Tomato Cages and Other Garden Delights

Eileen had asked for a photo of the tomato cages that M bought for me, so here they are:

Tomato Cages

Sticks around the pepper plants

They are wire rounds, smaller at the bottom and larger at the top, held together by 3 (or is it 4?) metal rods, the ends of which are set into the ground.  They are meant to provide support for the tomato plants as they grow so that the plants remain vertical rather than sprawl on the ground, not to deter attention from garden cats.  I might still need to poke some sticks around the base of the plant to discourage the cats.

In the meantime, the zucchini seeds have come up and the first true sets of leaves are starting to form:

Zucchini Seedlings

I will have to thin them out a bit.  I'd like to transplant the seedlings I thin out, but, I will wait until later, next week, to do so, because we are supposed to warm up to 90F on Monday and it might not be the best time to transplant them!  It's supposed to be a little cooler, later in the week.

Nearby, the avocado seedling I grew from a seed is coming along, nicely:

Avocado Seedling

We've a long way to go before we can even think about picking avocados from it, but, the leaves are supposed to be edible, used as a culinary herb or to make a tea, so, maybe I can harvest a few leaves once it grows big enough to have a few leaves to spare!  Right now, I am leaving all the leaves in place to produce food for the plant!

Nearby, the double colored rose has another bud opening:

Double Colored Rose Bud

I really need to weed the rose beds, one of these days!  The grass roots migrate to the flower beds because I water there.  

I've been seeing lots of butterflies in the garden; the majority of them are the white cabbage butterflies, but, every now and then, I've been seeing swallowtail butterflies.  I haven't been able to photograph them, however (my cell phone camera leaves a lot to be desired!)  But, today, this Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus)  obliged me:

"You are too well camouflaged, Butterfly; it's hard to see you"

"Oh, that's much better, Butterfly!  Thank you!"

I was reminded of the time when I saw this Giant Swallowtail butterfly a couple of years ago.

One of the things I've been doing in the garden has been collecting all the small rocks and stones that keep coming up when M digs in the garden.  There are a couple of spots on either side of the back steps where there is bare ground and the grass hasn't been growing.  I have started to place the smaller rocks and stones there to help cover the bare spots.  I've a bit more to go on this side and then, I'll probably put a little soil on them to fill in the spaces between the stones.   It's sort of what I want to do in the side yard, too, eventually, although I will need to buy a load of stones to put down, there, not to mention proper weed barrier! 

Stone-scape?

Today, I woke up early to watch the news coverage of Prince Philip's funeral.  Then, went out into the back garden to take the pictures and do a little gardening.  I dug up and transplanted one of the small asparagus ferns to the side yard - I hope it will grow there.  Later, I picked some chard and beet greens and watered the front garden.  I cut up and sauteed the chard and beet greens, added them to some cooked "noodles" (angel hair pasta) and had that with chicken curry for dinner.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- Television
- Butterflies in the garden
- Tomato cages
- For all the plants in the garden
- Phone calls with aunt and friends

Today's joyful activity was being out in the garden, tending to the plants, enjoying the sunshine and the birdsongs.

Plans for tomorrow include watering the back garden and maybe some weeding.

How was your day?  Do you grow tomatoes?  If so, do you use tomato cages for your tomato plants?