| Posted on Friday, March 26, 2004 - 11:19 pm: |   
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I hate having a cold! I feel just miserable but the weather this past three days has been glorious. All days above freezing and rain. It is just wonderful to see and hear the rain because it melts the snow. Tonight is very foggy with warm rain and cold snow. We finished fixing the purple bathroom and it looks great I think.
I have lots of bare patches now where I can see grass and the gardens are beginning to emerge and the stairs are now clear of snow so tomorrow I will be down the hill to check out the lower garden and the tiers on the hillside.
More potting up to do tomorrow and pricking. I am kinda slow at it but I will get it done. Everything is doing well but my last plantings are slow at germinating. However the chilean glory flower - both varieties - are up. I think I must plant more canary vine and lemon grass - not very good germinations and I do want Jake to have a good crop - I just won't tell him I helped!
I've had my Auntie here for the past two days and she is 77 with lots of medical problems so more babysitting! She is being picked up by her son tomorrow. This weekend we have no plans and I plan to spend it very quietly. |
| Posted on Wednesday, April 07, 2004 - 12:53 am: |
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That nasty cold didn't get any better. I am on the second round of antibiotics. Tire quickly. But I did get out to prune the clematis today. Hope I did it right. All 10 have leaf buds so I didn't lose any due to the cold winter. YIPEE!! I have packed almost 1500 seed packets in the past 3 days and I still have another 1000 to pack up, but they will be ready for the meeting tomorrow night. My starter plants are doing well. Everything is growing by leaps and bounds. Seems I am feeding them and then pinching them non-stop. We have a busy weekend coming up. Looking forward to having all the family home. |
| Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 10:16 pm: |
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I'm tired. I'm sick and tired of waiting for spring to really get here. Nothing is doing much in the gardens - so depressing to look out at brown grass and brown, dead gardens. Oh there are buds on the bushes and a few crocus keep popping up and then we get more snow and they disappear again. Grrrrrrrrrrrr!
So.......... I had to do the housework. I hate doing housework. Went mountain climbing in the laundry room too! Oh and spent just piles of money today - went to the grocery store and stocked up the larder for the weekend. Bought Easter treats for everyone and a beautiful pink hydrangea for my friend Marj. I delivered it to her on the way home from shopping and she loved it. I am meeting'd out. 3 this week and this was a short week! Next Tues. I'll be spending most of the day at the Civitan Clubhouse helping Sr.'s get their income tax packages ready. There are two of us in the club who provide this service to the community free of charge. Every Tues. til the end of the month. It's not much but it helps and it's cheaper than tax agencies. I seem to be finally on the mend. Feeling much better. |
| Posted on Tuesday, April 13, 2004 - 01:36 am: |
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Got so much done today - inside & out. 8 bags of leaves removed from the gardens - winter protection as oak leaves do not break down easily; then raked all the lawns and did a general clean up - no big garden surprises. The oriental poppies are up about 4" and the patch has grown in size again. After we finished the outside chores I came in and did more seeding - I did 3 flats of stuff this aft. so feel really good about that. More pricking out to do yet as I'm not done and the plants are getting really getting too big for the cell packs. Todays seeding was astilbe, more purple millet seed grass; red lupine (from Marie); larkspur (from Arlene); lavender; matthiola; brachycome; gaillardia; love in a mist; marguerite shasta daisy; coral bells; asarina; cleomes (from Derek & Arlene); columbine; rudbeckia 'Aslan'; lamb's ears (the 1st ones didn't germinate); and some little bluestem ornamental grass. I can't wait to seriously start on the gardens but today we did notice that the ground is very dry already. Spread some spring grass seed on the front lawn and decided that we have to seriously work on the back lawns - a lot of moss and weeds so I think it's time to weed and feed; spray for grubs again and re-seed. My son-in-law has promised me that before May 24 weekend he will deliver to me lots of good topsoil from his dad's farm AND move it around the yard for me. I am truly blessed with my daughter's choices of mates! Now if only I could get some of Derek's good 'fertilizer' delivered!!! Ummmmmmmmmmmmm..... must look into finding a source for that. I tried to get some compost from the recycling station and they don't have any left. It really tic's me off...... all the landscaping businesses get truck loads for zero and then sell it back to us - and we are the ones who made it all possible by diligently recycling all our yard wastes! I'm expecting a busy day tomorrow at the club house with tax day returns...... only 3 more to go before the deadline and everyone is starting to hustle to get them done and submitted. |
| Posted on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 11:22 pm: |
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OMG - I'm getting lost in the jungle that I have in the basement!!!! I'd post photos but I haven't got all my programs up and running and no printer...... the new one is still in the box as the plants come first; no camera upload program yet......soon.
