Memorial Day

The unofficial start of summer is always a good time for gardening.  It is already hot here, but the humidity isn't too oppressive yet.  Today we planted our second round of corn.  The first, planted three weeks ago, is about a foot high now.

Many things are in full bloom, quite early.  My gardenia bushes are bent over with blooms.  Daylilies, coreopsis, yarrow, St. John's wort bush are all blooming.  I even have some crinum lilies blooming.
This lantana came back very early this year, and is enjoying the sun.  The concrete rabbit does not concern the real ones I am seeing on a regular basis.

Here  is asclepias (Butterfly weed) looking nice.  I need to do some serious thinning of lots of plants in this bed.

I am delighted to find that a pair of bluebirds have taken up residence in one of our bird houses.  I have seen bluebirds in the neighborhood, but this is the first time they have nested in our yard.  Such beautiful, graceful birds.  They were in and out of the house today, making me think they may have babies to feed.

And corn, again

Here is a picture of the corn.  There are about fourteen stalks up so far.

This evening I planted a squash and a cucumber plant, both of which I grew from seeds.  I also put three beautiful bright red dianthus plants in the front bed, right next to the sidewalk.  

Corn is up

I planted 18 hills of corn last Monday afternoon.  Yesterday evening I saw about ten small stalks shooting up.  We are having several days of rain, everything is looking healthy.  We fertilized the spring blooming shrubs this weekend, and put out several dozen annuals. 

My other two gardenia bushes have started blooming. 

I have a variety of plants in seed cups, in the southern windows, including cucumber, squash, moon flower, sunflower and more herbs.  Ten tomato plants are in the ground, and I plan to put more in seed cups.  I am doing much more food stuff than I normally do.  Last year I had so much fun growing corn, I just had to do more this year.  I think we will have three patches, each planted two weeks apart.

Happenings

 For several years I have had a small gardenia bush in the back yard.  It is next to the wall, in a very protected place.  Twice I thought drought had killed it, but it survived.  It has never grown much, and never bloomed, until this week.  Today it has two blooms and several buds.  It must have liked the mild winter.

My peonies are budding now.  Usually they have lots of flowers, but it looks like it will just be a few this year.  Perhaps they did not like the mild winter?

This week I planted twelve tomato plants, basil, cilantro and parsley.  I also planted half the bed we have reserved for corn.  I hope to plant the rest of that bed this weekend.  We will also put out annuals this weekend.  Squash, cucumbers and more herbs are growing in seed pots inside.

I am uncertain how I will keep the yard tamed this summer.  Everything is growing far faster than I can manage to work with it.  But, is certainly is nice to have plenty of rain.