State of the Garden

It's been hot, hot, hot.  Most of the garden isn't doing well.

The tomatoes are done except for a few fruits and some blooms up top. I haven't been watering them, and although they get an afternoon shower most days, it's not helping with the heat. 

The beans have just been tortured by wave after wave of aphids. To the point where I don't like beans enough to keep up the battle. Seriously, ridiculous amounts of aphids. I have sprayed and smeared their dead little bodies off my bean plants over and over and over.

The eggplants and peppers are perking up a bit with the rain.  They are putting out a new wave of blooms, and some are fruiting.  I hope the blooms on the goat pepper produce.

The water-loving herb garden has become a forest of basil blooms. They are feeding the pollinators, a worthier cause than feeding me.

Finally, A Monarch

A Queen last year, Gulf Fritillaries and Zebra Longwings this year, and finally I find a tiny Monarch caterpillar on my pink swamp milkweed!

Not much going on in the garden. Long beans are producing another round, tomatoes are mostly done for the moment although blooming a bit, peppers continue to make a few fruit, herb garden has gone to blooms (basils).  The stinkbugs have been pretty bad.

I'm starting some native plant seeds.  I want to make a small native garden on the west side of my house.  Coming up so far are last year's seeds from the swamp hibiscus.  I filed each seed's coating off in a couple of spots to help them germinate.  Very high success rate!  Hopefully, they will survive over winter, though the above-ground foliage will die back.

Also planted: coneflower, blue-eyed grass, columbine, and liatris.  I replanted the coneflower cells today with fresh seeds off my plant to hopefully give them a better success rate.

Cicada Exoskeleton

Patriotic

Red, white, and blue petunias in bloom.

Zebra Longwing Pupa

It should take about 7 days before the butterfly emerges.