As SusanQ calls them - the children are growing like weeds! I am being over run. I can't seem to prick them out and pot them up fast enough. On Monday past I planted up another 2 flats of seeds and tonight I checked them for moisture levels and OMG - 6 cell packs in one flat have germinated! Stocks; brachycomb and nigella germinated in 3 days! I have ageratum blooming and they are still in the cell packs! So far I've got the cup & saucer vines potted up - they are already 1-2 ft. tall; I have 28 butterfly bushes - 14 each of white and purple; 9 various delphiniums. Tomorrow I'm back to pricking and potting up the amaranthus; Arlene's tall larkspar; delphinium Laurin; flax - both red & blue. I'll be able to get the children outside a bit this weekend if the forecast holds true ~ 17º/65º. Today I was moving and shuffling a few things in the lower gardens; planted up some more seeds (I must be crazy) ~ 7 different varieties of sunflowers for a sunflower wall at the top of the hill; 2 varieties of lavatera; 5 varieties of zinnia; 2 varieties of venidium & angallis. I can't believe I ordered more seeds today from Stokes - the only place I could get tithonia & my grape tomatoe seeds. Julie sent me a few tithonia she had but she said they are older seeds and I just can't take the chance because this is the heart of 2 garden designs I have planned.
Our seed sale project is going well - we have already sold over 1/2 of the packets - YEA!!!!!! - the money is rolling in for the Sports & Recreation center. Another big opportunity for sales is coming next weekend - the local home show.
Did a house call for a tax submission last night; lady is disabled and couldn't come into the clinic. |
| Posted on Friday, April 16, 2004 - 06:42 pm: |
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Oh my aching back. All I have done today is prick and pot seedlings. Amaranthus Love lies bleeding; joseph's coat; tall larkspur; red and blue flax; ageratum (pink); dwarf penstemon and salpiglosis. I now have over 150 plants on my seed stand; the second batch of seedlings will be ready to pot up in another week; and I think so will the stocks and brachycomb. Pizza for dinner and a domino game scheduled with friends tonight. I'm gonna be tired when bed time comes. Tomorrow weather is 60% chance of showers and cloudy but warmer - about 60º. I may get some time in the garden and maybe not - but I'll be in the garden all day Sunday. |
| Posted on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 03:27 pm: |
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Hi Journal: Oh my aching body! I've been in the yard (between showers and thunderstorms) since Saturday. So many wonderful discoveries - crocus everywhere and tulips where I didn't plant them - but not many! My soapy plant is up; the rhubarb is peeking it's sprouts up; all 10 of the clematis have survived the winter; even last years iceland poppies are putting out new growth (I thought they were an annual??); same with snapdragons and nicotina - that is a first time here that the old plants left in are showing new growth. The lavender is beautiful - I think it even grew during the winter. We have taken off all the leaves from the gardens (15 bags worth), raked the yard again and all is looking pretty good. I have some work ahead trimming all the old growth off from the perennial bed but.... all in good time. Have lots of things to move and split in this bed this year. Great - new starts for the new gardens down the stairs and across the back of the house! My darling son-in-law is bringing me topsoil from the farm on May 24 weekend so hopefully by mid-June I'll have everything in place for the coming garden season.
