Thursday, July 3, 2025

Clematis plants in bloom

I have 7 different clematis plants. Four new ones were planted this year and of the three that were planted last year, two are currently blooming and they are gorgeous! This beauty is Vitacelli Venosa. She has over 30 flower buds on one vine and has 7 flowers blooming at the moment!
And, here is the whole plant (photographed on June 27th.)

Then there is my mystery clematis. I bought it about 20 years ago and moved it to this location last year. This seems to be her happy place as she has two flowers blooming this year!

Here is a closeup of the center of the flower (that I took on June 25th.)
And, here is the whole plant in all its glory! (photo taken on June 25th.)

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Cucumber Beetles


Grrrrr.....Aughhhh...Cucumber beetles have invaded our vegetable garden for the first time ever. They are munching on the leaves and stems of mostly the cucumber and squash plants, although I think they are also attracted to all the plants. So, I watched a gardening video and this guy said that the beetles are attracted to the color yellow. We bought 6 yellow frisbees and put soapy water in them to hopefully attract the beetles.

It is working to some degree, but I am also going out each day and trying to smoosh as many beetles as possible.

We have the striped cucumber beetles, and there are hundreds of them! At this rate, I may not get any veggies this summer. Time will tell. So depressing...