Set backs, Progress, Passion

The dogwood.  We have really grown to love that tree.  It showed signs of this sickness last year, but we took it for some kind of scalding, since it came right after that long late-July heat wave.  My hypothesis is that this spring has been too wet, too long.  Gee, more evidence.  I have some spray on fungicide, but it totally gives me that feeling - you know, throwing rocks at the sun.  I think we're doing everything we can for it.  Please, tree, pull through.



The cherry tree.  When we first moved here we made the mistake of buying one of those dumb self-fertile trees with four kinds of cherry grafted on it.  There are so many things wrong with this idea, and with the results of this idea.  I can't even get started.  So, now we have this rapidly expanding, imbalanced, confused specimen that has been completely colonized by aphids.  It happened to all the trees, I put up barriers, a little late in the game.

**(Note to self: put up barriers as the leaves are forming, as part of a spring routine, even ritual.)

The apples are doing fine, recovering slowly, unfurling their new leaves, leaving the damaged past behind.    But the cherry.

Try as I might, I cannot help being totally grossed out by aphids.

At least it's providing a sexy atmosphere for the lady bugs.

And, Gay and I cleaned up and I planted.  Victoria lettuces, my free nantes carrots (good luck on that one), cucumbers, more black hollyhocks (all in #3 under cover); radishes, more arugula (#1); more red sunflowers along with the lettuce from the other day and the lettuce starts and the red chard in #2.  When I put the beans in there it's gonna be niiiice.



I keep fantasizing about how great the trees are going to look in a few years, or how quickly the flowers will grow in July, but the truth is that the garden will never be perfect.  I will always have dreams and ideas and changes and plans.  That's passion.