Hallelujah!

Success!

The California poppies are starting to bloom!

It was a long, arduous journey.

From seed to sprout.

From sprout to first leaf.

From first leaf to plant.

Now in glorious (albeit singular) bloom!

Backyard

not looking too bad for mid-summer

(the other 1/3 of the yard is still grass)

the forsythia bed (foreground) is thin, but they're still establishing good roots

(black pots are marking existing daffodil clumps

some of the asiatic lilys are re-blooming!

Mid July Landscape Notes

1. the past 4 weeks have been extremely dry
2. haven't been able to do anything other than try to keep plants watered
3. river birch trees are tolerating the hot/dry weather well
4. no signs of reblooming iris -yet
5. dallisgrass is very persistent in the front yard
6. tried sowing more Calif. poppies last week
7. will be planting aster perennials close to the river birch trees (in an attempt to control any future bagworm infestations)
8. forsythia bed is doing well (have back-up cuttings ready to replace the ones that transcend during the remainder of the summer)
9. daffodil patches have been marked; will have an idea of 'where, how many, & what type' to purchase locally and order on-line
10. CG will be looking forward to the day when he can go outside after lunch and tend to the planting areas for more than 30 minutes (and not worry about heat stroke)

Wednesday Garden Tour

With over an inch of rain Saturday nite into Sunday morning, things are looking better in the garden.

The St Joan daylilys are still setting blooms.

Cannas are going full force and multiplying

and...

the season's first cucumber!

California Poppy Update

one of 3 that have survived:

CG now understands why these aren't seen too often in Arkansas

(spring weather here seems to be too rainy and prone to late chilly snaps -not to their liking)

the foliage does interest CG, and they are extremely drought resistant

not too sure if they will ever bloom...

July Blooms

July begins with stifling heat and the continuation of a 2+ week-long drought.

For CG, seeing just a single plant blooming under these conditions is a botanical blessing.

Surprisingly, only one newly-planted forsythia off-shoot has transcended.

The next chance for rain is Saturday. CG will be doing all he can to get at least an inch of rainfall:

1. Leaving lawnmower outside of the shed
2. Car windows down (after washing it)
3. Rigging a clothesline in the yard and hanging laundry to dry
4. Preparing breakfast outside with the electric toaster