Fresh Fish Fresh Salad

 

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 the dinner table? Leave them in the path. 

There are also very tiny insects that feast on the pansies. I don’t know what they are, nor can I get a good photo, but they certainly can devour pansies in full bloom and in bud. Very discouraging. 

I spent three hours this morning pulling up/cutting down thalictrum (meadow rue) and alchemilla mollis (lady’s mantle). There are two kinds of thalictrum here and I don’t know what either of them are called. The one that blooms early has a fluffy bloom either purple or white and the one that blooms later looks like a tutu. I love them both. The early one is along the deck railing and now that it's under control the Asiatic lilies and foxgloves will have a chance to shine. This is the beauty of deadheading and/or cutting out spent species~ it makes room for the next wave of lovelies to shine.  

There is a stone path around the lady’s mantle that it has no regard for. I pull it back every spring and it just bulls its way where it wants. Therefore I attack it mid season. It has blocked the path that gets me from here to there and I’m done dealing with it. Its still in bloom and I usually wait until it's finished, it seems the mannerly thing to do. Not this year. It needs to get cut back first thing in the morning rain or no rain. 

We will also address the lilacs that finished blooming. Of course, I say that every year but let’s see what happens tomorrow. I really need to use the carousel clothes line and it won’t turn because of the lilacs. And the bird feeder is almost subsumed into the whole mass of lilacs. Too much. Keep this in mind when you place your new shrub, think of the mature size and then add a few more feet. Lilacs love it here. 

The mock orange, all three, are starting to bloom. This has to be the highlight of our summer. These shrubs are enormous. Even though I cut them back this spring you would never know it, they have regrown with a vengeance. Amazing. Be sure to plant a couple of these, they are gorgeous. These three have been here for over 20 years and just don’t quit. At least not yet. 

Roses: the Theresa Bugnet is flourishing. This lovely fragrant light pink double has successfully filled in the west corner with the common lilac and is also merging with the mock orange. The whole section is underplanted with Johnson’s Blue geranium. This geranium doesn’t get very tall, is covered with blue blooms and will rebloom if you pull off the seed pods which is easy enough to accomplish, just grab a handful and pull. The remaining plant will be nice and tidy. 

The martagon lily is in full swing. It really is a show stopper. Tall, pink, unusual and thriving in the East Garden. I cage it but that’s it, no special treatment. This is also where the Pacific Giant delphiniums are attempting to survive. They used to be magnificent, for over 20 years as a matter of fact and then they went into decline. I discovered that they need to be divided every four years (!), so divided they became last year. They are in recovery. I miss them.

The vegetable garden is thriving. Chard is the latest to make it to our table either sautéed or fresh in a salad. Which brings me to this evenings dinner: very fresh red salmon and a very fresh garden salad. Can’t beat that. 

The tomatoes are ripening. The Lizzano, the new one for this season, is the first to produce and that certainly is a mark in its favor. Its a cherry and has a lovely flavor but I’m not sure I can tolerate its growing habit. Its very bushy and taking up more than its share of space. I’ll see how the season goes. At the moment its crowding the cucumber which is producing an astounding number of cukes, thankfully. The basil is in its second cutting and I started four more seeds and this time I’ll plant them the way Jane told me to last year (and I had excellent success so why didn’t I do the same thing this year?) one plant per pot.