The garden is coming along fantastically, but I have been running into some things that I need to add, change or discard. I have a small handful of photos to share.
To begin, the day I put my first set of plants in (tomato, jalapeño, bell peppers, cabbage, lettuce, & broccoli) I noticed all of the ants. Two years ago, I planted green beans for the post, 15 seeds. Six of those sprouted. I KNOW the ants ate them because the area was infested. So when I saw the ants, I was reminded of my experience two years ago. I decided to take some action this year! That's right, I'm in charge of my garden.
A person could search all day long on remedies to rid the ants, but I tried one that I found in one of my perennial books and adjusted the recipe of destruction. :) The book suggested 3 cups of water, 1 cup of white sugar and 4 tsp of liquid boric acid. Bring these to a boil and pour into small containers. The other suggestion was Borax and icing sugar – equal parts. I used the latter, however, I chose white sugar instead of icing. I totally messed that part up, but ants ate like mad. Hopefully some of the Borax was ingested (and administered to the QUEEN!). I didn't seen ants in the garden yesterday when I looked, but I'll be planting seeds today and I will get a closer look.
I hate bugs. I hate them with a passion, but I love flowers and food so I must come to a truce so I'm able to work the garden. Several plants bring beneficial bugs to the garden (and some eat the bad bugs!) so I am trying to plant those. Since I'm broke, I'm starting everything from seed. Plus, it's more fun to watch the growth from the beginning stages of a plant. At any rate, what I just learned is that Chrysanthemum (Daisy) deters ALL bad bugs! I planted two of them in front of my broccoli and cabbage.
A list of other plants that attract beneficial bugs are:
Ajuga, Aster, Black-eye-susan, Butterfly weed, Coneflower (Echinacea), Feverfew, Goldenrod, Marguerite, Monarda (which is somewhat invasive), Speedwell, Thyme, Yarrow, Clover, Dandelion, Dill, Fennel, Lavender, LEMON BALM (which I have seeds for), Lovage and Queen Anne's Lace.
Hummingbirds are also beneficial for the garden because they eat insects! I have a Hummingbird feeder hanging near the garden post and I am setting up some pots on the high posts full of “Dreams Burgundy” Petunia. Apparently the birds are drawn to this plant for nectar. (I plan to dig in the gold stone for the garden entrance in the next couple of days.)
I also planted “Red Star” Petunia in 10 pots along the front of the house. This is somewhat of a problem area because it's shade most of the day and then from about 2:30 pm on the sun creeps along the front of the house and boils up the area! HOT. I tried shade plants there, but it's just too sunny at the end of the day. I love terracotta color so those are the pots I chose, matching the mocha house or not, I wanted it. :)
For the deciduous shade garden, I planted Vincas, Mimulus and Impatients. The mimulus is a guess because the label in the plant said it needed different light from the sign on the table they were sold on. They were in the greenhouse so I am inclined to think they would do better in the shade. I'll just keep fertilizing them and see what comes of it.
And finally, the mystery plant bloom REVEALED! California Orange Poppy! I hated the foliage at the beginning of the year, but thought twice before I weeded this creepy looking stuff. I have been weeding this poppy flower out of the garden for two years. I am uncertain whether it calls to beneficial insects or not. I did brush off a squash bug though. I think it was a squash bug at any rate. I will keep a close watch out, of course, to see what insects it brings in. But it is BEAUTIFUL! Ed loves the orange color too. :)
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