The seed stand is packed full - not an inch of free space. I think next year I will need more lights - and more space. Already the list is started for next years seeds! |
| Posted on Wednesday, April 28, 2004 - 12:30 pm: |
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Hello Journal - not much happened in the garden this past week - the weather has been horrid for this time of year. Rain almost every day and cold. Yesterday we had snow coming down all day but thank heavens it was melting as it landed. On Monday night just after sunset we had a real thunderboomer - complete with lots of thunder, lightening and hail and then torrents of rain. It lasted about 2 hours. So I've not been in the garden other than a quick walk about - just too cold. However the jungle in the basement is keeping me busy. Nearly everything has germinated now and I'm back in the position of having to pot up lots of stuff again. I must tell Julie that the tithonia sprouted and I now have 4 very nice plants that I am nurturing. I have had a slight alteration of plan - all these plants I'm growing were originally for 4 gardens - my own and 3 darling daughters who are starting their gardens. Well - we are down to 2 daughters starting gardens as DD#2 have sold their house and are moving! They may or may not need these plants. I may end up selling some of these from my front porch yet! But it is fun to grow them. |
| Posted on Saturday, May 01, 2004 - 02:06 am: |
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Wow - what wonderful days we have had for the end of this week - thurs & fri. Thurs was hot and sunny - 23C/73ºF. Glorious! Spent the afternoon in the garden puttering and considering where to put the new plants and was just soaking up the sun. Today I made a concerted effort to clean up some of last years dead growth and got quite a bit accomplished. On my walk about I noticed that my Monks Hood survived and is doing really well. Moved a bellflower today. I couldn't relocate the coneflowers yet because they are just peeking through so too soon yet. Checked out all the clematis and decided I have to move 3 to a new location. Where I had one persian coneflower (centaurea) there are now 6 so I can relocate them to new areas. I really like them and their bloom last a very long time. My aliums are all up about 6" already. Got rid of a lot of oriential poppy new pups today. Boy they sure do like to take over if you let them. Found a little lupin growing under the bottom of the butterfly bush. I had all my new plants outside for a little "playtime" and they did well. Dragged out 10 flats in the morning and back in at 4:30 pm. The other 6 flats are almost ready for potting up so that 6 flats will become 10 - 12 more. Then there were the 6" pots of vine plants - 10 of those. It took me almost an hour to get everything out and the same to get them back in but they all looked happy. My purple ornamental millet grass is suffering from lack of sun/light even being under the lights 16 hours a day so I have added a couple of mini grow lights just for them. We will see how they respond. The trilliums are coming up; most of the peonies are showing their alien arms; the lilac tree has tiny leaves emerging as does the weigelia (?); the rhubarb is now a mass of 6-8" leaves. Our big dilema now is how to put the gardens beside the stairs going down the hill - ruminating on style of retaining material to use. Also have to get a new roof on the garage - it's a flat top and is starting to leak. It's time so we have to get estimates next week. I've decided to remove the mock orange shrub. It looks horrid from DH pruning it too many years with no thought to overall form. Haven't decided what I will plant in it's place yet. |
| Posted on Sunday, May 09, 2004 - 10:22 pm: |
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It's Mother's Day and I sure had a wonderful one. Spent the morning reading the paper and just relaxing. DH cooked my favorite brunch - toasted western sandwich. Then after lunch we went outside to the yard and got a lot accomplished. The kids are coming next weekend to assist with garden work which consists of changing a lot of the gardens and putting in new ones. The mock orange shrub is gone from the front of the house. It was in terrible shape. This bed will be enlarged and reshaped; the bed under the oak trees will be enlarged; the bed at the back of the house will be enlarged and reshaped and if all goes well the new beds down the backyard steps will also be done. We :) have a plan and hopefully mother nature will go along with our plan and give us a nice day.
This week we got the lattice for the rockery fence and have to paint it and then put it up. We also got some split cedar rails and a little fence will be put at the bottom of the hill.
In the meantime I planted Etoile violette clematis on the empty side of the arbor. Hopefully it will grow well there and join at the top with Kermesina. I still have a few things to move and shift but can't until the new changes to the garden beds are done. DD's are teasing saying it's going to be like the TV show Ground Force next Saturday.
