It happens to me every year. I make no plans to go anywhere or do anything with the hope of actually relaxing around my garden but inevitably my time fills up with all manner of unexpected things, personal and otherwise. At times like this you will notice large gaps in my blog posts. It's been two months since my last post and my garden has gone through quite a few changes since then.
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| Orange Daylilies |
First of all, it rained constantly throughout the month of June, so much so that we came close to breaking the record for the rainiest June in NYC history. As a result, my garden, indeed the entire city of New York, is green and blooming. I'm overjoyed that I haven't had to drag out my hose once this year so far and my garden is growing like gangbusters.
In an earlier post, I had just started building a raised garden, something I had been wanting to do for some time. It is well underway now and boasts crops of onion, garlic, cilantro, lettuce, basil and marigolds. (I'll have to provide more updated photos soon. These were taken weeks ago.) In addition, I built a trellis for my climbers like cucumbers and beans. The trellis frame is constructed of 1/2" schedule 40 PVC pipe and connectors (available at any good home center store) and covered on one side with standard chickenwire (harder to find but not impossible).
The biggest challenge I have faced with the raised bed so far is my neighbors cat who seems to think that my crop of basil is the perfect litter box. The next challenge will come once the rains abate and the summer sun reigns supreme. Lettuce and cilantro don't tolerate heat well so I have erected a tunnel frame over the bed that I will cover with shade cloth to reduce the heat on my delicate veggies. I'm also planning on putting some of the leftover chicken wire from my trellis project around the bed. I'm hoping once the bed is fully protected, this will deter the cat from using my patch as his personal toilet.
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| Tiger Swallowtail butterflies. |
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| Dwarf apples. |
In other news, my flowers are magnificent, my apple trees are fruiting well and I'm still blessed to be visited by some of Nature's most beautiful creatures as they pass through on their way to parts unknown. Last week I saw a pair of beautiful Tiger Swallowtail butterflies chasing each other around my backyard. I was fortunate enough that they hung around long enough for me to grab my camera and snap a hasty shot of them before they flitted away. To see more pictures of my garden as it has progressed this year, check out my Photobucket slide show
here. As I add photos to the Photobucket album, this slideshow will keep updating with the new images. I'm seriously hoping to be able to get back to my crafts table soon and start creating some cards. It's been so long since I've made any that I'm wondering if I've lost my touch. We shall soon see. As always, I'll be taking photos and posting them here and on my Facebook fan page, Gitana the Creative Diva Enjoy. Ballo ergo sum - Gitana, the Creative Diva
The biggest challenge I have faced with the raised bed so far is my neighbors cat who seems to think that my crop of basil is the perfect litter box. The next challenge will come once the rains abate and the summer sun reigns supreme. Lettuce and cilantro don't tolerate heat well so I have erected a tunnel frame over the bed that I will cover with shade cloth to reduce the heat on my delicate veggies. I'm also planning on putting some of the leftover chicken wire from my trellis project around the bed. I'm hoping once the bed is fully protected, this will deter the cat from using my patch as his personal toilet.
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