Currently blooming......
Dianthus:
Violas (a.k.a. Johnny Jump-Ups):
Million Bells:
And those million bells have already taken a tumble from the deck railing to the ground!! Cats!!! I love these plants but have sure had a time keeping them nice over the last few years. I've had skunks(?) and/or raccoons digging in the soil in the planter so I've had to put it in the garage every night, then last year they were so infested with aphids that I ended up dumping them before the summer was out. (This year I put systemic insecticide in the soil to hopefully prevent that.) And now the cat problem. (I've seen one cat repeatedly walk on the planter to get to the birdbath for a drink. Sure, it could jump up onto the railing in a different place, but...) I can't even put them on the deck railing anymore unless I tie them down, which would be a pain for taking them in every night to protect from the 'coons. Ack. I want them on the railing so I can see them from inside the house. Any suggestions? (No, I will not do anything to the cats! ;) )
And of course we still have a plentiful supply of these lovelies:
At least they've hit their peak and are slowing down some. The last couple lawn mowings have been hard on the eyeballs, though, with all that fuzz getting into them.
I do have some other flowers beginning to bloom. I'll show you later when they're fuller.
5 comments:
your flowers and photos are ooOOhhh sooOOoo lovely! :-) thanks for sharing :)
Solution to the cats dancing in the flower pot= ask Grandpa G if he can loan you a battery operated electric fencer and put a little wire around the edge of the pot. It will NOT kill the cat but it is worth several semesters in college in the learning department. Great Grandma H had to put a hot wire on the window sill of the kitchen picture window once to teach her cats NOT to sit there and sneeze all over the window. ish. Have a good Memorial day .
Thanks, 'Anonymous'! :)
That's an idea, Grace! Might teach 'coons a few lessons, too. ;)
I once heard that dried blood keeps some animals away. I bought some one year just to try. Since I smell everything (bubble bath, laundry soap, bath gel, shampoo, air freshener etc.) because one doesn't want icky smelling things, I sniffed the dried blood. Whoo - eeee, stinky! Perhaps the cats won't like the sprinkling of dried blood in your flowers. Or coyote urine. Yep, that is what our local Pioneer Garden and Feed sells to us suburnites who want the rabbits, coyotes, and other lost forest critters to stay away! Pretty funny.
Yep, dried blood stinks! I've used it to keep deer away, and it works. Not sure if it'd keep cats away, though. Mostly I use Liquid Fence for deer. I don't know if that'd work for cats, either. I should try it in my flower beds that they like to use for their litter boxes. And if that works, then maybe on my million bells. But not sure I want to make them stink. :\ I did see a spray cat repellent recently. Wishing now I'd bought some.
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