Some Garden Pictures

A few pictures of the garden. We lashed bamboo all day yesterday and built a sun shade structure for the veggies. Last year the Texas summer sun burnt everything up, so we are hoping to combat that a bit. Lots more mulch and a sun shade. We'll see how it works out. We may need another shade cloth, I got 30% but I'm thinking it might not be enough. The good thing is, the hard work is already done.

Putting up that structure was a lot of work but also alot of fun. I love it when we have a project where we can all work together. The girls helped pick out bamboo and then were our "helpers" - holding tools to hand to us, holding bamboo poles, keeping Mongo away, and allowing us to enjoy their laughter while they were swinging. Around the base of some of the poles I planted Morning Glory and Trailing Nasturtiums seeds. I also got some Petunias, Zinnias and Cosmos in there to help attract beneficial insects as well. I want to make a Mason bee house, so will hopefully get to that this afternoon.

Out front we put up tiki torches with citronella to help combat our horrible mosquito problem. Living by the lake is great, but we also have to deal with these issues. I love the way the torches look at night in the garden, and now am inspired to plant more white blooming plants that will reflect the glow of the fire light.

A few weeks ago we were gifted by my in-laws with a trip to this wonderful ranch, Bamberger Ranch, out in Blanco County. I'll put up a proper post devoted to just that ranch, but we had a wonderful time and that place is truly inspiring. Please go to their site and check out what they all do. Mr. Bamberger is quite the man! This was where I got my inspiration for the Mason bee houses, and where I also spent my birthday money on a birdhouse made by inner city school children. The children get to go to the ranch for free, and they make these houses to give back and help continue to fund the program, so I had no problem plopping my gift money down on one of these houses. And it's paid off as we have our first resident already hard at work on her nest! Everything we read said not to be surprised if it took a good year before someone found the house and decided it was the perfect residence. So you can imagine how exciting it is to have a little mama loving her new home.

We've also officially started our upside down tomatoes again this year. Last year we did well with one of the plants, so are hoping to have a repeat success, as well as be successful with the rest of our plants. The tomatoes last year didn't do so well with the heat. By this time last year we were well into 100 plus weather, so they didn't really stand a chance. This year, we have tried to plant them strategically in both the front and back so they get good sun but also some relief from it all. Crossing my fingers they all work out!

On a side note, I did in fact plant Sugar Pie Pumpkins seeds and a Halloween Mix. Let's see what happens!

So enjoy the photos (in no particular order) and remember to have a great day! Peace!!

Our newest member to the farm:

Tomatoes, peppers and potted mint:

Basil and bush beans:

Pumpkin blossom and friend:

I just love bamboo:

We got all this from a gal who was clearing it out of her yard. She put up an add on Craigslist and it was all free if we could haul it away. So we got a good van full of it.