We've been working around the yard.

The front herb garden is usually mostly weeds with a few herbs here and there but if you didn't know what you were looking at you would think they were all weeds. The pond/fountain has been mostly frogs until Chris decided to get some fish. He wanted coy but they are so expensive and it is a very small pond so.... he is making due with gold fish. So far they are doing great. But... we think we have a cat fishing them because Chris found half a one laying on the ground.

Chris's fake coy fish pond.

We planted a few new herbs and picked the weeds from around others. Every year I add an herb or two. Some make it and other don't. I found a mint plant that I thought was dead growing in a completely different spot than where I had planted it. I planted some basil (that I can never get to grow) and sage. I have oregano and dill and garlic chives. I also put out some marigolds plants.

This is lavender.

Other plants just seem to come up in this herb flower garden on their own. Last year I was weeding and there was this pathetic looking little flower on a tiny little plant. Chris said pull it up it is a weed anyway. But I thought it was pretty and let it grow. Now I have this huge bush that is loaded every day with the prettiest flowers.

Wild flower! It is a blanket flower a type of sun flower native to Florida. About the size of a daisy.

We finished the garden. This year we went small and sweet. We've got strawberries planted and tomatoes, peppers, onions, squash, the usual. We may expand with some beans later in the season and it's too late for lettuce so... I may do some in a container where I can move it out of the heat.

Garden!

The blue berry bush is loaded. I hope the birds leave a few for me this year. It has a lot of air plants growing on all the branches. We are not in agreement as to whether these plants are harmful to the blue berry or not. So far it has a lot of berries not many leaves.

Blue berries!

So for the last few years we have not gotten a single orange off our orange bush. Why? Because of a tiny little snail. We bought this expensive organic snail killer they didn't seem to mind too much but then I learned a trick.....

Baby Orange!

If you save your egg shells and... grind them into a fine powder then sprinkle it around the plants afflicted with snails... it is like walking on glass for them. Their little slimy snail feet get all cut up and they go else where. So far it is working like a charm. And egg shell is good for adding calcium to the soil it's a win win for my orange tree.

egg shells

smashing them

turning them into powder.

Chris has been planting all the plants he had in containers around the house. We got two gardenia plants that my mom grafted from hers and a maple tree from  a seed that blew over from the neighbors yard also a fern palm thing my Aunt gave us, she thought would never live. All free stuff that is finally big enough to go in the ground. Also we acquired a banana tree but he has yet to put it in the ground.

Banana tree.

Gardenia

He also finally planted the mosquito bush. I hope it keeps the mosquito population down although I have heard it's mosquito shooing powers have been exaggerated. I first heard about this and have been saving every wild geranium in the yard but if they don't keep the mosquito's away I guess I will pull them up they don't really have flowers.

Geranium or mosquito bush.

The youngest daughter always complains about helping in the garden so she planted her own. It consist of sunflowers surrounded by pinwheels. Hey it's hard to get teens to do anything. 

V's garden!

Hope y'all got some work done in your yard. There is always something to do.