Borage Self Seeds and Attracts Pollinators

To me, borage is an herb that is one of the best plants to grow for pollinators. Bumblebees and butterflies are always enjoying it along with hover flies, beetles and moths. 

Greetings fellow gardeners,

Little bits and pieces of rain have been appearing here and there. My garden could use a good two days of constant rain, but I will take anything I can get.

While my operated knee is doing remarkably well, and I seem to be able to do so much more, the other knee is not happy and keeps me from getting everything done. I am doing my best to accept what I can do and, while looking at the sea of goutweed that I have to deal with, that is very difficult. I have been over-seeding with annuals and doing my best not to allow the goutweed to flower. Between the goutweed and creeping bellflower, I am muttering grumpily about moving.

Borage is one of the Best Plants for Pollinators

As I grumbled about this morning, I started looking for some joy in my garden and of course my garden is right there for me. The borage I planted a few weeks ago is blooming and growing and preparing to accept any and all pollinators. Although we treat borage as an annual, once it has established itself in your garden it will self-seed forever and you will never be without. To me, borage is an herb that is one of the best plants to grow for pollinators. Bumblebees and butterflies are always enjoying it along with hover flies, beetles and moths. 

Polaris Roses Budding

As I fed the chickens this morning, I saw how glorious my Polaris rose is now that the buds are opening. There are roses all over the place! I am so pleased. One thing that I have noticed is that there seem to be more spittle bugs this year. If you see something that looks like a lump of spit on your plant, that is what it is. Look closely and you will see a little black dot and that is the bug. I spray them off with my hose. It is food for a lot of creatures, so I only ever use water to remove it. 

Potatoes and Peas

My potatoes are growing fast and furious and so are the peas. The peas are winding up the sticks. I am not growing a lot of them but as they ripen, I like to add them to salads. When they are finished the Climbing Spinach will take over. This container of vines is doing very well. 

Put a Cage Around Peonies

It is cloudy and humid, and the mosquitoes are very happy. Fortunately, the birds are enjoying the mosquitoes, but I wish they would eat faster. Having rain and wind is very normal for this time of year and, of course, this is the time of year that peonies begin to flower. It is so frustrating to find them bashed about with some flowers on the ground. If you are growing peonies, it is best to put a peony cage around them in early spring to help them with extra support. Peonies do love the sunshine and are lovely as a cut flower. If you bring them in be sure to look for ants and earwigs who love to hide in those flowers. Peonies are also edible and make delicious jelly. I might make some if I have a few extra moments.

Keep an eye on the rain. Remember that if the rain splashes the soil onto your tomato leaves, you will get early blight. I put a mulch of straw around the base of my tomatoes.  Enjoy your week. Judith. (Email:  sghorticultural@gmail.com)  Veggie Bites are available at https://sghorticultural.wixsite.com/website or https://gardeningcalendar.ca/category/veggie-bites/