The Garden Today

Our first peonies have bloomed. They are red ones I traded a friend for a few years back. The plants are kinda spindly due to shade from the neighbour's trees against our mutual fence.

The blooms are even deeper in colour than this.

So pretty.

The delicate Siberian iris are also in bloom against the deck,

and beside the house (and gas meter).

The huge rust-coloured bearded irises also bloomed yesterday.

Skip grew these marigolds from seed. They are 'hardening off' ready to be planted. We hope our efforts to eliminate rabbits from our back yard have paid off because we'll be really pissed if they get chewed.

Coming soon?

Any day now.

Asiatic lilies.

Here is one of our patches of milkweed. I have started to check for eggs. Apparently a monarch will lay several dozen eggs in a short period of time. I hope to harvest many of them and nurture them through the larva and pupa stages into adulthood and then release them. This year's goal of at least 20 is twice last year's.

There is also a large patch of milkweed in an empty lot a couple of blocks away which I'll also be checking for eggs and/or larvae.

My latest Netflix binge-watching? Happy Valley. Season One with 6 episodes was gripping. Somewhat Fargo-esque in the sense of a crime that went really badly. Season Two seems to have started out similarly. Beware of social media!! Beware of roofies in your drink!!! Bottom line - don't have an affair!!!! It could be very injurious to your health. That's all I'm going to say on that.