Earlier this spring I set out to prepare my raised bed gardens to plant a variety of vegetables. I was quite pleased to find that the soil was in perfect condition for the growing season, since winter cover crops had brought valuable organic nutrients to the garden.
Recently, I planted a new butterfly garden about a hundred feet from my house. I love it and each morning I go down with my coffee, look around and admire the new plants that I envision will attract a gazillion butterflies in the months and years to come.
There are several cultivars of this perennial flower commonly known as the Black Eyed Susan. One of the cultivars you have most likely seen in the landscape and nurseries is R. hirta Indian Summer' which gained popularity in 1995 as a winner from the All-American Selections.
I have grown blueberries, Vaccinium sp., in containers for several years. I lost one plant and had to replace it. I found Top Hat' a variety that is dwarf, which is perfect for containers or in a small garden.
Long ago, I learned the importance of labeling my plants even when I was confident that I would remember what I planted and where. It turns out that my confidence was gravely misplaced too many times.
I have quite a few potted plants, and right now I wish they were all in the ground. The heat and the UV are stressing them and me. This summer's weather has tested my methods of trying to keep potted plants alive in ways that no other summer seems to have accomplished.
Traveling is always an eye-opening experience; we learn so much and gather so many new and inspiring ideas. Our summer in British Columbia continues to be filled with such eye-opening surprises. We are staying in a lovely area of Surrey, BC called Ocean Park/Crescent Beach.
As you can see, my closed terrarium experiment was a success! For those who didn't happen to catch my first blog about this terrarium, my son and I decided to try to make one after seeing multiple social media posts about creating one. Here is the link to that blog. https://ucanr.