Lots of things are happening in the family unit right now. DD#1 just got her Gr. 12 diploma and started college this past Thursday. DD#2 - they have sold their house and are moving on June 4; DD#3 has opened her daycare center. Lots and lots of changes - all positive ones; and due to all their schedules - no visits today but next Saturday........ the whole crew will be here. :):):) |
| Posted on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 08:18 pm: |
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Well the crew didn't arrive. Sometimes things just don't work out according to the schedule. With so many changes in the family going on - things are upside down for schedules. People working, funerals, one DD moving; couldn't get the bricks for the new stair beds; couldn't get the dirt for the same beds - the loader sunk in the mud trying to get the dirt!!!! Oh well - perhaps in a couple of weeks we'll get it done.
We spent the past weekend at DD's who is moving and we assisted in packing up the house. We will be back there for the long weekend too.
Today was a wonderful day - worked in the garden all day - oh my aching muscles! Moved lots of thing around; split up some things to fit in new places and just did a good general clean up of the perennial bed. The plants I grew will be getting planted the first weekend of June I guess as I won't be doing any planting this weekend. Still too soon here. Moved the nine bark to a more suitable site at the end of the bed; moved the coneflowers and ping pong phlox to the back of the bed and moved the peach bellflower and foxglove forward; moved some bergamont, aster, and lupines. Disposed of a quantity of oriental poppy and moved two rose bushes to the top garden.
The clematis are all growing about a foot a day - Mrs N Thompson already has buds; both alpina's are blooming - Constance and Blue Bird (belle) can't remember and just too tired to check that out. I haven't planted Rosemoor yet but will soon - when I decide where to plant it.
We have new lattice to put up on the fence behind the rockery - that old fence is so ugly; just have to paint the lattice.
Have the cedar rails for the new fence structure at the bottom of the hill - it's sole purpose is for growing clematis on - wonder where I got the idea from??????? Also have an old wagon wheel to put somewhere too and I think it would look terrific with Rosemoor clematis to adorn it or maybe I'll put the purple bell vine on it - haven't decided yet.
The jack in the pulpit is up and so pretty - I was getting worried because it was so slow in coming back this year.
That's about all. Now I must get back outside and clean up and water everything. |
| Posted on Thursday, May 27, 2004 - 11:42 pm: |
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Well - the flood water is abating. I can't believe how much rain we got (of course we were away in Toronto) - the local airport reports 132 milimeters in 2 days. The whole town of Coldwater was underwater with a lot of families and the Sr.'s home evacuated. They are letting them go back today. Everywhere around here was so bad. I lost a lot of my little plants that I grew - they got washed out of their pots! It's not supposed to rain but these days - who knows. Its raining again tonight - just what we don't need right now.
I'm up to my earlobes in alligators - got a housefull coming on Sat. - about 40 - 45 for a barbeque/baby shower/family get together. The baby blanket that I normally give as a gift isn't finished; the window boxes aren't planted but then neither are the patio pots or the front urn. Just didn't have the time. We always have a good time when we get together so the weather can't dampen our spirits. Sunday I plan to spend in the garden planting some of my plants - I just hope they don't get root rot from all the water. |
| Posted on Sunday, May 30, 2004 - 10:52 pm: |
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Things went well yesterday. 44 in total and we had a great time and Mother Nature co-operated by providing us with a great day - sunny but not too warm. The parents to be went home with lots and lots of lovely gifts and really big smiles on their faces! The first family get together of the season is always a great time - catching up on what everyone has been doing this past winter; seeing how all the little ones have grown and getting lots and lots of hugs from cousins  .
Today was a very quiet day. Went to Cdn. Tire and got 5 bags of miracle gro potting soil for the patio pots and window boxes. Also bought a few more bags of bark mulch. When I came home I planted up the new flower boxes on the front porch and the urn on the front patio. All the plants are back on the patio bench - and I will commence planting on Wed. or Thurs. I can't believe how many plants I have managed to nurture.
