Post Peru Update

Having just returned from a 2 week long vacation in Peru, I wasn't sure what to expect in my garden.  So, here's an update:
The garden is FULL of holes.  The squirrels didn't miss anything. :( I put cayenne pepper down today.
The mint, beets, red cabbage, rosemary, squash, eggplant, oregano, tomatoes, peppers, chives, marigolds and sage are doing very well.
The broccoli, cauliflower, beans, and roses are doing fairly well.
The peas, thyme, cilantro and strawberries are dead.
The raspberries have stopped fruiting so I cut back the 2 canes to the level of the soil.
I deadheaded all the roses but they don't seem to be doing particularly well.  There are a few yellow leaves on most plants.  The blooms are small and weak looking. I wonder if its the heat?
The squash doesn't have any vegetables yet.
The roma tomatoes must have some sort of disease because they are going rotten on the bottom of the fruits. :(  I hope this is something I can fix, otherwise, I'll have to pull the plant.  The other tomato plants look great!
One broccoli plant has rebounded.  I hope it will produce.
Very interesting to see what has survived with no intervention and what has not.  It was super hot while we were gone and is going to continue to be for a while.
Hopefully, I'll be posting harvest pictures soon.

June 22 Update

The roses seem to be doing well.  The above rose has aphids on it--not a lot--that I am trying to eradicate.

The picture below is of some yellowing leaves on one of my rose plants.  I'm trying to figure out what it is and what to do about it.  If you have any ideas, PLEASE let me know!

Everything else is coming right along.

My very first tomato of the season!! It is a Roma tomato.

I'm still having issues with the pole beans.  If you click on this photo, you can see two sprouts... where are the leaves? Are there supposed to be leaves right away?  Is something nibbling on these?  Yesterday I counted over 6 holes dug in the soil that I think is the work of squirrels--or birds. Ugh.

At least the peas are doing well. Yay!

In other parts of the yard, the double lilies have come up and bloomed.  So pretty!!

Killer Instinct

Peas!
I was really surprised at how quickly the little pea plants have begun fruiting--vegetabling? hehe  :)

I replanted the pole beans.  With only one shoot sprouted, it seemed as though the others were doomed.  Hopefully I'll have better luck this time.

This morning as I went out to admire my gorgeous roses, I spied some curious little green bugs on one of my new buds. Aphids! :(  I wasn't sure what to do with them.  Do I spray them? Cut off the bud?  I looked it up online quickly and someone suggested to squish them asap to keep the population down. So, that's what I did. I went around to all the new shoots/buds and squished every one I found.  Luckily, it was that first bud that was the problem. I found only 2-3 aphids elsewhere.  I'll keep my eyes open from now on.

With the taste of blood in my mouth and my neighbors out of town, I decided to jump the fence and kill more vine. Ha ha!  I started pulling up all the roots I could find and treating the stumps with root killer. Then it happened. :(  I pulled on the largest root so far--about 2" thick--and it slimed me.  I mean, that sucker slimed me good. It was like a khaki-colored mucus that soaked my gardening gloves and made me want to hurl. What the crap is that stuff?!  I did the best I could and cut that root away. I hope I never have to do that again.  I was following the roots along the fenceline when I got to the other fence where my neighbors' neighbor is and guess what?! That damn vine is all over the place! It was like the field of poppies from Wizard of Oz except this was a Virginia Creeper--my nemesis. I will plan my attack.....

Flock Tending

It seems I am now at the point where I am simply observing my garden except for the occasional watering.
A few of the pole beans are definitely sprouting.  I planted 16 beans and so far only 2 have erupted out of the soil and I see 3 more little mounds that suggest they'll be showing up soon.  I'm wondering how long I should wait until I give up on the rest and replant?  Any suggestions?

It appears that my basil plant is becoming very religious.  Almost all the leaves have holes in them. What the crap?!

I have 5 tomato plants:  1 Roma, 2 Grape, 2 Brandywine.  I looked up some info on the Brandwine tomatoes because they just didn't see to be growing as much as the other varieties.  Turns out they are some of the slowest growing tomatoes!  http://www.vegetable-gardening-online.com/brandywine-tomato.html  This morning, I went out to water them and I noticed growth on both plants--I am pleased.

The first black raspberry ripened!

My first yellow rose:

The other yellow rose has begun to bloom but I will wait to post a picture until it is fully bloomed.  This yellow rose has red/pink edges and I think it will be beautiful.

I'm looking for trellis ideas for my summer squash.  I'm thinking of putting in some sort of ramp, A-frame thingy to get them to flow out of the raised box and not cover the rest of my plants. Hmmm...

Weekend Update

I was out of town this weekend and when I returned, I found:

My purple rose has bloomed!

My tiger lilies have bloomed!

My peas are eagerly reaching out for someone to hold on to!

The battle of the vine continues...

Question of the Day: Is this a bean sprout coming up?!

Perennial Bliss

As far as the rest of the yard is concerned, all the plants were planted by the previous owners. I think they did a good job!

Lilies, peonies, black raspberries, and lilacs to name a few.  I also included a pic of our patio with our breakfast set :)

Everything's Coming Up Roses

I walk into my backyard and I smell.....roses! :)

Yesterday I mulched around my roses because apparently that's what they want. What the roses want, they get. I also deadheaded a few.  This morning, one of the small bushes bloomed.  I thought it was supposed to be a yellow rose with red edges but it kinda looks just red. Hmmm..... false advertising?

Still waiting on the pole beans to sprout. I think I'm impatient.  I've heard it can take up to 2 weeks. Sigh.

The summer squash is growing like crazy. Its the only thing (besides the Roma tomatoes) that seems to be growing quickly.  I notice growth in the peas, beets, cabbage and mint.  Either everything else is growing super slow and I'm not noticing or they're not growing at all....

I am really enjoying venturing into the backyard every morning and checking out all the plants.  I go out, bathrobe and all, to make sure nothing is digging in my beds and to pick out the leaves from the tree above that keep falling in.  Something was digging in and around my beds for a while.  At first I thought it was squirrels or cats, but now I think it was birds (maybe a combo?).  I caught a few sparrows last weeks in the bed with the tomatoes and peppers.  They were digging around in the soil.  Perhaps they've lost interest because I haven't seen any new holes in a few days.

Twice now, some predator has killed either a bunny or a squirrel and left its intestines in a pile in my yard.  I'm thinking it is a neighborhood cat.  I'm not sure why it has picked that particular spot to deposit the unwanted remains of its kill, but I hope it stops.  I don't want to step in rotting animal guts anymore.