What have you done today in the Garden?

I'm with you. I have battery operated everything (not that I have many outdoor tools). Even my lawnmower is battery. Most of my tools are indoor/furniture refinishing. Except for the lawnmower, they all use the same battery (ies). Several people have offered me their old electric/gas weed eaters. That is one tool I do not want! That one really scares me.

 

I had one of those little green froggies on my wheelbarrow the other day. He had a brown smile too. I like the little froggies. They are good helpers in the garden.

A few years ago, I got a nice picture of a leopard frog in my garden. Some years I have a lot of them.

And I found a little green froggy in my pictures, also from another year.

 

Willow those raspberries look delicious. Special kitty to get home grown cat grass.

Daniel as the blackberry deer fence project finally winds down it always leaves a good sense of accomplishment.
Lavender plants look pretty happy . By next season you may have some bloom.

AAnightowl we have those tiny tree frogs too.At night they can be noisy for such a tiny thing.

 

Aww he's a cutie @AAnightowl .
We have a resident Toad that has set up home in a shady eastern border., even though I know s/he is there I'm always caught off guard and end up jumping out of my skin each time.

 

Today I watered and deadheaded. I attached labels to dahlia plants, so I don't have to wonder which is which, when they are overwintering as tubers.

I listened go some lectures on the free Kanopy website, regarding gardening. Linda Chalker-Scott, Washington State horticulturalist. Mostly about soils, roots, no-till, beneficial microbes.

I skimmed an e-book about dry climate gardening. I didn't care for it, so I returned it.

I tore down the rest of the blackberry deer fence. Some metal fence posts remain, and more cleanup. That area will be dry tolerant herbs (lavender, rosemary, thyme, some others) and mow-able grass (about 2/3 of the area).

 

@Daniel W, why get rid of fencing? It is so expensive. If I need to move it, I reuse it elsewhere.



My botany book says there are 180 genera, and over 3500 plants in the mint family... That is from "Botany in A Day, The Patterns Method of Plant Identification" by Thomas J Elpel. Some examples are: rosemary, lavender, coleus, oregano, basil, purple dead nettle (not really a nettle), henbit, heal-all/prunella vulgaris, and many others. They are all edible, and most/all have medicinal value as well. Personally, I think the coleus is a pest. It is highly invasive. If you have some, grow it indoors and never let it go to seed. At least the chickens will eat it.

I did get a few weeds pulled today and worked on stuff indoors. We had heavy storms overnight, and are supposed to get more tonight. I picked up some of the downed branches from the storm also, and put them in my burn pile.

 

Daniel you had quit a variable productive day.

Half my day was fighting a mole in the south garden and a couple ground squirrels I refer to as Chip and Dale. The ground squirrels are tunneling next to the foundation of the house along the entire south side of the house. Also around the pond, rhodies, camellia’s and causing cracks across the concrete patio. I have washed all the soil back into the tunnels back next to the foundation along that entire area, several times this week. Tunnels raise the soil level up 3-4”. Then followed the trail from the foundation thru the stepping stones to the west garden. They are trying to set up camp in a couple of areas for winter. I am diligent checking several times a day . Rinse and repeat the drill , water, spray mint , check traps . Hazelnut tree isn’t helping. Every year I swear I’m gonna chop it down … maybe tomorrow. I’m gonna get my chain saw oiled up and the batteries recharged tonite. And the drama begins….

Washed off the entire concrete patio to eliminate that awful green stuff that grows on the outer exposed edge section with no roof . Don’t laugh because I use toilet bowel cleaner the foam type to kill the fungus then scrub with a broom then rinse. I hope it stinks out the moles & squirrels. I have to be careful not to cause the paint to pop off the patio on the covered section just a gentle cleansing because I painted a southwestern mural on the patio floor trying to maintain the integrity of the work and design .

I did manage to tackle and cut a few blackberry brambles and mulch again.
After a short nap fixing tacos tonite.

 

Its all bent up. Also, I had a LOT of metal fencing for all of the orchard trees. They are too tall and dont need it any more, so I have been discarding it. No place to store it, either.

 

Yum, tacos!

 

Stay safe out there today Daniel. We are in for a whopper of a storm.

 

Thanks Pac. I better go out and collect garden tools so they don't rust. I'm pretty diligent about putting them away but sometimes I get tired and spacey.

AI image...


(Actually, my beard is much closer trimmed, and Rufus is a doodle lab, not full blood. Also, sometimes AI makes weird garden tools).

Edit: I went around collecting anything that might fly around in the wind, collected garden tools and garden stool / cart and put them in the shed, and latched the door. I don't think much watering is needed.

 

Take care and keep safe @Daniel W .

 

My main task this afternoon was giving everything a good watering then dead heading all the Dahlias, I haven't done them for a couple of days so there was a fair amount to get through. I then dug up all the selfseeded Verbena Bonariensis from the pathways and found them new homes, well away from potential foot fall damage.....there were so many!!

 

Today it was a bit hot, so a perfect day for some heavy work. We cleaned a section of the canal that runs alongside our lottie. It was a nasty and smelly and difficult. Getting the reed out with a claw rake was a challenge, but we did manage to get some roots out. We will have to return to this job later. It must be clean by the end of october. Our side of the canal is clean, but we now are cleaning the side that belongs to the railroad.

We also harvested the last of the blueberries. It was 10.5 kilo’s this year.

 

I luv that image of you in the garden . And Rufus. I know he is a poodle but I still see that curly haired pup. What a beautiful likeness of you doing what you love most. Ooo AI Christmas cards would be fun too. Unlimited possibilities.