Who needs patio furniture anyway?

We realized last summer that we hardly ever sat on the patio because it was too hot and sunny. Also, our patio is right in line with our neighbor’s deck so we don’t have much privacy. So we moved the table and chairs to a relatively flat section of the lawn under the shade of the cherry tree. Then we filled the patio with pots of berries, herbs, vegetables and flowers.

Now we have a mixture of edibles and ornamentals as well as plants to attract pollinators and plants needing pollinators.

Between the herbs and flowers, we have lots of bees.

Here’s a close up. Look at all that pollen!

Last summer we had fabulous eggplants. So we tried again this year. Unfortunately, it’s been so cool this summer, I’m not sure we’re going to have any eggplants. The flowers only appeared last week.

On a whim (and after feeling giddy about our eggplant success last year), we decided to try melons in the Earthbox this year. Well they sure are vining out over the herbs and reaching for the garden bed!

Wait!  What’s that in Curmdugeon’s hand? A baby melon! Come on little one!  Grow! Grow!

We finally wised up and put bird netting over the fig tree, strawberries, and blueberries, which are all growing in pots on the patio. Now we are harvesting a bit of fruit for ourselves – not just losing it all to the birds and other varmints.  Here’s today’s harvest of ‘Sunshine Blue’ blueberries and ‘Seascape’ strawberries.

So we have flowers and fruit, herbs and vegetables, lots of bees, and even hummingbirds visiting the salvia and agastache. Why on earth would we want patio furniture here?

More Hummingbird Sightings!

We've noticed the hummingbirds zooming around the hillside garden a few times. Our neighbor even said she and her girls noticed hummingbirds in our lovely garden. I've tried a few times without luck to get photos of them. Of course dead batteries in the camera once or twice didn't help.

This morning, after walking Diva Dog, I noticed two hummingbirds flying around. We carefully went inside, hoping not to disturb them too much. I got the camera and stationed myself at the side window in the bedroom which overlooks the hill. With some patience and a lot of luck, I managed to snap these photos.

Look closely at the right side of the blue-black sage and to the left of the agastache, roughly in the center of the picture.

Here's a close up of the hummingbird. You can almost make out the wings.

Here are two more photos of the hummingbird, again at the blue-black sage, but this time on the far left.



The wings are a blur, but the body, face and beak are much clearer. I belive this is an Anna's Hummingbird.

I'm looking forward to using the new tripod and testing the shutter speed settings on the camera to hopefully get more photos. Wish me luck!

Hummingbird sighting!

Curmudgeon and I took Diva Dog for a walk before dinner this evening. When we returned, I heard a buzz and saw a blur. We quickly looked up and noticed a hummingbird buzzing over the hillside garden. It was hovering over the mystery plant and the lavender. Ivette asked how on earth we'll get a picture of the hummingbird. I don't know yet, but I'll work on it. Here's a website that has a picture of agastache and a hummingbird: http://www.highcountrygardens.com/agastache/ (okay, so that's cheating a little!)

I saw the hummingbird once earlier this summer. I had just finished planting the agastache (hyssop or hummingbird mint) and heard a buzzing over my head. It flew down to check out the agastache, which wasn't even blooming yet. The one we have is very fragrant - rich licorice scent. I told the hummingbird to come back in a few weeks when it was blooming. Well it's blooming now and my little feathered friend is back too! I love gardening! :-) I'll have to keep an eye on it to figure out what kind it is. We saw it a few times last summer, so we planted more things to attract it.

Here are some pictures of the hillside garden and the agastache. The garden area is about 14 ft wide by about 30 ft long. When we first moved in, the weeds (blackberries, wild clematis-like thing, morning glory and dandelions as big as your head) were dense, tall, thick and frightening. The vines came from the rock wall (that we didn't know we had for the first 2 years!) and the neighbor's yard and reached all the way to the sidewalk. We've been cutting, digging, pulling, and doing our damnedest to get them out. I even bought a machete!! Word of advice - a machete blade will throw sparks if you hit it on rocks. They aren't faking it on "Survivor." Be sure not to cut when things are too dry.

These pictures are from earlier in the spring. The agastache and lavender hadn't started blooming and we were still working on clearing out the bottom of the hill. Notice who has decided to take a nap amongst the impatiens! The red flower is a hibiscus. Oh yeah, and the striped grass which we think looks really cool with the hibiscus is actually considered a noxious weed here in WA! Ooooops!