometimes right under your chair!

Last year we had 3 or 4 big squirrels running around, but this year I see only one occasionally.

I do think the chipmunks are more fun to watch than the squirrels!