A New Tick Species in Maine

Geez, another species of tick has made it's way to Maine. We have too many tick borne diseases as it is! UMaine Extension Tick Lab identified the Asian Longhorn Tick.

Mums the word!

We went to Mid-Coast Growers and bought 4 gorgeous mums. There are oodles of mums and asters to choose from! I put two pink mums (with yellow centers) in Toby's Memorial Garden.

One of the yellow mums was put into a ceramic pot near the geraniums. Such a gorgeous corner of the front deck!

The second yellow mum is at the other end of the deck. So lovely... We will undoubtedly go back for the purple asters next.

Garden fresh veggies for tonight's soup

Even though our vegetable garden is not at its best this summer, I was able to happily pick a few veggies to add to our vegetable soup for dinner. From left to right: Carrot, eggplants, patty pan squash below the eggplants, zucchini, Arat parsley root. I generally wait until late September to pick carrots, but I was excited to pull one today. I gave it to my carrot connoisseur, Drew, to eat and he said it was delightful! As I haven't grown Arat parsley root before, I decided to pull one with lush greenery to see how big the root was. It was tinier than expected and I will not pull anymore of them until late September/early October.

We Got Rain!!!

We are in a drought. We received only about 1" of rain total in June and none in July. As you can see in the photo, the ground is crispy dry.

Well, surprise, surprise...A fast moving thunderstorm roared through and dropped 0.739" of rain in the span of about 30 minutes. Then, another storm moved through and we got a bit more rain to bring the total of this storm up to 0.81". This rain will not end the drought, but at least the plants got a sip of much needed water today.

Rain barrel #1 was filled to 3/4, and rain barrel #2 was filled to 1/2. Since we are not due for any rain until maybe next Sunday, this will allow me to water the plants at the end of next week.

And, it looks like this storm pushed out the heat and we will be back to our normal Maine summer temperatures for the foreseeable future! Yay!

Just chillin' in the veggie garden

I look forward to the summer days that are on the cooler side so that I can commune with my vegetable garden plants. I love hanging out with them and giving them encouragement and positive energy...And, I love the buzzing of the bees, the fluttering of the butterflies, and the humming of the hummingbirds that zip hither and yon!

Doelores is her name

Doelores is her name and eating my garden flowers is her game! She has plenty of browse and lives off the plants of our yard and next door neighbor, Carla's yard.

Since we no longer have a dog, she is getting really bold and is even eating the flowers in the bed just off the front deck! She works hard to rid me of almost all my daylilies and many other flowers that come into bloom. A good friend reminded me that instead of being annoyed, I should be happy that I am keeping her healthy so that she can successfully feed her babies. So, that is the attitude I am going to try to hold onto.

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.)

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...

Dangerously high heat in Maine

At 4pm,  our thermometer read 100F. And the heat index was 110F. 

I spent a total of 5 minutes outside and got dizzy. I found it difficult to breathe due to the humidity. Needless to say, we are running the air conditioner all day long. Tonight, the overnight temperature will only get down to 75F.

Peonies, Irises, Salvia and more!

I have two varieties of Peony plants that are coming into full bloom. This red one is so stunning with its lush, richly deep red color and full flower. I have one of these plants in the center stump garden and one in the garden on the north side of the yard near the azalea. 

My other peony is my all time favorite with its huge pink flowers with a creamy, off white center. 

This peony resides on the north side of my south stump garden near the road.

I planted this Salvia near the pink peony, but on the road side of the stump. The purple contrasts so nicely with the bright pink. Note that I took this photo before moving it to its final location. 

The Smooth Spiderwort is now in bloom next to and under the leaves of the Interrupted Fern in the garden to the south side of the front deck stairs. Yikes...do you see the pollen on all the plant surfaces? No wonder I have so many sneezing fits, a runny nose, and itchy eyes this time of year! 

For the last new plant in bloom, check out this pretty white and yellow iris! It is next to the peony in the garden on the north side of the front yard.