Summers are always busy!
I obviously missed posting weekly (yes...I wish I posted weekly...doing very badly for 2021).
To avoid an overwhelming post recapping my life, I am planning to post for the next three days. Maybe it will happen. (The weather forecast is rain).
First...the majority of my time has been spent on my landscaping projects.
I tackled an area at the front of our acre. We have this boulder that was needing some company so I gathered hefty round rocks from around our lot plus every now and then a round rock got delivered with the fractured rock I bought.
It has been three weeks since I took the above picture and I can't believe how much the plants have taken to their new space.
My biggest project was to fix the part of our yard that was destroyed by the installation of a new septic tank two years ago. I am happy to say I have officially finished that area.
My septic engineer said it was fine to rock around the man hole covers so...I did.
The new raised bed at the base of the birch tree gets lots of sunshine so I put in 12 blueberry bushes. I have 11 blueberry bushes on the side of the house and there are never enough berries to freeze. I think blueberries are the favorite fruit in the Bailey house.
In the photo below, the mechanical box on the side of the house is the brains of our septic system. This whole section of my existing landscape got torn up in the new installation so I made some major changes when I reworked the space. I widened and raised the walkway so it was level with the rocked slope to the right. I also widened the fractured rock area and added metal tubs for some future plantings. I did add a few shrubs...we'll see how they weather the winter.
And here is the rock left over. I used all of the huge pile of gravel.
I will use the leftover rock to start adding tiers for planting on the little grassy hill which I hope to get started this year. Mostly, it will be a big project for next summer.
My garden has been very productive. I am able to grow beautiful broccoli but I only have a little bit left to harvest. I grew cauliflower for the first time but the slugs hijacked it...darn.
My red cabbage is slowly growing. August is our rainy month and sometimes the slugs ruin my cabbage. I have no idea what to do about slugs. Any suggestions for this year or upcoming years would be appreciated. I've tried to look online for ideas but I never feel like I've found a good solution. I don't want to use chemicals.
I have a large bed of carrots and beets. I'm so excited as I can see the little orange and purple tops of the plants poking out of the soil. I also started a strawberry bed and have gotten a handful of berries to eat.
Last year I started a second perennial bed in our backyard. It's doing great despite the occasional visits from moose. They don't eat the plants but they do walk right through the middle of the bed and sometimes right on top of the plants.
I love my tub wall in the photo below.
That was Phase I in my landscaping saga. I think I am on Phase XI now.
My first perennial bed on the left side of the photo is getting crowded. Next spring I will have to do some rearranging and dividing of plants. (I already did some of that last year which is how I started the second perennial bed).
I have a sloped area that I have been striving to clear for a couple of summers.
This little slope gets lots of great sun.
Right now I am leaning toward trying to propagate some more blueberry bushes from cuttings of my plants to cover this area.
And finally...a visitor.
My DIL snapped this photo as she was going down our driveway.
Funny thing is we had spent most of her visit outside walking all over the lot.
At least the bear did put in an official appearance for her.
We've had three black bears regularly sighted on our street this summer.
The dogs have gotten a lot of barking exercise.
Oh...and the other big summer project that only required money...was the installation of 22 solar panels on our roof. We can monitor our energy production on an app...pretty fun stuff. One of our neighbors only had a $9.00 electric bill last month. It's a big expense upfront but we do plan to live here forever.
I've heard others really like the solar panels, we are already nearing 70 so think we wouldn't get our money's worth now to consider the initial expense. I have heard some people say they spread coffee grounds around the plants and that it repels slugs - I haven't tried it. You sure have been putting in a lot of landscaping time - looks pretty
ReplyDeleteYou certainly have been very busy this summer with all your landscaping projects. Love how you are using all the rocks in your garden projects.
ReplyDeleteRE: Slugs
ReplyDeletePut out bowls of beer, best in the evening and leaving overnight. Make sure it is at least 2 inches deep. Slugs will be attracted to them, fall in and drown. Buy the cheapest available - brand does not matter. Husband even tried non-alcoholic beer once, and that worked too. Be prepared to be grossed out the first few mornings at the slug filled bowl. I dump them onto the compost pile, and it does not seem to hurt it. After a while the slugs will become fewer, so then I begin moving the bowls away from the plants I want to protect, on the theory that it might be attracting slugs from farther away. You can always return the bowls if slugs come back. If animals try to drink it, they are usually repelled by the slug odor/taste. Once my son's greedy Pomeranian did dash out and take a couple of laps from the slug bowl, then ran with her tongue hanging out to the water bowl. You could almost hear her saying "Yuk,ack,ick,yuk!!!" She only did it once.
Just found your blog. Really delightful. Best of luck - Laura S.