A few new photos

I need to get some metal tomato cages.  My plants are breaking the little plastic ones they came with. 

 The Don Juan roses continue to grow quite strangely.

 I'm excited to see some new blooms coming out of this beauty.

 This passion fruit vine was half dead for a while, but now it has a few fruits growing on it.  Exciting!

4 Things about Growing Corn... not good

4 things I've learned about corn this spring:

1.  Corn needs a LOT of water to stay healthy.
2.  Corn is very vulnerable to pests.
3.  Puppies love to dig up cornstalks.
4.  Corn is so cheap in season that I can buy a bunch that was locally grown and prepare and freeze it just as I would the corn I harvested here.

I've given up on the corn. 

Buttery Garden

I planted my little butterfly (and, dare I hope, hummingbird) garden on Tuesday.  I still need to clear out some grass and re-bury the edging, but so far, so good.

 The half-dead hibiscus (still not fully recovered from a frost) and Coarl Honeysuckle along the fence were already there). 

Let's see if I can remember the names of the others without checking my notes...
The tall one on the left is "Lady Di" Heliconia (Parrot Flower)
The big bushy ones in red and yellow-orange are Ixora.
The little yellow ones are Golden Shrimp Plant (had to look that one up).

 My Heliconia had a bit offshoot which I potted for future planting or gift-giving.

 One of my new bulbs I planted in the early spring has a bud.  So exciting!!!  Lots more have popped up, but this is the first flower.

Roses and Hummingbird/Butterfly Garden Plans

Here is part of my "rose garden" if you can call 4 rose bushes a garden.  I'm really excited because those two big stalks on the red Don Juan are reaching for my bedroom window and I can see a lovely bud first thing in the morning.  :-)

I recently read that coral honeysuckle and hibiscus are great for attracting caterpillars/butterflies and, dare I hope?, hummingbirds.  I have four little Ixoras waiting to be planted, and I'm thinking of expanding this little area to make a hummingbird/butterfly garden. It will be right outside of our soon-to-be-built lanai.

Hand Appliqué

Yesterday, I tried my hand at appliqué (without the aid of my embroidery machine). This is for a specific project that should come together pretty quickly once I stitch on the little birdie details and a few more leaves.


Edit: I did it again! (posted on the wrong blog due to my iPad ignorance!). But look- flower, bird... Very garden-y.

Bean Problem

Anyone know what my bean problem is? There are fresh blooms, so I don't think the season is over. It's been warm, but the plants look healthy, so I don't think they are too dry.

Baby Tomatoes

I have two tomato plants and was starting to freak out because there were no new ones after the ones that were already on the one plant. I was heartened today, though, when I found a few babies on each plant.

As a side note, I am totally addicted to posting from my iPad. It's so fast and easy. The only downside is the inability to control photo focus.