Garden Update 6/26

 

Milena Fleur 

Warm temperatures and timely rain have helped the cutting garden along nicely the last few weeks. 

First dahlia arrangement 

I cut the first dahlia - a small Pom-Pom variety from Lowe’s - last week, but there are many more budded and ready to bloom in the coming days and weeks. I’m currently watching these unfold layer by layer: 

Neo

Linda’s Baby

Jowey Nicky

Arabian Nights

Blue Wish

Dahlia beds

Last night the zinnias were cut back to encourage branching. I have an admittedly hard time with this! Pinching back a perfectly healthy and happy plant feels destructive. It’s time to thin my pumpkin seedlings and I don’t want to! But we pinched back the dahlias, and I thinned the tomatoes back when they were seedlings. Thinning allows a plant to thrive rather than competing with the excess you planted in case the seeds failed to germinate. Pinching, for flowers, encourages the plant to branch and, eventually, produce more flowers. Good in the long run, but feels like planticide at the moment 😂 

Mostly-finished chicken house in the background 

I’m on Insta as @hppress, where I post about the garden daily! 🌸