Engaging the Enemy!!

I'm at War!!

Here in Minnesota we have these somewhat innocuous bugs called Box Elder Bugs, they don't bite or sting or anything… but I get them in such huge quantity (thanks to the woods which have Box Elder Trees) that they end up getting in the house (ugh!), at times dropping onto the dining room table during a meal (yuck!)… I get them by the millions (not an exaggeration) & they have at times latched onto & killed plants trying to come back in Spring (I lost a couple this year)….

Ok, now perhaps you understand why I'm at War…  I've been on a murdering rampage, with spray bottle of dish soap & water in hand (kills the bugs not the plants) for about a week now, with hardly a dent… so today I got out the big artillery - an Ortho "Dial N Spray" with some dish soap hooked to my hose.  I sprayed all the gardens, the two sides of the house where the enemy had been spotted, etc… I even sprayed a Box Elder Tree that is near my deck…

A couple hours later, I ventured outside, and there are still some living… sigh… the war will continue…

In the mean time…

I saw this little winged beauty as I was walking around a local garden center… but she wasn't for sale so I didn't get to take her home… isn't she just a gorgeous redhead!!

Scabiosa - Butterfly Blue

A new Perennial for my yard, in an area that is predominantly in the purple & gold tones (I inherited it that way)… I think the original gardener may have been going for Minnesota Vikings colors...

Echinacea - Sombrero Sandy

Another new Perennial & my first Coneflower… hope she likes her spot on the Mound!!

Here's hoping that there is Peace in your gardens, and that Peace will return to my gardens quickly!!

What's a Gardener to do?

I have recently moved a bunch of plants out of this section of the garden into more permanent locaitons (Perennials)... this is the area that I was using to try out some new plants... this is also the "boggy" spot in the garden...

Not to worry... I transplanted the Phlox in the corner as well...

So I was off again to my local garden store to find something temporary to put here for the remainder of the growing season... Seeing that its a boggy spot it would have been ideal for Cucumbers, but it was too late in the year to get any, so I settled for some pretty color that should last until the snow flies (I know, I used the "S" word, bad me)...

Two nice Ornamental Peppers (not for consumption), and two colorful Celosia...

I think they look nice here... they certainly improve the look of this spot!!

What's Growing On Lately...

Things continue to grow and change as Summer marches along, though I have to say the last couple days feel more like Fall... Brrr!!

On July 7th I posted about a bunch of new plants I'd purchased & planted... this is an update on the Annuals I planted... all still blooming & growing wonderfully!!

Rose Glow Landmark

Pentas Graffiti Violet

Atlantis Heliotrope

Purple Archangel

Compare to where they started (pic from July 7th post):

They've really done well... I've not been disappointed at all, these are definitely ones to consider again for future years' plantings.

In other garden news... I've got Babies!!...

Baby Tomatillo... isn't it cute?

That's right, my Tomatillos that I started from seeds are finally producing fruit... the plants are about 5' tall, and these little guys are starting to pop out... Can't wait.... Yum!!

Finally, first real sign that Fall is approaching faster than I'm ready to admit...

Yep... my tall grasses are starting to bloom... these blooms will fuzz-out nicely in Fall & the grass should dry out & stand tall all the way through Winter, that is unless we get an early wet heavy snow that lasts for more than a few days... But I'm not ready to start thinking about Fall yet...

Movin' & Shakin'

Never one to just leave things alone...  I decided to do away with some troublesome plants & put in some new things... besides, Perennials are inexpensive right now & its a good time to get things into the garden & established before the season is over... so I bought a few new plants...

Then I went through the process of removing troublemakers... There were multiple Liatris which were poorly located, and no good locations to move them to, so away they went... not to worry, still have a couple in the garden where they work well!  The Russian Sage on my Mound had decided to try to invade all the surrounding land... lets just say I've won the war, there is no more Russian Sage on the Mound; however, I still have one nice large specimen left in another part of the gardens... Now on to the new friends...

I wanted more Bee Balm, this one is a deeper red than my other one & on the opposite side of the mound... this should appease my Bumble Bees who are mourning the loss of their Russian Sage...

Another Phlox, this is a nice tall specimen with larger-than-usual blooms... love the color too!  I have 4 other new Phlox that I planted as well... just don't have pictures to show this time...

Then there is the new Beardtongue specimen, its got a very pretty Bright Pink color...

Also new is a low-to-the-ground variety of Campanula, I already had a Purple variety, so I got a White specimen this time...

Finally, now that I've figured out how to keep them from being eaten (Deer Scram), I got one more Aster - I already had Purple & Pink, this one is White... she'll be blooming soon!!

I also moved several plants that I'd tried out in the side yard (Phlox, Beardtongue, Jacob's Ladder, Mallow, and Obedient Plan) into places in the garden where I'd removed some naughty plants... but seeing that I'm having trouble with my Mac I'm keeping my photos to a minimum (working on my iPad & having to blog in an unconventional manner)... Well that's the latest plantings....

