Gardening in Pictures

Sooo....Maybe I failed as a vegetable gardener for this year; but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. Here are my gardening happenings in pictures...

Here is the infamous coop that never gets done! We're close to finishing, though!

Here are the lucky ladies...future residents of the soon-to-be-finished coop. They are scratching around in our compost pile. Charming, I know. Here is Ranger...really wishing he could have a chicken breakfast. And here are the chickens...destroying the lawn I've been trying to get started. I think they're in cahoots with the gophers. And here is what happens to your porch if your baby chicks grow up before you finish your coop. Here is my little succulent and cactus area. I planted a few ears of what I think are prickly pear cacti. They've gone crazy! I decided to plant a little forest of them in the lower yard because I neglect to water that area very often.

So here they are...at the very bottom of our property. It's going to be utter cacti chaos down here pretty soon.

I've also planted some drought-tolerant ice plant in that area. It's going to be really pretty when it takes off.

This is the poor old gigantic oak tree we had to have cut down. It became beetle infested and died. It was very sad...the prettiest and largest oak on our property. It was also very sad to say goodbye to the $1200 it cost to have it cut down. The only up-side is that I now have a LOT of wood chips to mulch with, as well as firewood for the next 3 years!

I'm getting a rose garden going. So far I've got yellow, red, purple, and peach colored rose bushes planted. Who would think that squirrels and rabbits like to eat rosebuds? Well, they do. Fortunately, my non-toxic pest repellent seems to deter them.

And last but not least, I've been working really hard on the terraces right outside our house. I've gotten them going with Lily of the Niles, Day Lilies, geraniums, ice plants, Bird of Paradise, Euryops, and some things that already existed (and I don't know what they're called but I'm managing not to kill them).