The Maple Hill Hop 30

Welcome to 
The Maple Hill Hop,
where we share our outdoor posts.

These Giant Yellow Zinnias were discovered last fall.

They aren't a true yellow,

but more orange

and they are oh-so easy to grow.

This is a new variety of sunflowers for us,

called Teddy Bear.

They didn't germinate as easily as expected,

but they do add a nice bit of cheer to the garden.

At about 8 inches in height,

they would look great planted en masse.

Our shasta daisies have been giving us a show out front.

The seeds will be saved to start more plants.
Can't have enough daisies!

The lillies are opening up in our backyard bed.
They seem to be a bit later in blooming than past years.

The coneflower by the mailbox always makes me smile.

This is one of my all-time favorite flowers.

(I say that about a lot of blooms.)

One of my tasks for this week is to get 

some of my San Marzano tomatoes planted.

This one's about ready to jump out of the can!

What a wonderful surprise to find out

that the lettuce I had started from seed is growing well

and tasting good.

All the lettuce from the square foot bed went to seed and was too bitter to eat.

I'm gonna repot these cuties into bigger containers and keep them on the patio

to see if I can encourage them to keep producing salad fixins.

In the last week, I noticed our oak tree was not doing well.

It seemed like from one day to the next it just went downhill.

Everything growing under it died too.

A friend suggested that maybe it was struck by lightening.

This was one of the few trees in our backyard that would end up with some height to it.

I'm sad to see it fading away.

The cocoon that Lynn had given us to observe finally opened on Sunday morning.

It's a swallowtail, though I'm not sure exactly what type.

This poor thing had a damaged hind wing.
I placed it on the stick so that it could dry its wings
and I could see how badly marred the wing was.
It was observed again yesterday, 
close to the same spot.
I placed it on some lantana,
hoping it would enjoy some of the nectar,
but it just limped away.
Not sure if it's gonna make it if it can't fly.
We'll see if we can find it again today in the garden.

Let's HOP!

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