Hey All,
It's been a super busy year. Been very lax in posting. The last post of 2020 I showed a couple pictures of bears.
Well, this Spring those bears showed up with friends galore. Oh Lordy, you'll see from pictures they completely destroyed one of our bee yards.
As it was, we only had 10 hives out of 32 survive the winter and then the bear strike. I'm not a happy camper.
The weather this summer has been odd. May was 'normal' - some hot days, but mostly in 70's. Then June hit hot and dry - less than 1" of rain month of June. Highly unusual, June is typically a rainy month for us. July has been extremely wet this year. Again highly unusual - July and August are typically very dry - drought conditions. We've had more rain than sun of late.
It's already mid August - where has the time gone? Seems the older I get the faster time flies. Lordy Day. Below are some pics of the bear damage and the early Spring garden.
Daylilies will be featured in next post.
Varieties this year:
Amish Paste
Burpees Farmstand
Glacier ** new for me this year
Momotaro ** new for me this year
Pruden's Purple
Rutgers
Siletz ** new for me this year
Sun Gold cherry tomato
Wisconsin 55
Peppers
California Wonder
Intruder
Revolution
Early Spring Snow Fountain weeping cherry
Allium
Onions from Dixondale Farm TX
Onions planted
Heat Mats ready to go
I start my seeds in Proptek tray. At about one month, I transplant to 4" pot.
Tomatoes ready to be planted. Note: I harden off plants prior to planting out in the garden.
Tomatoes planted week of May 23, 2021
Hope everyone is doing well during these uncertain times. As I write this blog today, it's 72F outside with beautiful bright skies. Did I say it's November 10th? Wow! Hard to believe just a few weeks ago, October 30th, we had our first snow of the season. It was short lived as the next week we had temps in the 60's. The bears have been active. Two days now (11/18th), I woke to my feeders on the ground. Guess I'll have to wait a bit longer to put the feeders out. I've been busy blowing leaves out of the flower beds and prepping the yard for winter. The Adirondack chairs are wrapped in the winter 'coats'. Wrought iron table n chairs have been tarped. Putting the garden to bed for a long winter's sleep. Well, I'm finally wrapping up this post November 20th. Take Care all. Hope you have an amazing day.
These photos were taken 15mins apart. Looks like a smaller female took down my feeder followed by a much larger male.
Fall Maple tree
Maple Tree
Living up to her name 'Autumn Frost' still going strong after several frosty nights.
Climbing hydrangea on maple tree
Harbor pond
Hollis, NH maple trees
Backyard maple
First snow of 2020 Winter season.
Autumn Frost still holding strong even after being covered in snow.
Blue Princess Holly
Bloodgood Japanese Maple
Japanese Maple
And suddenly, it's October. It's October 4th today; the clouds are moving in and looks like we'll finally have some rain. Fingers crossed as we're still in a drought. Not much new happening here in southern NH. I haven't seen our hummingbirds in a couple days now; a sign that fall truly is here. Here's a few pictures from around the garden today.
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Beehives were busy this morning working on building their reserves for winter.
Canyon Road rose -- love this rose. Red doesn't photograph well for me. This rose is a sultry, velvety red. Doesn't show well in the photo.
And, check out the foliage on this rose. As an experiment, I purposefully did not fertilize or spray this rose this season. As you can see, no disease. Especially no blackspot which is usually an issue in my garden.
Apricot Peach mix strawflowers I started from Johnny's seeds this past spring. Still blooming here in early October.
The bees were busy this past spring pollinating the blue princess hollies. (Note: you need both a male and a female holly to get berries).
Bees loving the late season cosmos.
Where did summer go? It's a common question I ask myself each year. And, this year of all years has been a difficult one for many people with the covid 19 forever changing our lives. No longer will I take even the simplest things for granted. I want to keep this blog upbeat as a respite from these uncertain times we are experiencing.
I can't believe I completely zoned out from updating this blog July and August. Here in southern NH we've been in a drought - very little precipitation all of June, July and August. Despite little to no rain, mulching helped greatly this year along with some supplemental watering - very little as we've been under a ban (odd / even days).
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dc0145a https://www.youtube.com/user/d...
Here's some pictures from daylily season.
First to bloom this year Harbor Gate - an oldie but goodie. This one was still blooming end of July.
Love this one from Bill Waldrop - Burnt Hickory
Exotic Love
Forsyth Catawba
Forsyth Flaming Snow
Jody Ann My fav pink from the late Ron Valente
Katie Sue Herrington
Lake Norman Spider
One of my all time favorites Late To The Party.
I can't get enough of this late bloomer.
Another of Bill Waldrop's Lydia's Regal Robe
Pink Aloha love this one
Primal Scream Another fav
Southern Shiner - A real stunner from Heidi Douglas
Swallow Tail Kite -- look close you'll see a goldenrod crab spider in center.
Tangerine Supreme
Westbourne Little Lamb
Wild Horses what can I say? Phenomenal!
Late season hosta bed
It's already June 28th; where did the Spring go? Next week we'll be into July.
As I get older, seems time passes so much faster. Am I imagining this, or is it really a thing? Who knows?
We're still in a drought here in southern NH. Haven't had any rain (other than a few drizzles) in over a month.
Time for a Rain Dance --- Please Mother Nature bring the rain.
Update on HoneyBees
The hives are exploding; don't know where they're finding all this pollen and nectar. We've been busy splitting hives this time of year. And, with splitting hives, comes time to purchase new queens. Yes, I know we don't have to purchase queens, we could insure the bees have larvae and let the girls make their own queen. Or, with luck find a queen cell and place that in the newly split hive. But, patience is not my virtue. Our summers are short here in the Northeast and we don't have the luxury of time. We were finally able to get our hands on some of Joe May's genetics (Little Bits Honey Bees IN). We are thrilled with these girls from Little Bits Honey Bees. This past week we also added new queens from Singing Cedars Apiaries VT. Happy Dance.
And suddenly, it's Rose season.
I don't know the name of this one. It's a once blooming climber from Heirloom Roses (planted about 15years ago).
What's interesting with this rose is the different shades in each bloom. No two are alike. You'd think it was a different rose.
Found this spider on my rose; it's preying on some sort of small bee.
Golden Rod Crab Spider (Misumena vatia species)
Chuckles (Shepherd, 1958)
Late June hosta bed
Northern Catalpa. Love this tree, but be forwarned it's blossoms leave a mess on the lawn and the long 'beans' in the Fall will also leave quite a mess.
Paul's Himalayan Musk
Siberian Iris
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Hope you all have an amazing day.