I am going to be a busy girl because the above bench is over 30'long and it is filled from end to end with new plants. Sure wish I had some of Derek's "fertilizer". Oh well - the bagged stuff will have to do.
We are off to the big city again tomorrow for a personal appointment. Afterwards DH will drop me at DD's house where I will assist in the final packing up. I have never packed so much so quickly. I sure am glad it is almost finished. I'll be back home Tues. nite late. Can't wait to get started planting all my new plants. |
| Posted on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 12:57 am: |
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Hello Journal: I just got home tonight. I sure hope this is the last of my travels for a while. I am totally worn out. The shower on the weekend and then finish the kids packing. It's all done now and the movers come at 11 a.m. tomorrow. This Sat. DH and I are off to other DD's with plants and plans in hand to assist in putting in her new front yard garden. I just get to watch and supervise - I don't have to do any of the work. Can you see me not with my hands right in that garden? Then it is off the DD #3 and into her garden with lots of plants from my garden. I gave a lot of plants away to nieces and nephews and cousins this weekend (that were supposed to be in DD#1's garden but the house is sold so no garden). If the weather warms up and dries up I'll start my own planting out next week. It is still chilly at night and very wet here. I haven't had to water the plants since before May 22 - Mother Nature is doing it with gusto! |
| Posted on Friday, June 04, 2004 - 03:19 am: |
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I can't believe how cool a spring we have had. Here it is June 3 and we have a frost warning. I had to lug all the plants into the garage to protect them. I sure hope it warms up soon because all this cool weather is holding the new plants back. |
| Posted on Friday, June 25, 2004 - 11:48 pm: |
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Hello Journal - it's been a bit since I have written. I still haven't got all my new plants in but I have got the dirt - it came this week for the two gardens I am enlarging and reshaping. That's my weekend project. I can't believe this weather - lat night it went down to 39ºF - so cold and it's almost July.
My garden looks terrible this year. The obelisks are still empty. I planted cup and saucer vines on one and then found that something had dug up one of the precious vines and it was almost dead. 4 months to grow and nurture it and 1 night and some nasty vermin to almost kill it. I repotted it and am again nursing it along. The other is fine. The morning glories are coming along - but so slowly on the other obelisk. They are only about 2 inches tall so far - not much for being planted 4 weeks ago! The perennial garden looks terrible - the rain has beaten the peonies to the ground and the lemon lilies. There is a big empty spot in the middle this year. I moved a lot of stuff around to make room for the delphs that I have grown but haven't planted yet.
We have put up a new background fence over the rockery - lattice and it looks lovely but we still need one more panel to finish it. It's painted with Loden green from Home Hardware. Very nice color.
We now have the cedar rail fence placed at the bottom of the hill and I have the butterfly bush hedge in place. I'm watching it closely as the groundhog is back and so wants to eat this nice freshly planted salad! Vermin. I'd shoot him but we are not allowed to discharge a firearm in town! He sure is lucky otherwise he'd be gone!
I got sad news today. A friend in England has passed away. I shall miss her cheery letters very much. Tata Eunice - until we meet again.
Casseo arrives tomorrow with mommy and daddy for a short weekend visit. DH has started his annual vacation but plans for going to the east coast on a camping trip have not materialized. He may get called in to work. (No backup person).
We are both busy next week getting ready for the Canada Day parade in Midland. It is done by the Civitan's. Civitan's also operate a pizza booth at the picnic in the park where the whole town comes on Canada Day. Busy and fun filled days ahead. |
| Posted on Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 10:49 pm: |
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Hello Journal:
I am so disheartened with the garden this year. The weather has been horrid and then wonderful - cold/hot. So much rain has made the lower garden almost impossible to work in because of mosquitoes. The groundhog has multiplied. I was hoping is was a big old fat male but turns out to be a mama with 2 babies. They are eating everything and have now migrated to the upper gardens. We set the trap but nothing seems to lure them into it. We have tried to seal all the places in the rockery they were using and entry/exit route using green plastic netting. Our SPCA has such stupid rules - if they come and live trap the critters - they can only hold them for 24 hours to give us time to close up all the exit/entry points and den under the barn. Then they bring the critter right back to my yard to release it. Have you ever heard of anything so dumb?