Isn't She Lovely...

I know you may find her creepy... but I think she's beautiful!!

Besides, she keeps the gnats & mosquitos down... and as long as she doesn't sneek up on me she doesn't frighten me...

Note:posts may be "odd" for a while, I'm having problems with my Mac & I'm trying to do things "Mobile"... but things are being difficult... limping along :(

Making New Friends...

Summer keeps moving along, and progress is happening on some fronts…

Beefeater Tomatoes… can't wait!!

Roma's too… Mmmm!!

My Tomatoes are finally starting to put out some fruit & I'm getting excited, they always taste so much better home grown!!

This little visitor is new & is likely a juvenile since its not very big & is all gray-green in color (we get Red Throated Hummingbirds in this part of the country & these were a bit on the small side).  Two different times I had one fly up & hover about 3 feet in front of my face, just looking at me, talk about exciting… they move so quickly that this shot was the best I could get (he/she was enjoying my honeysuckle)… I have a hummingbird feeder set up now, so I'm hoping they'll stick around, we'll see!

This guy at the feeder nearly had me thinking I had a new type of bird in the yard… this is a House Sparrow (which I've been told is actually a type of Finch) that just happens to be quite brightly colored & appeared a bit larger than the ones I usually see… a large colorful male.

Mallow, new this season, continues to put out blooms…

Jacob's Ladder, also new this season, is continuing to bloom…

The Mallow & Jacob's Ladder may get moved into other spots, they are doing well & could take over for other plants that aren't… but I kinda like them where they are… so I'm a bit torn...

This Phlox has been showing off lately… she's so happy I figured out what to use to keep the bunnies from eating her alive, and she's showing her appreciation by blooming like crazy…

I'm continuing to get pretty pink & white blooms from my Carnival Weigela… not as profuse as her early season bloom but nice...

The Bumble Bees are the reason why I'm torn about getting rid of my Veronica… she's a pretty girl, but temperamental… I've got 2 of my 3 that I'm ready to give up on… sometimes they get downright unsightly & my patience is wearing thin!

My Spirea are blooming again….

I'm glad to see the Spirea put out a nice second round of blooms… its always a shame that the blooms fade so quickly...

A sure sign that Fall is not far away, my tall decorative grasses have started to bloom… in a way I'm sad, I just didn't get everything done this year that I'd have liked, but at the same time I'm happy I don't have to keep up my garden all year round (I like getting a break)…

Another sign that Fall is coming sooner than we think: Perennial Sales!!

That's right, its finally gotten to that time in the season where the local garden centers are putting their plants on sale… just in time to get them in the garden to replace the naughty plants that I've decided need to go…  So I'm shifting gears just a bit, and working out what to get & where to locate them… hmmm…  Now that I've figured out what to do to keep my Phlox from getting eaten I'm going to plant a few new friends I found on sale… I like these happy flowers!!

A Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

Wow!!  Wow, I mean WOW!!!!

I'd never seen anything like this before…

Is it a moth, or a bee, it flies & acts like a hummingbird but doesn't have feathers… its visiting my flowers like a bee… it kinda looks like a moth, but then again it doesn't…

So I took a half dozen pics, you're seeing the best of my pics here… I did some research and I found out its a "Hummingbird Clearwing Moth", follow the link if you'd like more specific info.  From what I read mine is a big guy… he was about 1.25" long, with a wingspan of around 2.5".

Wow… I mean WOW!!

More Fluttery Action...

So today's been one of those days when the birds are being very active… in addition to being hyper at the feeders there have been several who have flown into our windows… no injuries yet, not quite sure what it is about today… Is it a full moon??

I took advantage of the situation & got a couple more cute pictures… so enjoy!

Goldfinch, female, still pretty but not quite as stunning as her male counterpart… she's dead center in the picture if you're having trouble spotting her…

This Chickadee was taking advantage of the window-mounted feeder… so I took advantage of the proximity & got a close-up…  The food in this feeder should attract the Goldfinch as well, perhaps I'll get a closeup of one of them someday…

As it is my camera was acting up (wouldn't focus) & it took me a while to figure out the problem (lens needed to be cleaned), so I missed some opportunities for some additional pictures…

Gotcha!!

Yesterday I was bummed out because I'd been unable to capture some visiting friends… today I caught a couple of them with my camera… not great pictures, I had to zoom in a lot because I was taking them from inside the house (to keep from scaring them away).

Goldfinch at the feeder...

Another shot of this pretty guy...

Red Winged Blackbird… he'd been at the Suet.

Squirrel at the Peanut feeder

Happy Squirrel!!

I'm still hoping to catch a House Finch & some Cardinals…  crossing fingers & keeping my camera handy!!