Garden Shots on the First Day I Can Comfortably Be Outside

 It’s been like living on Hell’s front porch in Maryland this month. (Did you know that during the Revolutionary War, French mercenaries were paid tropical pay when stationed in DC (which is carved out of VA and MD)?  For the last week the dew point and humidity have been very high…Sunday it was 80+%.  It was unbearable.

Today, however, we have a slight reprieve and I’m able to enjoy our gardens without passing out.

Before and After

Fanfare! Trumpets and Flourishes! This is my 100th post. Big deal, right? Well for someone who wanted no parts of blogging, maybe it is. It took Cheryl almost two years to convince me to write, and I'm glad she did. I've met some wonderful people through blogging and have also had a whole, wide world of ideas opened to me, gained some technical know-how (thanks to many of you), and maybe even had an epiphany or two about myself.

Today, Sun Nurseries came out and did some sprucing-up of our front landscaping. I usually do this type of thing myself, but was a little overwhelmed and perplexed as to why we were losing our plantings pretty consistently. The design consultant, Donna, was great to work with and the men who did the planting were courteous and exemplary in their work.

Before

After

Before

After
My personal battle with the rabbits continues. Today, however, UPS delivered the Tree Guard that I ordered. I have already donned, gloves, an apron, and protective eye wear, and doused all my plantings in the back with the stuff. It usually works pretty well -- is latex-based so does not have to be re-applied after rain or watering. We'll see. The rabbits have been climbing into my pots and decimating the zinnias, trailing verbena, portulaca, and impatiens. I know that their persistent defoliating of my roses is responsible for my losing quite a few this year. If the Tree Guard doesn't work, I'm considering electric wire or a flame thrower.