The rose bushes are toast because of some blight; the earwigs are eating everything that the groundhog isn't and the mosquitoes are so agressive that I just try to forget the garden exists. It is so heartbreaking. Oh well - there is always next year. I've already started planning for next year. Just when you think you have everything under control Mother Nature brings you back to reality by letting you know she is in charge. |
| Posted on Saturday, August 07, 2004 - 01:44 am: |
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Hello Journal: we are doing a happy dance here today - as we have live trapped the two young varmits that have been helping themselves in my garden and have relocated them to friendlier quarters. I'm really lucky that they didn't care for lilies because mine are surely putting on a good show now. That's about all that's left. The poor cleomes are still trying to bloom even though they have been thoroughly pruned by the varmits. They are about 6 - 8" tall and have very tiny blooms but they are blooms.
I harvested some lavender today and have it drying - such a lovely aromatic chore! Tomorrow we are off to the big city to help Casseo's mommy and daddy with painting and cleaning their new house. The deal closed today. I know when I get home Sunday nite I will be very, very tired. But that's what mom's and dad's do - help out when needed. Our eldest daughters garden turned out beautifully so the season wasn't a total loss.
With DD's ideas and her DH's ideas and wishes I set to making a plan last winter; then grew the plants for the garden and in the spring (June 6) we planted it. I didn't have to do any of the digging or amending as son-in-law and grandsons had it done. DD and I planted the tender little plants with lots of care and attention to placement and DD tends it diligently every day.
Now I have orders from the other two DD's for new gardens. So the planning has already begun and the growing of the plants will again fill my hours during the long winter days.
I've even had an offer to plan and plant one of DD's neighbours gardens - and she is willing to pay me for it. Ummmmmmm... |
| Posted on Sunday, September 11, 2005 - 01:32 am: |
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Hi Journal: Been ages since I have been here. Well it's time to get caught up.
We had a brutal winter in 2004/4005 but I grew my indoor plants - not as many this time but the basement again looked like a jungle. And planting out was later this year because of really cool weather until about June 10. Then summer hit. Lots of hot, hot days, lots of humid days and drought.
Spring brought great disappointments for me - as the critters from last year had done so much damage that I lost a lot of plants - most of the perennial bed plants didn't come back. So it was off to nursery sales to find replacements and some new ones.
Summer brought long heat waves and tons of mosquitoes so that even gardening in the evenings was impossible without being eated alive. So........ the garden had to survive on it's own most of the time - except for the occassional watering. At least until June 21 when our town imposed a total outdoor water use ban, and that ended the watering. It was lifted Aug 14 but by that time a lot of my plants were already heading into dormancy or heaven. So I spend a week replaning the big perennal bed and have been working on it since then. It's now enlarged and looking much better now. I still have a ways to go (about a 4' section yet to do) but by Monday nite it should be completed.
Before the water ban - I was going gang busters on new plantings and designs. I put in a 40' hosta bed beside the neighbours fence on the west side of my yard. Next year the next 40' until I get the bed to go the entire 100' length. I had started to enlarge the front flower beds - the one under the oak trees and at the front of the house but that stopped with the water ban/drought.
The container gardens were a disaster this year - too hot and even with hand watering - which was allowed with a watering can - they still looked retched. Can you believe that even the cosmos died? They were just cooked to death with the heat and drought.
The bed at the back of the house was enlarged and became the tomato garden. And the yield has been fantastic. At least something did well in the heat.
Now it's Sept. 10 and I've moved all my peonies to make a peony hedge along an east facing fence. This will enable be to "tie" them up when they get so heavy with bloom that they flop on the ground. And they are just too big for the peony rings. So I split some and did a mix and match and hopefully it will look ok.
