Garden Diary - July 12

I have a baby watermelon! It's the size of a small egg right now. I've wrapped it in a copper wire mesh bag so that it won't get eaten by a squirrel or raccoon while it's small and vulnerable (I can't wait for it to be big enough to outlast everything). It's an orange-flesh early-ripening variety from Veseys: http://www.veseys.com/ca/en/store/vegetables/melons/watermelon/newqueen

I've also eaten my first blueberries from the bush I planted last year. They're small and delicate - just like wild blueberries should be (although maybe not quite fully ripe yet).

After a torrential downpour on Saturday, Mark put together an overflow system for the rain barrel - we walked back from Rona with a 12-foot length of ABS pipe and a few elbows - it should help direct all the excess water away from the house. There's something a little strange about crossing the intersection with something that big in your hands - I could take out a few cars with a careless move...

I finally got fed up with the lamb's ears and cut off the flowering stalks. I also cut down the ragged dying leaves from the bachelor's buttons. And I took a bit off the back of the tall ornamental grass - it was crowding out some of the nearby plants.

I've finished up all of the weeding from the concrete walk beside the house - now I'm ready to try filling the gaps with polymeric sand to control the weeds (while I was carrying home the ABS from Rona, Mark was carrying the 50-lb bag of sand - thank-you!).