Here’s what’s happening in the garden – though I didn’t take pictures of all my babies, stupidly.  Also missing are the new arrivals – in Tally I bought a dwarf pomegranate, a dwarf quince, and a red hardy hibiscus/rose mallow.  They go into the ground this weekend, so I’ll take their portraits in situ.

This is what Virginia Creeper is meant to do.  Make tomato cages.  Well, and turn red in the fall – but it can do both.  Here’s a second version.

I only need about fifty of these, which will pretty well take care of any noxious vine problems this year.  In fact, I’m designating the wire fence along one side of the driveway as ‘vine crop zone’ and I’m going to mark the creeper stems for protection.  (I can’t believe it, either.  Turns out the baddie smilac is also befriendable – it’s edible.  More on catbriar later.)

Here’s some roses, while they last.

I think this is a Graham Thomas.  Don’t remember what is to the right, with the lovely hip, but it was a Martha Stewart variety.

This is my most reliable – some riff on Peace – Blazing Peace, maybe?  No, it’s Sunset.

And the rare ballerina – Sydonie.  I bought this in honor of Daan’s niece of the same name, for her birth, and kept a sister rose here in case hers in California ever failed.  I think the one in CA is four times the size – I’ve learned something since about CA gardening versus Panhandle gardening.

Here’s some fruit on the trees:

Our first Meyer lemons.  The other two Oscar-the-Grouch trash cans hold Persian limes, and one of them has actual limes on!  It’s amazing what plants will do when you feed and water them.

And here’s a few plums!  I pollinated both the plum and the lemon trees by hand, but some higher plums and definitely the limes are out of reach – so apparenly SOME flying insects were around to help me.

I’m still thinking about bees, though.