Catch-up

Finally!  The first load of mulch has been spread on the potager’s interior borders!  I have a new set of sore muscles, but it is worth every ache.  The first load went on fairly quickly, because I’d just weeded the entire border in the past two days, and since the edges are timbers there was no clipping or edging to do.  I’m just delighted!     It makes me happy to see it so tidy and to know that weeding that area from now on this season will be barely needed.  Only 8 or 9 more loads to go!

And, even better, the local farmers have been able to plant, plant, plant.  I’d guess most of the corn is in, and they’ve switched to planting the soybeans.  We took a trip to Toledo, OH with David’s MG club, and saw only four fields with crops up (the exceptions being wheat and hay of course) between our home, there and back by a different route.  We were home two days and then took a trip to southern Indiana along the Ohio River with another MG club.   Lots of good food, good company, and lovely scenery.  We were happy to see that from Indy south, over half the fields had 6″ corn already growing.  Our area seems to be the last to be able to plant, but at least they are planting now.

The gardens are catching up as well, and things that should be blooming now are back on schedule.    I was thrilled to come home and find the blackberries blooming.  Not so thrilled to find that the raccoons have discovered the strawberry beds and there’s not a berry left….even the green ones all have been eaten or at least had bites taken off the ends.  And, due to the excessive and nearly constant rains, lots of the shallots and bunching onions are rotting.   Even worse,  some critter has tunneled under my Lady Cottage, destroying several plants as it dug.  I’ve set up the critter camera to find out who I need to relocate!  Going away is fun, but there’s always a price to pay!

Today it is raining again, the beginning of another five-day wet period so I won’t get much mulching done, and won’t be able to get the truck where I need it again even if the rain stops.  But the rain will make the weeding easier, and after being gone 8 days out of 10 there is plenty of weeding and deadheading to do.  The irises and May Queen shastas have finished, and there are some rabbit eaten zinnias that need to be replaced.  I still have not planted the containers on the deck or cleaned the gazebo for the season!  It’s mid-June for heaven’s sake, and I’m still slogging about with normal early May jobs!  Thank goodness I didn’t schedule a garden tour or open days this year!

Hope you are all caught up, and enjoying relaxing times just viewing the beauty of your garden.  I may get to that point by September, but I’m still having loads of fun in the process.  Gardening is such a joy!

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