Why oh why do people release their domestic rabbits into the neighborhood? For goodness sake think this through. If you don’t want them any more you have two choices 1) re~home them 2) eat them. But no, the possibility of this animal rendering destruction in the vegetable plot is too horrid to contemplate. Use common sense.   Which brings me to those of you who do not have a vegetable garden. Why not? There isn’t anything much more fundamental than food; the ability to feed yourself/family. No excuse. My hope is you will make plans for next year.  That said let’s move on. Mock Orange still going strong ......with Theresa Bugnet for company Dropmore Honeysuckle trellised on the west wall The greenhouse is producing an amazing amount of Sweet Success cucumbers. Honestly I cut one every morning, leave it on the counter with a knife and its gone by dinner. If the grands are here it takes a couple on the counter to meet demand. Excellent.  The basil got a second cutting...

Amidst the glories of an early summer garden don’t forget to take a good look around you at the natural environment. Our son Darren has been sending photos of alpine wildflowers from Atigun Pass. They are so amazingly spectacular. His daughter Cecilia has sent photos from Grace Ridge. Really people ~ get out there.   Here on this one third of an acre there is much going on, much in bloom. Not as much bird activity as there has been in past years but enough to keep us guessing what they are. The Miss Kim lilac has been hosting a hummingbird and they are always and forever a delight to watch. Now that she is fading we’ll see which bloom the hummingbird will choose, there are many. Although we have been told and read that these birds are drawn to bright colors ours seem to be indiscriminate, even frequenting the very white mock orange. We have a pair of red crossbills which had us baffled until I sent a photo to a friend in the know. We didn’t really see the crossed bill and this see...

  Martagon Lily Theresa Bugnet Rose I’m grateful that we are early risers, between us the watering gets done first thing in the morning and the rest of the day can progress at a normal pace. Here’s the catch ~ there is nothing but rain forecast in the foreseeable future. Every single organism in our environment will be thankful.  That said, be ready to battle slugs. They are like reconstituted dried onion soup, just add water and POOF! I have found teeny tiny slugs in the lettuce and I thought it was way too dry for them to show themselves, wrong. You can start sprinkling diatomaceous earth around plants that are sure to be devoured by slugs; or the finely crushed egg shells that you have saved up; or Sluggo which is the choice I have been making for the last three years. Enough is enough. I want a slime free harvest. I lightly sprinkle this product in the path between the raised beds, not in the bed. It's a bait and why bait the slugs to come into the bed? Why invite them to ...