Project: Projects!

My apologies for not offering you a project for the month of July. The truth is we are overwhelmed with projects! Our biggest ongoing project is our new back porch. We hired professionals to help with this project. First we needed to get rid of the existing back deck. I also had to move any plants I wanted to save beforehand, but I am hoping that the new structure will put a serious dent in the Bishop's Weed – although I have visions of it growing right up through the floor!

Existing back deck early spring.

Digging up plants.

We had to apply for a variance with the village so we could make the new structure the full width of the back of our house. This sign sat in our yard for a few weeks.

The back deck was surprisingly gone within just a couple of hours!

Then, the professionals took over and the new structure began to take shape.

Now that we have a nice square frame, insulated floor, and properly attached roof, we will be doing some of the work ourselves ... finishing up the steps and roofing, adding a paved pathway and constructing a half wall. For now we will add screening, but eventually this will be a four-season room with a tiled floor, sliding door and real windows. It is an exciting addition with a view of the garden.

Then, the neighbors decided that the half Box Elder we left needed to go ...

The stump will eventually be gone. What a mess this area of the garden is (and what a perfect view into and out of the windows of this neighboring apartment – eek!), but I have to look at it as an opportunity (and another project). Just to the left unseen in this picture is a Blue Spruce which will fill out nicely with more sun. The Dogwood and Oakleaf Hydrangea should also fill out more. Then, I came across a Fernspray Cypress. It is not native but is a beautiful evergreen that will fit this space perfectly topping out at 10' tall by 4' wide. I also plan to build yet another rustic trellis-type structure as a garden feature. I think I will plant a native clematis to grow up it. Hopefully I will be able to share my progress.

Then there is the never ending fence project that will eventually have to end soon once we reach the back of our property ... and look, more "opportunity" for more garden!

Finally, there is my new rain barrel capable of holding up to 75 gallons of water once installed.

I think all these projects will pay off. What about you? What projects do you have going on in your garden? You probably don't need an additional project from me!

Going Native: Climbing Prairie Rose

Climbing prairie rose, Rosa setigera, is another native rose I planted in my garden two years ago. I planted it along our fence line to hide the chain link and to offer privacy. It receives a fair amount of sun and has grown amazingly fast. Other than to train it slightly to grow along the fence and handmade trellis, I have done nothing to maintain this rose. This is the first season it bloomed. I expected a few blooms, but not this:

It smells like a rose. It also offers pollen and hips. I look forward to seeing the bright red hips this winter. Pollinators attracted to this rose include Syrphid flies and various bees: honeybees, bumblebees, Anthophorine bees, Miner bees, large Leaf-Cutting bees, and Halictine bees. Birds are attracted to the hips. (I hope to witness this firsthand.)


This rose is classified as a shrub 6-8' H, but is easily trained to climb. Some of my branches are quite long and I simply direct them to grow along the fence.

The leaves turn a nice red color in fall. For someone who knows nothing about roses, I am really thrilled to have two native roses now growing (organically) and blooming in my garden. (To learn more about swamp rose, Rosa pulustris, click here.) If you, too, have a fear of growing roses thinking they are fussy and need gallons of chemical sprays, give the native prairie rose a try!

What's Growing

Things are taller, fuller, bigger ... bolting, wilting, shriveling in the potager this month.

Greens, greens, greens! Mustard is looking good as are Broccoli Rabe and Swiss Chard. My lettuce mixes are suffering from the heat and lack of rain. This year my greens seem to be ridden with insect bites, more so than usual.

Some of the Chinese Cabbage and Kale bolted but I cut off the flowers with the hope that more leaves develop.

The squash has begun to flower. The bees scramble over one another to reach their pollen but of course conveniently disappear before the camera. Patty Pan or Scallop Squash has already been served for dinner. It's delicious and I will grow more next year.

Beans, beans, beans! Purple beans are also on the dinner menu. The Soy Beans are looking great - their leaves are very fuzzy and fun. I always have to rub them when I walk by. The Scarlet Runner Beans have finally reached the roof of the rustic arbor and are loaded with flowers.

Borage is also beginning to flower. I love these flowers, especially in my salads.

Also flowering are peppers! It's the first time I have been successful with peppers. I have tiny Jalepeno, Cayenne and sweet Lipstick peppers beginning. The tomatillos have been flowering and are now beginning to form. I just love the way these look but it won't stop me from picking them.

I have lots of green tomatoes ... c'mon turn red, red, red!

Beets for tonight!

Today should be the last of this heat wave. After our spring I never thought I would say this but I wish it would rain! I have watered the garden often but the soil is still dry and even cracking in some places. A new rain barrel is sitting in my shed waiting to be installed.