Latest blooms

 Petunias.

The new addition to my garden. I got her from our local organic nursery, she's indeed a beauty.

I love the pretty shades of purple in these violas.

Morning glory I grew from seeds are beginning to flower.

I haven't had time to transplant my flowers in raised beds or larger containers. I've been sick with a flu the last few days.  I'm barely getting better…

Furthermore, I'm frustrated from lack of energy, I get fatigued easily with daily tasks. I have headaches almost everyday and perhaps a pinched nerve in the back of my scalp, a prickling pain on one side of the head that makes me cry. It hurts when I move my head a certain way or sneeze. My appointment with a new doctor is coming up to manage my high blood pressure and all the other issues.

I'm glad that when you're not feeling well, gardening is such amazing therapy and a blessing. 

Different variety of organic potatoes I began in a planter bag in California. They were only 4" tall when we moved here in May. The potatoes are twice the size now and are doing fantastic… well, we are in Idaho! :) 

Everything in my vegetable garden are growing slowly but I appreciate the smallest harvest, like this fresh salad with herbs. The leaf lettuce, spinach and scallions were grown from seeds. Dealing with pests, seedlings under stress from our move, wet weather and late start, affected the growth of the garden. I'm waiting for surprises my garden will bring. How's your garden today?    

Bugs, slugs and my new garden update

It has been never ending with unpacking since we moved here a month ago. I'm glad to be back to blogging again! :) However, there are still boxes everywhere in the house… at least the kitchen is organized. It's hectic but I'm taking a break to update you about my garden. I changed my blog title to 'Blossom Cottage' – my dream is to design a cottage garden. I'm gardening mostly in containers for now because we're renting this house. It will be easier to transport plants in pots rather than pulling them out of the ground when we move someday.

 

The rose bush came with the property, lucky me. The huge yard is a plus. It was raining pretty much the whole month of May and the first two weeks of June. I've been told that wasn't typical for Idaho weather. The roses began to bloom at the beginning of June. It's getting sunnier but the weather is manic and changes every 5 minutes.    

Beautiful yellow rose with a touch of pink. I wish there were more fragrant roses all over the yard. 

There's a brook on the other side of our fence across our neighbor's property. Ducks constantly visit and we're going to buy bread to feed them. My husband is planning to knock out a part of the fence to build a door so we can have a better view.  

I thought my violas died in California. They reseeded and are now in my new backyard. All my plants, herbs and vegetable seedlings traveled 900 miles by car for three days. Surprisingly, the organic veggies grown from seed are alive and they've been through stress. I lost a few but we expected it with moving. I transplanted the veggies late in raised beds due to cold and rainy weather. I'm hoping for a decent harvest this year… I'm not familiar with Idaho's climate so we'll see.   

 

I transplanted my herbs in this box. Something ate the parsley but it's growing back a little. I'm not sure if the squirrel I always see on our fence is the culprit. There are many holes on the leaves of my plants too. We have insect issues but I don't know what they are. I made insecticide with natural soap, cayenne pepper powder and raw garlic to spray on my vegetables.

Flame leaf lettuce growing back.

I was disappointed one morning when all the lettuces I planted from seed were destroyed, something ate them down to the stem! I never had this problem when we were living in Idyllwild, California. My peppers and red cabbage were gone too. I replaced the peppers and bought seedlings from the nursery since they take forever to germinate. I saw slugs in containers where my lettuces used to be. I wonder if they're ruining my entire garden. The lettuces are growing back slowly but I sowed more seeds for the summer. I noticed holes on the leaves of my tomato plants, there could be aphids lurking around. I planted marigolds near the tomatoes, perhaps that would help.

I have this new garden sign that's adorable. It's true that we plant the seeds, God makes them grow. The garden is indeed a miracle and full of beautiful surprises – sometimes they're not happy surprises. But in God's garden, life is full of new beginnings.