Turkey Creek Garden

The weather here in North Louisiana has been fabulous and Turkey Creek Garden is happy!

The roses have been putting on a show.  This one is Fourth of July and really does make me think of  a big fireworks display.

The new additions to the garden this year are the chicken coop...

and patio area.

These vintage chairs are so rusty no one would want to sit in them, but they will be getting a face lift later this summer.  The wall space between the windows needs something, the bench needs a bit of help, and I am thinking of staining the gray cement pavers, but there will be lots of cool, summer mornings to get all of that done.

The squash are covered in net to prevent the squash borer moth from getting to them to lay their eggs. Protecting squash is a top priority here at TCG because what is summer without fried squash and a cold beverage?

**OK, so I wrote this post before going to the MG event in Hammond. While there I asked the pest expert how long I should keep my net on my squash to protect against the squash borer moth. He got this "you poor idiot" look on his face and said, "The net will do a great job keeping out the moths, but it will also keep out all of the pollinators so you better rip it off as soon as you got home!!"
  Yeah, you think you know something and get a little big for your britches about it and WHAM life doles out a good dose of "come uppance".

New potatoes in the front of this bed, eggplant in the middle and cucumbers running up the trellis in the back.  We are having a "new potato contest" this year - potatoes grown in the ground vs. potatoes grown in a tower.

Potato towers are made of a cylinder of wire (mine has a diameter of about 24") that is layered with soil and hay.  The potatoes are planted between the layers and grow out the sides of the tower.  To harvest, you just open the wire and the middle is filled with new potatoes.  It will be fun to see which method yields more potatoes.

I moved the herbs to their own area of the garden this year.  They had previously been interspersed with the vegetables, but had gotten a little rambunctious and started taking over.

Our cool weather and plentiful rain have prolonged the cool-weather flowers such as snapdragons and pinks.

A new discovery in the garden this year is a mulberry tree!!  It has been in the back corner of the garden, but it was in over gown area that we really didn't use that much.  When we cleaned that area out for the chicken coop, I noticed it for the first time. I had no idea what it was, so I turned to my Master Gardener friends for help and they quickly identified it for me.

James favorite iris is blooming.  It is called Caveman and is nearly white with a purplish gray beard.

The grapes are doing well and the first tomatoes are on the vine. 

Life is good!

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Coffee. Garden. Coffee. Does a good morning need anything else?

 ~Betsy Cañas 

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. 

~Margaret Atwood

One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. 

~W.E. Johns, The Passing Show

Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans. 

~Marcelene Cox