Save the Bees!

I can see that there there aren't enough bees in my veggie garden.  I have to hand pollinate my squashes because the bees just can't do it.  According to Avaaz.org:

Quietly, globally, billions of bees are dying, threatening our crops and food. But a global ban of one group of pesticides could save bees from extinction.


Four European countries have begun banning these poisons, and some bee populations are recovering. But chemical companies are lobbying hard to keep all killer pesticides on the market. A global outcry now for a ban in the US and EU, where debate is raging, could provoke a total ban and a ripple effect around the world.


Let’s build a giant global buzz calling for these dangerous chemicals to be outlawed in the US and EU until and unless they are proved to be safe. Sign the petition to save bees and our crops and send this to everyone.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/?copy

Fertilizer Friday

It's Fertilizer Friday, folks - time to fertilizer our plants indoors and out, and post pictures of what's growing in our little corner of the world today. This meme is hosted by Tootsie Time - make sure you stop by to link in, or to find links to other participants.

I missed the last two Fertilizer Fridays :-( My niece got married on August 8th and I took a trip to Temple Gardens in Moose Jaw the following week. Altho' I got home in time to take pictures, the weather was not cooperating. We had major rainstorms here last weekend. I am behind in most things gardening. I did, however, make about 4 gallons of bortsch last weekend, which I froze in small containers for the winter. My beets and other veggies came in handy for that!

But I snapped some pictures on my lunch break today and this Fertilizer Friday, I am ready to flaunt:

Stargazer lilies, purchased at an end-of-season perennial sale

Finally, some ripe tomatoes (sweet millions)! I was watching and watching this one little tomato - I actually blogged it weeks ago because it was the first one to form. It was turning ever so slowly. I got home from Moose Jaw and it was gone! I'm pretty sure it was my petsitter, hahahahahaha (love you anyway Miss Michelle!).

An angel tucked in behind some raspberries and my new Therese Bugnet rugosa.

Begonias are still going strong.

One of the hanging baskets on my deck.

Scarlet runner beans in my herb bed.

Kentucky wonder pole beans climbed all the way up my handstrung trellis and then some. The bush beans in front are the royal burgundy ones.

Other side of the pole bean trellis.

Marigolds are still going strong too.

My sunflowers are a bit of a surprise - much much taller than expected but very pretty. Not too many blooms open yet.

A supermacro shot of a borage flower. The bees love these!

Himalayan impatiens in front of two barrels with wave petunias.

And a different view of the barrels/Himalayan impatiens:

What's happening with your plants today?

Look out! I'm flaunting my flowers! ~Fertilizer Friday~

It's Friday, and you know what that means! Tootsie Time is hosting her Fabulous Fertilizer Friday meme, so mosey on over to her blog to link up or to check out everyone's blooms.

I feel like I've been running around all week, but what I accomplished, who knows? I appreciate the fertilizing theme of this meme because my plants are all doing very well thanks to the weekly dose of MiracleGro; but even more so, I like taking pictures once a week. It's a nice way to track the progress of my garden and to see things that I might otherwise overlook in my rush to get things done.

So, without further ado, from the School of Yard Knocks:

I've never planted Royal Burgundy bush beans before and I am enchanted by their delicate purple and lavender blossoms.


A row of mini sunflowers and marigolds. The morning glories and sweet peas seem to be very slow this year as they should be going up the trellis. I know once they get started, they go like crazy, but when are they going to get started?



A mini sunflower unfurling.




This was labelled as Greek oregano when I bought it, but given the pink flowers, it is more likely wild marjoram. I should be trimming this back more vigorously so that it doesn't flower at all, but ... how much oregano does one girl need? ;-)




Begonias by my front gate.


Begonias in the back yard.


Pretty pink yarrow.


In other news, I posted a book review on my Gabe n Arch blog. The book's author found the review and posted an excerpt on his own site. The author is Patrick McDonnell, the well-known creator of the Mutts comic strip and animal rights activist. I admire his advocacy for homeless pets and enjoy his comics and books, so I was honoured that he posted my review on his site :-)

And that's what's going on at the School of Yard Knocks. How about at your place?

