Digging holes and putting stuff in them.

 I've been busy outdoors, but I can't really pinpoint with what.  I feel like I'm buzzing from one spot to the next and not really accomplishing anything. Exhibit A, the veggie garden (on tzgarden side) full of sunflowers and dahlias.  The tomatoes and blueberries are buried in there.  Not ideal for tomato growing, I never seem to stay on top of pruning or removing suckers.   

Has anyone made a living photographing the backside of flowers?

On the DirtBag Garden side (new up top garden) corn, eggplant, melons & pumpkins have sprouted.  Time will tell if I was just too late on that mid-June seed starting business.  *I did add a few clearance potted veg. 

I've continued running black plastic along side the rows.  With daily watering, the creeping type grass has come back with a vengeance!  I've no knowledge of grass types, but this one creeps and roots along the stem.  Absolutely diabolical. I'm hoping the black plastic heats the ground enough to kill it. 

I've also been dealing with a murder of crows. I've got no issue with the crows, if you can spread the word.  They are looking for grubs, and yanking the little sprouts of corn out of the ground without a care.  At least eat the sprouts!  I put up reflective ribbon on stakes to deter them.  The lady at Lowe's told me the crows would just laugh at the ribbon.  I added a solar powered owl - he turns his head a full 270° when he senses movement. Also his eyes change colors, red/green/yellow.  You can elect to turn the setting to FULL OWL MODE to let out a screech, I thought I'd better not disturb the neighbors with that.  Well, the crows did not gather for a good laugh, they left the area!  

I've been cleaning out the slope between the two gardens.  Eventually I'd like them to flow and blend together.  As I was removing something not worthy, I took a nice tumble.  Thankfully landing on my rear.  Immediately decided to chip out some stairs for safety.  Not pretty, but definitely more stable than shifty rocks.

I've added a few things up top.  Another Leucadendron argenteum (there is one planted 2 years ago just about hitting 5' now) mimetes cucullatus x2, Leucospermum 'Blanche Ito' and I can't remember.  Everything is tiny and dirty and unimpressive at the moment.

I'll be gone for a week in July and another 2 weeks in August.  So I need to get serious about a timed watering system.  And STOP planting things!  In other news, I chopped a bunch of my hair off.  I feel like a newly groomed golden doodle.  

Enough of the ho hum.  Time to drop some pretty things noticed in the past week. An epiphyllum something blooming.  

Orchids!  Dendrobium.  *I can now see how bad the tags are, ick.  To do list. 

I used to think Bromeliads were boring.  lol. 

A young Colocasia 'coffee cups' starting to do it's thing.

Crassula capitella? coloring up

Pathway scenes...

Agave ShawParr with Raoulia australis in the sidecar.

Berkheya purpurea, started late spring from seed.  A theme this year. 

A Leucadendron argenteum, a future champion of the front garden 🤞 please. 

I believe my first mangave, now gargantuan.  Mission to Mars, probably. 

Dyckia 'Silver Superstar'.

Another "surprise" lily.  

And that's a wrap!  I'm contemplating beginning a different blog for DirtBag Garden.  I thought it would be fun to have a complete story of the garden beginning, and eventually tearing down the house and the rebuild.   Hope your 4th was nice, and not too many booms.