We scored a great gardeners dream last week. Got a load of rockery rocks and some boulders for free. We'll be putting them on the steepest side of the yard because nothing grows there since the neighbour erected a 5' fence and blocked all sun to the slope. It's at the base of this fence I have the hosta beds. And the slope will now become a shade rockery - yes - all 100' of it. At least we have the rock to put in place. Planting will come next year.
Oh I almost forgot - last fall we put up a split rail fence at the bottom of the hill in the back yard and it is now adorned with clematis on one side and a butterfly bush hedge on the other.
I had a buddy recently ask me what I do to my gardens to get ready for winter. Well - really nothing. I don't but back any plants, as they provide "winter" sculpture for the early part of winter before it is covered in snow. As we get about 6' of snow here in the winter - I figure thats just about right to protect my gardens. For roses I make dirt mountains around their crowns; for clematis I make foothills, and for other tender plants (those not suited to my zone) I make anthills. so far it's worked well. Oh and I also let Mother Natures insulation work for me - leaves becaue I just leave them where they land. When we rake the lawns in the fall we run the lawnmower through the leaves and this gets dumped on the gardens because when spring comes, it's mostly decomposed and just needs turning under. Nature's insulation and compost in one. |
| Posted on Tuesday, June 27, 2006 - 10:12 am: |
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Hello Journal: I can't believe it's been so long since I have been here. Many things have happened in my gardens this year.
I enlarged the garden at the front of the house and more than doubled the footprint. All the plantings came from the original garden because it was so badly overgrown and crowded. I'm pleased with the end results.
I was very worried that I would lose some of the newly planted hosta last year because of lack of water after replanting but not a one has disappeared. All came back and look quite healthy in spite of the water ban last summer. I haven't the hosta the spare this year to extend the planting to the 100' length that I want and that will have to wait until next year.
I lost quite a few plants this winter and no idea why. Not one delphinium returned, all black eyed susans have disappeared.
After waiting for everything to return in the spring I realized that even with the remake I did last fall that there were still some massive empty spots in the big perennial bed. So it was off to the "new" nursery we now have in town. And I sure did go crazy. I bought delphiniums, coreopsis 'sunray's, coneflowers, black eyed susans, ligularia, and some others. All were planted and doing great until ........... the critter from hell returned. Another groundhog has appeared and has totally decimated the coneflowers, phlox and had a feast on both my campanula cup and saucer plants. Well that meant it was war time here. Off to the nursery and bought cridder ridder; and nasty tasting spray meant for rabbits but works for groundhogs I've found and tobacco tea for the japanese beetles that are eating my lilies, and now the earwigs are munching through all foliage everywhere. It is an invasion this year of those yucky things.
To foil the groundhog - I have moved a lot of plants - switched the perennial bed plantings into the tomato garden and vice versa. Now my tomatoes, mallows, (and soon the hardy geraniums) will reside in the perennial bed and the pretty coneflower, delphinium and phlox now reside in the upper tier tomato bed. I decided I would provide nothing the groundhog liked in the lower unprotected bed. I now have the upper bed protected with a small border fence material and lots of cridder ridder, rabbit repellant spray on everything and now have a small radio playing under a small deck beside the tomato bed garden. Hope it discourages the nasty varmit from visiting.
My clematis are now blooming with Prince Charles in the summer snow viburnum looking especially nice; etoile violette is just starting her bloom on the arbour, and huldine and rosemoor are putting on a great show in the split rail fence.
Constance and blue bird were spectacular this spring. Now I'm just waiting on Blue Boy - he has been a tad slow in coming along but looks much better this year.
Polish spirit, Mrs Nora Thompson, and ville de lyon are getting ready to burst forth any day now. I'm going to remove "sunset" with the shovel and consign it to the composter. It has never done a thing and is a great disappointment. As I've said before I have no room for non preformers - 'Grow or you're Gone' is the rule. In it's place will go a new plant that I grew from seed. Josephine! I have no idea if it will come true or be something entirely different but the seed came from a lovely josephine. DD bought me two bare root plants for Easter but nothing has come from them. I suspect they were duds by the time I got them. However I am still caring for and watering the 'mud' pots in the hopes that perhaps later this season or next spring something will come forth in the mud pots. My seedling last year was pretty scrawny but this year - well it's better looking than some I've seen in the nursery outlets.
