Tiny Mantis

 A tiny mantis on a tomato plant.

First ever Coreopsis leavenworthii bloom.

First Tomato Blooms

Indigo Rose tomato blooms. Other tomatoes are developing blooms, too.

Begonias and petunias are happy in the pallet bed. Marigolds stopped blooming despite dead-heading. Need more sun.

I bought a solar lantern lol. 

The (Mostly) Natives

Goldmane Tickseed + Oakleaf Hydrangea

More Sun

The 2 tomatoes I bought. Indigo Rose on left, and the super awkward spindly Black Icicle on the right. Sunning today.

Zinnias and Penta are enjoying the weather. Two of my seedling tomatoes continue to thrive. 

Potatoes are an insane mess.

Etc...

Sunshine

Some beans are up to the second rung.

Goldmane Tickseed thriving.

Everything is doing well so far.

Stormy

Last look at garden before storms roll thru. Checked & tied up a few more things. Beans peeking over trellis bottom.

Oakleaf Hydrangea blooms opening...

Goldmane Tickseed (turns out it is NOT native to this area) starting to bloom.

Much Growth

One week of growth. FROM SEEDS. I am still flabbergasted. Zuccs are even getting their first true leaf.

Thinning Out

Thinned out the pole beans...

Very impressed with their root system and stem growth after such a short time period.

Hello, friend!

Sprouts!

4 days of growth! Soaking seeds seems to help give them quite a jump-start!

The pallet bed plants seem to be establishing themselves well. Not much room between the slats, so it's a bit of a squeeze.

The natives continue to thrive.

American Beautyberry is perfectly adapted to my yard's conditions. It grows wild just down the street. This pair of plants came from my parents' property.

Stokes' Aster looks like it will bloom!

Oakleaf Hydrangea bloom continues to develop.

Coral Honeysuckle in bloom.

More Plants Planted

Two more tomatoes planted + pollinator attractors: zinnias, pentas, petunias. I am pleased.

I love these bi-color petunias from Crestview Nurseries.

I also finished planting the pallet bed w/ more petunias, marigolds, and white begonias on the end. I thought they would do well on the shady side.

And I planted the raised beds...

A Plan

My plan for the raised bed garden.

I decided to move the raised bed garden a little bit so it could get a bit more sun. The oak tree nearby was lending too much shade.

Potato Bloom

Meanwhile, the native plants are starting to bloom...

Coral Honeysuckle

Oakleaf Hydrangea's First Bloom

Pallet Bed

I've started planting the pallet bed. I ran out of plants. So far I have marigolds and petunias. The idea is they will act as pollinator attractors and maybe the marigolds will also help ward off bad bugs.

Meanwhile, I purchased an Indigo Rose tomato plant and a Black Icicle tomato plant. I found some large containers for $8 at Dollar General (they are around 5 gallons). Potato plants to the right, and Thai Basil plant to the left.

The seedlings I planted are ready for homes.