June 12, 2025. Summer weather is here! The last few days were toasty and my plants were loving it. As were the variety of birds in the birdbath: robin, yellow finch, some brown ones, a big crow, a junco…and I am sure others I have missed. My neighbor started feeding the birds and alas, there are new ones I do not recognize.

As The Elovators sing in their song “Gardenia” (which inspired me to purchase a gardenia plant fall of 2024, which led me to realize Washington is rather cold for it but I am optimistic):

“How the Garden Grow

How it bloom and what it teach ya

Started as a seed now I’m walking through the jungle

Between green leaves no we not lookin for no trouble…”

Wow! My garden is alive!

Most of the dahlias (I lost count…) are popping out green leaves; several have buds. I planted 5 more today in black plastic pots…why not? Do you need a dahlia? Let me know…

The sweet peas are infuriatingly aromatic with beautiful, delicate petals. I left a few sweet pea plants over winter and they are popping out blooms like no other. Interesting…I will have to test this ‘theory’ again. I am a big fan of having these sweet peas available so early. My other sweet pea seeds that I planted in April-ish are just now taking off…slow growing for some reason. I am guessing not enough water. Sweet peas are quite finicky as little guys; but once they get about six to eight inches in height, they are unstoppable (unless you are my volunteer gardener…who just happens to pop up whenever he feels like it:, morning, noon, night….he has taught me some interesting facts though…stay tuned).

My lavender has a nice purple to it, making me want to add a few more varieties. I now have it in five spots! All are English Lavender at the moment. Easy to propagate and continue growing my collection. They really make a nice addition to bouquets.

The Asiatic lilies are bursting with orange and red; quite stunning. I will divide and replant into the ground early fall. I am looking forward to taller blooms next year, and more blooms per stem. These specific lilies were actually in pots when my house was purchased! Without any regard to the lilies, I went ahead and divided one pot of lilies in spring of 2020; thank goodness they are still thriving today. Thank you previous homeowner, you picked well. I wonder…can I find that homeowner and give her a bouquet? Yes…adding to my to-do list. Or my ‘opportunity list,’ if you will.

Last summer, a gentleman gave me a huge bucket full of crocosmias…I am talking full to the rim! I planted several around my property, and gave some to my family and friends. This is my first year growing them. My aunt (I have mentioned before) is a plant whiz too. She mentioned gladiolas like to have a lot of water….I am applying this theory to my crockers. Speaking of gladiolas…they had a rough blooming season in 2024. The petals were weak and light in color. I have been more focused on watering this year! And perhaps it is time to add fish fertilizer to them too…yep. Decided. Fingers crossed for a great season this year!

My co-worker recently gave me some common milkweed, or butterfly weed. I was able to plant in several locations! So excited to see the red blooms. She also gave me some bee balm, monarda. Looking forward to these unique blooms too.

Ahh my sunflowers. Slowly becoming another one of my favorites. I have a lot of sunflowers planted this year…and more than a few varieties too. Bunnies and deer like these. Which leads to the title of this blog….to pinch or not to pinch. My gardener, the deer, chomped on several sunflowers. Bah I will just slap them silly. Or pop em with my pellet gun…I kid, I kid. However, I learned sunflowers will push out more blooms when the main head is pinched (or eaten….)! Thank you, Mr. Deer….

Starting in 2023, I bought 18 dahlia tubers. That year, I did not pinch any stems. I had a ridiculous amount of blooms. Here comes 2024…I planted a bit later than 2023 due to the weather. And I pinched a lot of my plants. It did not yield a great season of blooms! I was bummed but did not give up; I continued researching and learning.

July of 2024 was a big month for me. I decided to stop drinking alcohol…nothing changes, if nothing changes right? Almost a year later and I am so thankful for that decision: I was able to get my business up and running; involved with many unique opportunities in the sign language interpreting field; becoming more involved in the community of Longview and Kelso; spitting ideas at the Accessibility Advisory Committee meetings every two months; coaching and continuing to play soccer; enjoying life and time with my family.

Did you make it this far in the post? Congrats. I am proud of you. Gold star and a cookie.

@TheElovators, y’all need sign language interpreters for the next reggae fest in the PNW? Let me know! My husband and I are in…

Until the next post…