Ivy: The Princess In Her Tower
I call Ivy the princess in her tower. My word, she dearly loves that thing. Being up high gives cats an aerial advantage for spotting any potential dangers around them.
I read that it comes from their instinct to protect themselves.
Of course much of this instinct comes from their ancestry. It is hard-wired into them.
Cats feel less anxious and safe up high. They can scope the room and see potential threats or pounce on unsuspecting passers-by.
Ivy likes to sleep at the very top of her cat tower.
She must feel like a princess up there, looking down and spotting birds on the patio to get excited about.
All The Rain:
Oh my, has it rained. And rained and rained some more. The water kept rising on my patio and just kept coming down in torrents.
Charlie was afraid to brave it to go outside on the patio.
Of course the plants on the patio love the rain. They look bedraggled now, but they’ll bounce back quickly and be even perkier when the sun next shines on them.
The Allium Plant:
The allium is about to flower. I’ve never had this plant before.
Some of you have mentioned that many of the plants I have, like the yarrow, tend to take over the garden. But I have them in containers so I’m not worried about it.
When they start taking up too much space, I will thin them out.
A month or so ago I thinned the mint, lemon balm, and sedum in the containers and in the blue raised bed. These plants had truly taken over and I wanted to plant more perennials.
So I spent a day or so digging those roots out, and now I watch closely to see if more will be coming up. I’ll yank them out if I see them sprouting.
I’ve never had a tomato plant that grew this tall. I’m glad I have it supported by a trellis. I have tied jute around parts of the plant to hold it upright.
On the left of that is a pot of zinnias I planted from seed.
My cucumber plant is getting big as well. I have yellow marigolds planted around both the tomato and the cucumber plant. Planting marigolds in between vegetables is a form of eco-friendly pest control.
Marigolds are used as a companion plant in the vegetable garden to lure pests away from the vegetables.
What’s growing in your garden?
It all looks beautiful. Did you fertile your tomato plant? If so what did you use?
Just tulips and some daffodils growing here. We are in need of rain. I have been lugging watering cans around. I have planted quite a few new perennials and made a new little path. I have zinnias and corn flower seeds to plant, but don’t trust Michigan weather. It has been crazy hot( 80’s)the last couple of days, but it can change on a dime. We are only 13 miles from Lake Superior and that acts like a giant ice cube. Love how your garden is thriving. I just made a mosaic stepping stone for mine, but will have to put it away come winter.
I put a big heavy pretty landscaping block on the bottom of my big cats stand for ballast. Quick fix. Easy to find and pick up one by one.
Ivy looks beautiful in her ivory tower!
I think all cats love those crazy towers. It must make them feel they are on top of the world. Glad you have had rain for your plants-just hope it is not too much. xo Diana
I rarely grow veggies, but when I do it’s usually one tomato plant and one pepper plant that I can grow in pots on the patio. None planted this year. I gave up planting annuals – too expensive year after year. My gardens now are exclusively perennials, most of which I inherited when I bought the house, some volunteers, some purchased additions over the years, only a few of which have survived and thrived in my “wild west” gardens. I don’t know the names of a lot of the plants and it’s a real mish-mash, complete with volunteers whose seeds have either blown in from elsewhere or left behind by some obliging birds. My upkeep is generally limited to pulling weeds and occasionally pruning – and I do water as needed, it distresses me to see a wilted plant. Essentially, the gardens I have this season are not the carefully planned out and tailored ones I inherited when I bought the house in 2014. It breathes freely now and so do I – no corsets demanded! The Wisconsin climate has changed over the past 40 years; the summers are hotter and more humid now; the winters generally milder except for the dreaded Polar Vortexes; the seasons are uneven; although we didn’t have snow in April this year (unlike last spring), we’re still a good 2 weeks behind planting and blooming season as I remember it from when I first started paying attention to things like growing seasons. The weather is now more unpredictable than before, as well. Today it’s about 90 degrees F where I live, about 7 miles inland from Lake Michigan which acts as a big AC unit for neighborhoods up to a mile inland from its shores. Here, no such luck; it’s hot, and the dew point is about 67 so I sweat even when sitting absolutely still in the shade. There’s a breeze too, but it doesn’t really help all that much. I have trouble breathing in this kind of weather, unfortunately. So I am pretty much now restricted to going out very early mornings. I should have cut the front lawn this morning, but I doubt my neighbors would have appreciated me being out there at 6:30 a.m. cutting the grass! Last week it was rainy and 10 degrees or more below seasonal temperature norms. So go figure. I don’t even try any more!
Re cat tower: To prevent the possibility of her cat tower toppling over my daughter put a concrete paver stone in the bottom cubby. It didn’t upset her 2 cats who rarely, if ever, played in the lower section of the tower anyway. She hasn’t done so but if you didn’t like the bare concrete look it would be easy enough to cover to match your decor.
My balcony containers are my garden! I have Gerber Daisies(red & yellow), Begonias (red), Marigolds (yellow and orange), a large container of wild flowers planted from seed (almost ready to bloom), basil plants and 4 mystery plants that I’ve not seen this type of greenery and haven’t yet figured out what they are (they were on sale and not labeled; I’m waiting for them to bloom so I’ll know!). You seriously have me thinking of adding some tomatoes.
That is an impressive tomato plant. I have two tomato plants that are only about six inches tall. I plan to plant a lot of sunflower seeds this week. I wish I would have done it already but I forgot about them. The birds love pecking at them in the fall. I planted some marigold seeds yesterday. We also have had so much rain here in central KY but today is a beautiful day that is not too hot. It’s a good day to be outside.
I do love looking at your plants! You sure have a green thumb!
I’ve been trying to get Tansy..I had it years ago, but can’t find it…
I could probably get it out in the Amish area west of here but don’t want to travel to shop….
Brenda, your garden in amazing! I love to see the flowers, vegetables, etc. I cannot believe you grew the zinias from seeds! And that tomato plant!!!
Ivy and Charlie look as sweet as ever.
Have a great week.
How is your daughter? I hope the surgery went well.
Hi Brenda. Ivy looks so cute in her tower. That is a great investment you made for her enjoyment in life! Your tomato plant looks amazing. Probably all the heat, humidity and rain has made it go crazy with growth. Hopefully you will get some great tomatoes. Have a good week.
I love my plants too I have pots also one with and tomato and one with bell peppers and one with lantana. plus my small flower garden that i can keep weed free or try anyway. your fur babies are so cute have a great day