Groundhog defense system breached

Last Friday, I discovered the first breach of our groundhog defense system. It looks like the groundhog dug through the wire at ground level where it has become corroded and weakened. The peas were in sad shape but none were pulled out by the root and they seem to be recovering.

We had our largest harvest of strawberries on Monday (30). These were mostly gone by the time I returned home from work. My mother always wondered why her strawberries didn't produce (not realizing at age 5 my friend and I were enjoying them fresh from the garden), I guess this is my payback.

The best news I have is that several of the ornamental cherry cuttings seem to be establishing roots. After cutting several branches and selecting the best tips for propagating indoors, I stuck what was left in a garden planter outside in March. It turns out that these are the only cuttings that have survived. Both of my indoor propagation attempts failed.

The kale is ready for harvest, I picked a handful of snow peas last night and lettuce is abundant. Basil is just beginning to grow.There are now 87 beech tree seedlings growing. We recently lost nine of them, most likely to a rodent (chewed off just above ground-level). Slugs have severely damaged five of them. Last night, I planted about 16 more seeds that sprouted in the refrigerator and there are about that many left to plant (if they germinate).

Now blooming are peonies, dame's rocket and wild rose. My daughter also looked up some weeds in our plant identification book including the ubiquitous gill-over-the-ground (aka "creeping charlie"), white clover, and dandelion-like hairy hawkweed.