Flaunt your Flowers this Fertilizer Friday!

It has been a looong week and it ain't over yet.

I was on vacation last week and returned to work this week. I had hoped to have my yard projects completed before going back to work, but that did not happen. I did, however, get the last of it done on Canada Day, July 1st. Yay me!

In the midst of all this, I have tenants moving out - tenants who did not work out and who I had to ask to leave. They were not happy campers about that and it has been a stressful time. Their stuff is all gone, but they promised to clean, and the dust bunnies and inches of frost in the freezer compartment seem to indicate the cleaning isn't done. I'm not sure if they're coming back or not.

But, the garden of course, is a little oasis of pleasure. It's so peaceful and calming, the perfect place to destress. Things are motoring along out there, in no small part, I'm sure, to Fertilizer Friday. If it wasn't for Tootsie, I'd still be fertilizing just once a month.

Tootsie Time hosts Fertilizer Friday as a time for us to fertilize our plants indoors and out and post pictures of what's growing around us. Here's what's happening outdoors at the School of Yard Knocks:

Yep, they are peonies :-D

My sister came to visit on Tuesday and brought me two beautiful lily plants. I haven't planted them yet.

A little sunflower is cheering up the place.

My wave petunias are starting to kick in.

I was having trouble focussing my camera today for some reason. Sorry for the blurriness. You can see my veggie beds are coming along. I do fertilize my tomatoes, but not any of my other veggies. I'll write more about my veggies in the next few days, as soon as I find some spare time.

Don't forget to visit Tootsie Time to take part in her Fertilizer Friday meme or just to visit the other gardens participating.

"Before" photos

I finally got the last of my flower seedlings planted tonight. The calendula, sunflowers, and last of the marigolds went into the ground. I rarely plant anything right in the ground because the dogs will just trample it. If I do put something right in the ground, I try and position it close to a barrel or planter or fence or someplace the dogs don't usually go. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. They've broken about 4 of my snapdragons already. I love my dogs more than I love my garden though (I love my dogs, I love my dogs, yes I love my plant-trampling dogs *very* much, I really do). My whole yard is evolving around the dogs, really. The raised beds were all about the dogs. It's working. It's just a work in progress.

I also had some pansies which I stuck into pots (above) and the alyssum, which I stuck into planters I had already planted (on the side of the house).

So, this is my first "before" picture. With luck, by August this will be all lushly green, and you won't even see the boxes. This is the view from my back fence. You can see my handstrung trellis for my pole beans in the foreground and my little yellow house, with the patio lanterns gleaming, looks faaaar in the distance. (Okay, you may have to click on the picture to enlarge it in order to actually see the gleaming patio lanterns.)

Take note because the above is an extremely rare photo of my "orchard." My orchard is always very weedy and I hate taking pictures that showcase my weeds. However, I got it weed-free last Saturday and figured I better take a picture before the green sprouts start showing again. In the foreground on the left is my dad's poor crabapple tree. I think it's on its last limbs. Dad fussed over that tree endlessly and I have absolutely no knowledge of what the fussing entailed. So, it is languishing. Beyond the mailbox my mom painted (gardening hand tools stored inside) are raspberry canes; and beyond those, the saskatoons. There's a sweet millions cherry tomato plant in the planter in the foreground.

Okay, this is my "deckio." It is a wooden deck, but only about 4" off the ground - not a stone patio and not a deck, hence the "deckio." I love it. It's very cosy. My mom and dad built this themselves and I have a picture of them in my verandah in which they are looking hot and grubby but giving big smiles and thumbs up while they stand on the completed deckio.

You can see the fuschias I bought for my mom for Mother's Day hanging there, and beyond the deckio is the firepit, barrels with wave petunias (and marigolds planted right against those barrels)and then the raised beds. On the right is a "ladder" my dad built my mom specifically to stick little planters on, and my poor snappies are precariously arranged around the ladder. What the dogs need to do over there is anyone's guess. But anyway, again, barring snow in July or a tornado, this should look very different in August.

Knock wood.