We are growing a limited selection of edible things (mostly herbs, and attempting a few varieties of chili pepper) in containers on the deck. We may step that up next year, because the very local organici-ish farm where we used to get our produce and eggs has been sold off to become a housing development. :(
The herbs are doing fine -- we'll see how well they hold up in the heat, which will likely depend on how often I remember to water them.
The peppers seem to be flowering and setting fruit, but some of the nascent fruits are falling (or being knocked) off. My containers seem to be very popular with the chipmunks, so it's possible that the peppers are a casualty of chipmunks rooting around in the pots. Otherwise, I'm not sure why they'd drop. Anyone have experience growing chilis?
Otherwise, we mostly do native-ish and pollinator-focused plant gardening, with a few non-native plants that were here when we bought the house (and the invasive weedy things we haven't been able to eradicate). Our "lawn" mostly consists of violets (which I love) and ground ivy (which some insects love, and I can't get rid of). The heavy-clay soil is being aerated by moles, though not as evenly as we'd like.
Early-to-mid-June is a bit of lull in flowering things: the early-season woodland wildflowers are long done, and the late-summer prairie plants haven't gotten going yet. At the moment, the following plants are putting on a good show:
- coral honeysuckle vines (Lonicera sempervirens, var. Major Wheeler),
- beebalm (Monarda didyma), which the hummingbirds love,
- great coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima), and
- butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
The common milkweed stalks have buds, and looks like it should flower soonish, if the deer don't munch off the flower heads. Have I mentioned that the deer here eat
everything, including the plants they're allegedly supposed to avoid? They eat milkweed leaves (toxic), lobelia (toxic), etc.
Our first monarch caterpillar has stopped eating and formed a "J" and should pupate this afternoon. (Yay!)
The spicebush swallowtail caterpillars in our sassafras shrubs (but not in our spicebush!) have been making leaf-tacos, which is where they hang out when they're not munching, but they seem to be disappearing one by one, and it's probably not because they're pre-pupal. They are fascinating and hugely entertaining as temporary "pets" on a stem of sassafras in a bottle, but after having one overwinter as a chrysalis and then not emerge in the spring...or summer (despite being kept in a ventilated aquarium outside -- maybe too dry?), I've stopped bringing them inside at all. Probably at this time of year they wouldn't try to overwinter, anyway, but I don't want to take responsibility for them if I can't be sure I know how to care for them properly.
Thursdays' Child, I love box turtles! In the decade we've lived here, I've only seen them about 3 times, but I like when they put in an appearance. (They don't seem to be a major player in the Things That Eat My Plants category.) I always wonder how old they are.
