I'm really liking my new concrete mesh fencing. We needed something to contain the dogs in the front yard but didn't want to put a lot of work into the project. We just pounded some rebar into the ground and attached the mesh to it. I like that you can't really see it but we can hang bird feeders and garlic to dry. And yes, I know I need to get out there and do some weeding...

Getting to the end of the season.

I hung some koi windsocks along the garden fence to help keep the deer out (hopefully).

They're used in Japan to celebrate Boy's Day. It's been a Boy's Day festival everyday at this house for a couple of decades but soon it'll just be an occasional thing.

Well, the week ended with a mountain lion sedated in my neighbor's driveway. It was a young girl who had been tagged before so who knows what will happen to her. She must be interested in all the deer and little dogs around.

While all the police/open space ranger hub bub was going on, some kind of hawk perched on the fence post but she got away safely.

And the bees left our yard because the keeper wanted to move them to some field where the second alfalfa bloom was starting. After he left, I discovered a nice little jar of honey on the front stoop. Funny, we had gotten attached to the little buzzers.

Today, some chard and radishes are going into the garden.

My interest in vernacular art has been growing and I've been considering becoming a full blown eccentric with the yard. I love the wolf in sheep's clothing and that waving mannequin in the background. At the very least, we're looking into scarecrows to decorate the garden area.

Photo from http://beautyeveryday.com/

The zinnas came back in force with a little attention.

The garden is awash in chicory this year. Maybe all the moisture?

I moved an old compost heap to a new location and planted cherry tomatoes and potatoes where it used to be. What a prolific crop! This is next the fence along our property perimeter so I secured some wire fencing over the top to keep the deer out. They love, love, love my tomato plants. Seems to have worked. We got some Yukon Gold potatoes from last year's kitchen trimmings, too.

After a month away in Hollywood, I'm back to summer in Colorado. This has been probably the wettest season in years and everything is lush! The grape vines have taken off and actually have a few little grapes (first time so far). The garden that I left behind was virtually untended so the first few days back, I spent sorting out the weeds from the plants. So far the onions & cherry tomatoes have been the most successful crops but I haven't given up on the cabbage and eggplants.

The bees seem have been quite busy. Funny what long shadows they cast. Nice to be home.

Boulder is settling down and getting ready for winter.  Today was in the 50's, warm enough for some yard work but now the chill and clouds are rolling in.  Snow clouds have a particular look to them and these are a little too high to qualify.  

This year, I've taken control of my yard and I'm asking more out of it.  A second compost heap is next to the north fence and it's filled with leaves from all over town.  Sugar borrowed the rototiller that we gave to a friend and broke open an area to garden that's about 6'x24'.  When we fence it in against the deer,  the dogs will have a larger yard to sniff around and protect from evil joggers and strollers.

I'm going to be a mother-in-law!  I have 10 months to get used to the idea.  I'm lucky to have a lovely daughter-in-law-to-be.

We had a bumper crop of apples in Boulder this year.  These are the few that the squirrels didn't sample.

A neighbor down the street, is an artist and a gardener. For years I've walked by her Christmas tree farm and we bought some honey from her hives which was pretty tasty. Last year she gave away a bunch of plants from her garden and I got a rose bush and some sort of vine that are doing well in my yard. This year, she is giving away trees! I picked up a Russian Hawthorne and an Acer Maple. What a lovely person to have around.

Summer is in full swing (now that June 20th has come and gone) and that means chores galore.  We did start painting the house last week but as is our usual custom, the next phase still hasn't been scheduled.  It does look better if you don't focus on the splotches on the unpainted trim.  Besides the house, no huge home improvement projects this year unless I decide to paint the downstairs area.

We packed 5000sf worth of houses this week and even with the stifling heat, it went well.  Suddenly we are the less expensive option, maybe because we haven't raised prices with the gas hike.   Still making money, though.

The garden has exploded with color  and I'm looking at sweet peas, yarrow, chocolate flower and Mexican Sage and roses, butterfly flower, those little purple bell-shaped flowers and the honeysuckle.  And  potentilla.  And one day lily that the deer missed.

I've been busy getting the condo ready to rent again. Today, an ad went onto Craigslist and we've already gotten 3 calls even with a $75 increase! It's a landlord's market here with a low, low vacancy rate so we're going to make up for the last year or so.

Meanwhile, lots of visitors in the yard. Honey caught the fawns in the yard yesterday and today. The bird bath on the fence rail is about waist high so you can see he's really little.



And the squirrel is at it again. This one looks like he's mooning me as he dives down through the top of the feeder. The hinge door on the top was a no-brainer for this little fella. I was waiting for him to get stuck upside down.

Most of my gardening musings are at my other blog but I am so proud of this little rose that I'm posting it on the blog that people actually visit. This sweet thing is a rugosa rose, one of a bunch of ditch roses that I nudged into my side of the fence and nurtured over the last 20 years. This one is in an area where my dear Yard Man, Sugar, can't accidentally mow or step on and it's blooming verily this year. First rose of the season in my garden. Who knew they were scented?

If you're looking for a reason to drive to Boulder, this is the time to come to Long's Garden.  When I first moved to Boulder, it was Wintertime, all brown and dry so when Spring came along I was delighted to see this colorful expanse up the street on Broadway.   There are so many yards and gardens with irises in the area and this is the reason why.  I have a couple of dozen and I'm not sure where I got them, except they were all thinnings from other people.

While you're here, go a little further north to Harlequin's Gardens if you're interested in native plants.   This business seemed to start off as a labor of love in the 90's and and developed from a scruffy little operation open on the weekends to a well thought-of establishment open most of the week.  If you go, drive to the end of the dirt road for some great views of the Front Range north of Boulder.

image from http://longsgardens.com

Lately I've been spending my free time at my other blog or out in the garden or knitting for newborns for the Women's Auxiliary project.

I just joined a listserve about local gardening and got a heads up about this event at Denver Botanical Garden: 'IN YOUR FACE: Ethics and Urban Ecology'. It costs $18 for DBG members, $21 for non members; April 1 at 7:00PM. Call 720-865-3580 to register. I'm not familiar with this guy, but just felt like giving a plug for the DBG.