A Raincoat for Rufus

Sometimes I make things, sew or refinish furniture.  Rufus is so dark and wooly, I worry about walking him especially in evening and during rain.  Plus he doesn't like getting his fur wet.  Dog raincoats at Petco were very expensive.  Plus, none of their doggie raincoats seemed to fit his body.  A human raincoat at Bimart only cost about 1/10 as much last fall, so I bought one to use the fabric.  Never got around to it, but during quarantine, there is more spare time.  Here is the result.  He doesn't mind it.

More Vegetable Seeds. 6.2.2020

I planted some more vegetable seeds.  Something seems to be eating a lot of my planted bean seeds.  Several rows vanished completely.  Something also eats some of the plants after they germinate.  I'll try again, Landreth and Roma varieties.  I also planted some more dill and cilantro, which seem to be slow germinating, and the third batch of sweetcorn, this time Ambrosia hybrid.

The garden is very lush.  As usual, I was over-enthusiastic and planted too much.  Photos may follow in a day or two.

Irises. 6.2.2020

With a week of rain, the irises are looking a little sad.  However, there are some bright spots.   I think I'll get rid of most of the rebloomers (four of them) from the main iris bed.  They seem to be much more disease susceptible in the rainy season when they should be at their best.  I'll also move the short ones, Bumblebee delight and Honorable vs Sans Souci, to the border by the vegetable garden.   That will make room for six or seven  rescue irises, so I can close down those beds.   I think the super modern, lavish frilly most colorful irises are the most disease prone and disappointing.   The older ones seem tougher and perform better for me.

Gay Parasol.  6.2.2020

Edith Wolford.  6.2.2020

Red Knight.  6.2.2020

Absolute Treasure.  6.2.2020

Not an iris!  A peony.  6.2.2020

Bumblebee Delight.  6.2.2020

Honorabile or Sans Souci.  6.2.2020

Unidentified rescue iris.   A keeper!  6.2.2020

A group of rescue irises.  I think I'll keep all of them, but move to the main iris bed.  6.2.2020

Some Ugly Irises. 5.23.2020

I need to do some thinning out of the bearded iris plants.  That's hard to do, they are my favorite flower.  However, some are ugly, and some do poorly.  This season will be when I make some decisions.

The iris garden is getting weedy and the rains and chills have not been kind.

The cultivar "Cheetah Cheese was more oranges and yellows in the photos from the nursery.  This one is mauve-ugly with white.  It's uglier in person than in this photo.  It will go into the trash  The cultivar "Blatant" is sold as a rebloomer.  In the internet photos, the flowers practically glow.  In my garden, they look like the skin of someone with a really bad blood vessel disease.  This one also did not bloom last year, and one of the two plants that I had developed rot.  This one looks like that might happen too.  I think some are over-hybridized and more susceptible to disease compared to some of the oldies.  Blatant will also go.  They probably shouldn't go into compost if they are possibly infected with something.

Bearded Iris "Cheetah Cheese".  5.23.2020

Bearded Iris "Blatant"  5.23.2020

Planting Bush Bean Seeds. 5.23.2020

Of the beans that I planted in the past week to 2 weeks, only the Dragon's Tongue bush beans have germinated.  I need to double check that name, it might be Fire Tongue or something.  These look healthy so far.

I also planted Limas, Yellow Wax, Romas, and Landreth Stringless, all a day or a few days after the Dragon's tongue.  Only a couple of Landreth Stringless have germinated.  Those YellowWax and Romas were older seeds.  Maybe they won't grow.  It might be their age, or not giving them enough time, or the cool weather.

Tonight I'm soaking some fresh, new seeds of Landreth and Roma.  I can plant them tomorrow.

Dragon's Tongue bush beans.  5.23.2020