I was not sure what I would find when arriving home today after being away. I had heard the stories of the heavy rain and storms that hit the area. I was anticipating at least some minor damage or problems.

My vegetable garden weathered the storm nicely. The worst I could find was some Indian corn bent over. The soil is still very wet but I hope to be able to straighten those few stalks tomorrow. Adding soil to the base of the plants should be enough to hold the straightened stalks upright. Everything seems to have doubled in size.

It never ceases to amaze me how much things seem to grow while I’m away. The new perennials are thriving and blooming. The only landscape related damage from the weather was just a few more sticks down in the yard.

I did have one nice surprise while walking through the yard deciding it would be a day or so before it would dry up enough to get anything done. I did it while snacking on some of the first black raspberries to ripen this season.

I’ll see you in the backyard!

The weather has warmed and summer is here. Our plants are thriving, or at least we hope they are. Now we have to be on the lookout for damaging insects and other problems.

Some damage is very evident. Other problems may be harder to spot. I like to just stroll around the yard and garden looking for bugs or evidence of their damage, if any.

Once the pests or their damage is found, steps can be taken to solve the problem.

An active approach helps keep our yards and gardens pest free. Many plant diseases, if present, can also be found early. This makes them much easier to deal with.

Observation is key. You may even want to keep a notebook of your observations. This is a great way to follow trends from year to year. As years go by you’ll be able to look ahead to potential problems.

I’ll see you in the backyard!