Fern

Somehow a Fern has decided to join us. We don't quite know how. It's quite a garden mystery but there he is, right and royal. One wonders how and why he came to choose this particular spot to sit. Did he not like the Japanese Iris?

Can anyone identify this Fern for us? We have no idea what to call him. For now, we'll call him Fred.

Warm Regards,

Betty

Flowers blooming in our garden

A few garden photographs.

Miniature Zinnia in a planters box.          Hostas bloom at the base of a tree.

Here is the first of the Cosmos.

Cosmos have such feathery, lacey leaves and delicate blossoms. They are pretty in a garden and lovely in a vase on the table.

Warm Regards,

Betty

Shopping Bags

We discovered a use of shopping bags. Did you know they make a crunchy noise when attached to a stick and left to blow in the wind? It is our greatest hope that our joyously singing bird friends will not be attracted to the snapping and crunching of these bags, and our forest friends will be afraid and not return. And if our newest planted row bears fruition, our newly planted seeds will grow past seedling stage and provide us with a lovely crop. We will keep you abreast of this dire circunstance.

New Forest Friends

We have discovered we have friends in places that we knew nothing about. Here are photos of their front doors. Apparently, they have become our neighbors and quiet gardeners. Through our windows, we have seen rabbits, woodchucks and racoons. They all feast on our plants and are determined that there will be no plant in row 1 of the garden. They have heartedly eaten the peas, twice and a row of beans. We have decided to be crafty. We are planting squash instead.

A close-up of our new friends front door.

 Can you spot the entrance to their house?

Warm Regards,
Betty

Tomatoes in a bed of Straw

We call this the tomato jungle. We are somewhat lawless around here. I'm quite sure the professional gardeners would have quite a bit to say if they saw the goings-on around here. Time management being what it is, we praise the jungle for it lacks the required attention of a constant gardener.

Our tomato plan is simple indeed, we lay a bed of straw around the closely planted seedlings. As the plants grow large they block sun that would allow weeds to grow.The bed of straw keeps the soil consistenly moist and provides a proper bed on which the little tomatoes will grow. We use no stakes, no pruning, no cages. We let the plants be what they will, with a lovely layer of bedding to keep them comfortable.

You can barely see the little babies poking out of the straw.

Warm Regards,
Betty