Successes And Surprises

 My life is all about the garden these days. The warm weather, 90+°F, and daily thunderstorms, mean that everything is growing so fast. Most of what I've planted is doing well. I keep rooting the suckers from my tomato plants so I hope to have a huge tomato harvest. The day lilies I transplanted are blooming and it looks like I'll have green beans soon. 

This white jasmine has redeemed herself. I kept her all winter indoors where she did nothing, but now is flowering and perfuming the garden. I can't believe I contemplated getting rid of her.

I made this little insect watering station when it got so hot a few days ago. It was utilized by wasps
almost as soon as I added water.

These are potato flowers on my huge potato plants.
I planted them after I discovered them sprouting in the pantry. 
I hope I get at least as many potatoes as I wasted by not cooking them fast enough.

I'm having a hard time keeping the lawn mowed, but not mowed too much, because I want the flowering thyme for the pollinators.

While mowing, I found an almost complete fairy circle! We have been getting a bit of rain.

When I looked them up, they are of the genus Amanita - "containing about 600 species
including some of the most toxic known mushrooms found worldwide, as well as
some edible species." I think these may be death cap mushrooms as they have the white gills, a white collar, and that ovule thing they sprout from, as shown in the guides. Yikes!

Some of the holes are filled in my bee hotel. That means bee larva are in there, and 
will eat their way through the food the mother bee left for them.

I decided to do nothing for the 4th of July despite being invited to two events. I just was not feeling terribly social and didn't feel like driving in steaming hot weather. In addition, I remember reading that 'when you get a last minute invitation to a party, don't go. You were not a part of the plan in the first place.' That was evident for one of the invitations, even though I know my friend was just trying to be nice. I was much happier mowing the lawn and tending my garden, rather than making small talk with strangers. 😱

Sunday the 5th, I decided I wanted to take a solo bike ride. I'm glad I wasn't with anyone because I found so many wild black raspberries. None of my friends would have liked stopping every half mile to pick berries, but I love to forage!

I got about a cup of these which will go in my salad at dinner.

It was supposed to be a cloudy, but warm day. The sun came out though and heated everything up rather quickly. 

I decided on a 24 mile ride, but my energy started to drop around mile 18. I really needed something other than my water so I stopped and got this chocolate almond milk swirl. It was so good!

It’s a cloudy and showery Monday, so I decided to take on a project in the yard. I’ve been eyeing the new flower bed I started, intending to extend it to the lone shrub on the right. The fact that a deer had its way with one of my daylilies out front also spurred my decision. I started by digging sod and transplanting two flowering day lilies. Then I figured I’d just keep going and finish the job.

Phase 1: A bicolor orange and a yellow day lily newly planted.
The lone viburnum shrub on the right was my target.

Three hours of lifting sod, hauling plants, mulch, and hoses and the bed is complete. I have a good assortment of lilies behind fences now, so I can relax about the deer. In the coming weeks I'm going to move them all out back and give some away. 

Today, Tuesday, is rainy and cool. Perfect for watering in all the transplants. Last night I decided to research a plant I found growing in a bed that I didn't remember planting there. Turns out is is a helleborine. It is a type of wild orchid, but highly invasive! Rain or not, I needed to get it out of my garden pronto. So at 7 am and in the rain, I went digging.

Helleborine - pretty flowers but a master of disguise.
It popped up in a bed perfectly placed, like I had planted it there.

Into the garbage with this monster. I read too many accounts of how difficult
 it is to get rid of, once this thing takes hold in your garden.

Once the rain stops, I've got a bike ride this afternoon. Then a lunch at my place tomorrow, then the symphony and ballet in Saratoga on Thursday. That is a lot of people-ing for me this week!