May 23, 2016

The May Garden

The Knockout roses are finishing up their first flush of the season. I spent some time one evening snipping away the spent blossoms and they look neat and tidy now.

This is Bee Balm, but imagine it's a photo of a neat and tidy bed of Knock Out roses.
We allow the chickens to forage in the garden and I think they've been a real help in keeping the weeds down. But because they turn the mulch over so frequently, it's broken down quickly and we've had to add more.

Bee Balm again...but you can imagine a freshly mulched butterfly garden, can't you?
The real challenge of gardening with chickens is figuring out how to protect new plants from being dug up by all their scratching. I bought new milkweed and purple coneflower several weeks ago that need to go in the ground, but I've been holding off until I could come up with a good plan. I recently read that adding large stones around the base of new plantings will help. I think I'll try that and maybe add a wire cage for good measure.

You guessed it...Bee Balm...imagine whatever photo you think should be here.
The best of the flowers right now is the Bee Balm. It's been a literal bright spot in our garden during a week of clouds and rain. It teased us with buds for weeks and then...boom...an explosion of color!

Bee Balm...no imagination necessary.
Smile, it's Monday!

6 comments:

  1. Your photo captions made me chuckle and smile this morning. The Bee Balm is gorgeous.

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    1. Thanks, Nancy. I was hoping I'd make someone smile on a Monday morning.

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  2. What a great plant--just gorgeous!!

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    1. The hummingbirds have been enjoying it. I wish I could have gotten a picture of that, but you know those hummingbirds...never still for a picture.

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  3. Replies
    1. Very easy to grow, blooms in the spring, and comes back every year.

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