The peony hedge did OK this year but I know it would be a light bloom year because of moving it. But it still put out a pretty 'little' show this year. All of the peony plants survived the move so I am pleased.
This August I have to lift and split the iris patch. It has become very overgrown in just 3 years.
My other project this winter was to redesign and tend the gardens at my local museum. I worked all winter on the design and researched a lot of plants through the ages. The curator and I finally decided that a pioneer garden would be the best offering for guests to meet and greet them. A lot of the plants I grew this year in the basement are now in the museum gardens. I was lucky and had a donation of about 40 hollyhock plants in early spring. What a planting marathon that was. Freezing cold temps and I'm digging up young hollyhock plants and then taking them to the museum ( and a few to my garden) and replanting them.
The museum garden had not been diligently tended for about 10 years or so and was badly in need of copious quantity of TLC and tough love. There are some gorgeous iris specimens there but they are blooming even though the blooms are puny. The roots need to be lifted and cleaned up. There are also some day lilies (common orange lilies) that have gone crazy and moved everywhere. Then there were the sundrops - and they too had gone everywhere. The museum gardens are quite large - 100' x 10' is the biggest bed and the smaller bed is about 25-30' x 8'. And then the tree beds under the maple canopy - now filled with lily of the valley.
Between grandchildren and gardens this year I've had little time for anything else. Again this summer I will have two grandsons with me (babysitting) but I've signed the youngest one (7 yrs) to attend daycamp two days a week at the museum day care service. The older one is just happy being a lump (he's 13) and can amuse himself. We are seeing a lot of the two youngest grandchildren lately as the their mommy is still on mat leave so has lots of free time and chooses to spend it here with us when her DH is working. Her DH joins her on the weekend so we have a houseful all the time. Life is anything but boring.
In looking at my rockery this spring and through the past 2 months I think I need to redo that next year. I'm just not happy with the way it looks - scrawny and bunched up here and there. Time for a makeover!
Well journal - that's about all thats new here in the past year or so. Great strides, great disappointments but lots and lots of pleasure from my gardens. |
| Posted on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 10:16 pm: |
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Today I planted the last of the plants I grew this winter/spring. It was a planting marathon as I still had 5 flats of things left over to find places for. Today was a good day for climate as we had no rain - first day this week that was dry so I rushed right out and started planting and just kept at it until it was completed.
I refuse to plant any of the plants in the lower perennial bed because of Mr. Groundhog! I did not grow plants to feed him. I've tried cridder ridder, rabbit repellant, moving plants and today as he found nothing in the perennial garden he moved over to the my petunias in my pump vignette - and didn't eat any of the foliage but did strip it of blooms! Now that is just plain mean spirited of him because he had to climb up onto a bench to get to them - some of the petunias were at a height of 3' off the ground!
Today I give up on Mr. Groundhog - out comes the livetrap and he will be relocated to greener pastures!
I was given a gift yesterday of 3 beautiful trumpet vine plants. As 3 is too many for my gardens I plan to put one at the museum and will give one to a friend who has a new house. I offered it to him and he excitedly accepted the offer of the plant. Today he was going to purchase a sturdy trellis and put it up this evening and tomorrow he will be picking up the vine. I was also given 2 roots from a white hollyhock which I planted this a.m. amoung my other new aquisitions from earlier this spring. I will have blooms this year and I am so happy about that as I have tried with no success for 3 years to grow some.
Todays's plantings: (all the leftovers)
Zinnias
African Marigolds (3')
Jubilee Marigolds (2')
Amaranthus - Josephs Coat
Amaranthus - Love Lies Bleeding
Hibiscus - Red Shield
Cleome
Cosmos
Impatiens - yellow
Torenia |
