Caterpillar to Monarch!
Remember this big guy from the last blog? We just got back from vacation and 2 amazing Monarchs are flitting around my gardens. Should be one of the caterpillars which is so incredibly beautiful and exciting!
The Gardens Have Grown!
Lots of rain while we were gone. All the pollinator and milkweed plants seem to have tripled in size. There are lots of honey bees, bubble bees, a few wasps. Even found a lady bug on one of the roses! Last year I was saddened that I saw only a rare lightning bug. This year they’re all over our yard! So beautiful! Chemical free is making a BIG difference! Pictured are the pollinator garden and milkweed. Still too wet to mow.
Rose & Companion Plants
Wow! The Shasta Daisies went crazy with all the rain! They are now huge, a virtual forest of daisies, and crowding out the roses. Time to share with friends!!
Roses Update
Japanese Beetles: I’m still looking for them everyday, flicking them off into soapy water. None on roses but several on the Rose of Sharon. I read how the Japanese beetles hang out in blossoms so I removed all buds and blossoms from the rose bushes before we left on vacation. No sign of a new gopher hole! Solar sonic sound is hopefully working. Even with all the rain, the roses are coming back from black spot! Coneflowers & coreopsis are doing their job as no aphids in sight. Garlic chives, salvia, yarrow and parsley all healthy and keeping pests at bay. Pictured: David Austin Claire and Chuckles. Note healthy leaves!
The Adventure Continues
It’s been a rough month with beetles, a gopher, rain & black spot. But when I walk in my garden I am humbled at the return of the Monarch butterflies, honey bees & bumble bees. To see our yard dancing with lightening bugs in the evening brings back treasured memories of our little farm in Kentucky. These are treasures worth fighting for! I know without a doubt we are doing the right thing! On to the next weeks of our chemical free adventure!
Bev
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