I have a whole lot of oregano I should cut down and dry already. I'm attempting to keep the thyme from flowering, but every time I look at it there are more new little white flowers trying to seed.
I'm very excited about the lettuce in the background there... the night that I took this picture I enjoyed some of those leaves pictures in my salad mix. The tomato plants are not full enough to stand out of the background on their own, but they are being real troopers so far.
All three basil plants have, unfortunately, been discovered by some critters that enjoy the taste of basil as much as I do. Lesson learned... basil should be kept in a pot closer to the house where it is safe.
The raspberries in the back are also growing like crazy... nice to have some plants that enjoy our mild climate. I weeded the area last weekend and we're going to need supports soon as the plants are starting to want to lean here and there. I can already see new shoots spreading as well.
I planted borage in my herb garden because it was suggested as a bee attractant to help with pollination of the vegetables. I had no idea the flowers would be so interesting looking:
This next image is of the area we have dubbed either the "right flower bed" (standing on the deck, looking into the back yard, this is the group of trees/planting area to the right) or the "bird feeder bed". It looks a little chaotic with the various shades of greens and large bushes running into each other... but when we moved into the house 4 years ago this bed was relatively barren - not only for the lack of plantings, but because the deer were regular visitors who delighted in keeping the area nicely groomed.
We need to clean a couple things up, but I'm actually quite happy with the chaos of plants running into plants - for one thing it's a much nicer backdrop than chopped bushes and bark dust, and for another... proper plants taking up all the space keeps the weed way down.
And I learned something new this year... did you know that "tea rose bushes" actually produce roses?!?!? It's a crazy notion, I know... but keeping the deer out of the back means the tiny little buds are no longer dessert offerings to passers by, and the bushes are (probably for the first time ever) able to produce honest to goodness flowers.
I'm not sure what this plant is, but last year it attracted a sizable butterfly, when it cropped up from underneath the driftwood by the deck I made a point to clear some space for it. Last year we had about 5 or 6 tufts of white flowers, this year the plant spread to three places, each with something like 8 to 10 tufts. I haven't bothered to check the species of this winged visitor, but he's the first that I've seen to hang out by my deck.
We have lots of work ahead of us tomorrow and next weekend, including finishing the remodel of the waterfall/pond area. I'll have before and after pics ready when we're all done.
