Today in the Garden

The Mystery Plant now spans over 4-feet across with each branch topped with one of these crowns. Photos of the plant have been emailed to a few plantsmen and experts who have said it is some kind of primrose. One said to dig it out and another said to wait until it blooms. We're waiting.

The strawberry bed is a small raised bed topped with straw. A drip irrigation system is built into the soil and connects to the hose from the edge of the bed.

The baby's breath came up from seed planted last year. The lavender flower is a native that was planted a year or two ago. Now it's almost 3-feet tall and covered with flowers loved by bees, butterflies and their relatives. That corner of the flower bed is always busy. While I was focusing the camera and macro lens, I was being buzzed the entire time.

Only one kind of tomatoes is being attacked by slugs so pans of beer were put into place after watering this morning. The greens are also being nibbled on but they can still be harvested.

Bunnies or someone else snacked on the lavender to the point that they became 2-inch stubs. Being topped with strawberry baskets for a few days gave the plants a chance to fill out again.

I planted 20 or so Asclepias tuberose (milkweed) seedlings in several spots around the beds in the hope that next year they will bring migrating Monarch butterflies to our yard.

Happy gardening is easier now that plants are taking hold and flowers are blooming.