Happy Mothers Day!

I'm having trouble starting flowers from seed this year. Not much is germinating, and what does sprout seems to get eaten within days. The morning glories were full of little holes, like some bugs were chewing on them. The cantaloupe shoots just disappeared, like they were bitten off at ground level. So I'm trying again. I've planted morning glories and cantaloupe seeds in little peat pellets. I'll put them in the ground when they're big enough to defend themselves. I also replanted sunflower, wildflower, zinnia, and cosmos seeds. This time, I've covered the plot with pop-up screens to keep the birds (and maybe the chipmunks) away. We'll see how it works.

It's an absolutely perfect day. Sunny, breezy, warm. Wow. Irises, peonies, delphinium, coreopsis--it's all blooming. Usually I look around the garden and see what's wrong with it--I need to weed, I need to plant something in that spot, I need to move those plants that are crowding each other. In the beginning of May, however, it all just looks great. I can sit on the porch and feel pretty good about all the work we've been doing out there. All in all, a pretty good way to spend Mothers Day.