A Weekend at the Farm June 22 - 23, 2013

It had been 3 weeks since we were last at the farm.  It was - what is the word? - disturbing?  how overgrown everything was.  I was forced to work really hard on Saturday and Sunday despite the heat.

• On Saturday I focused on the Star Garden.  I pulled weeds.  Weeds, weeds, weeds everywhere.  I pulled up all the Love-in-a Mist because it had gone to seed.  I collected seeds to send to my aunt Libba, and I threw the rest of them in the flower beds.  They will reseed when the weather conditions are right, some time in the fall.
• I watered all the water-stressed plants.  My poor Peggy Martin rose almost expired. Rain is desperately needed. 
• Sprayed herbicide in the Orchard and the Star Garden and the driveway.  One of the reasons the weeds were so bad was because I didn't get a chance to spray herbicide the two weekends prior to being gone for three weeks.  It rained both weekends so I couldn't spray.  
• Trimmed the wisteria.
• Worked on the sprinklers, one of the stations was not working, and all the plants in that zone were gasping.  I think I fixed it, hopefully. 
• Swam in the pool throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday.  The water felt really good, not hot - yet.
• On Sunday I worked in the Orchard.  I began cutting away last year's growth on the blackberry vines.  That is a horrible task.  I didn't finish, I did as much as I could stand.  Prickery, painful work.  I pulled up several dozens of wheel barrows full of spent wild flowers that had gone to seed and threw them into the burn pile.  The stems are too hard to throw in the compost pile.  Weeded for hours.
• Once I had made room in the beds, I spread zinnia seeds in the Orchard that I collected from last year's flowers.  The salvia and many zinnias were already growing underneath the dead wildflowers.  I pinched as many zinnias as I could so they will branch out and get more full.  Butterflies are wild for zinnias.  I have to get ready for the beautiful butterflies.  They will be here in force in another month.
• My husband weeded the Vegetable Garden, and I seeded the beds with zinnias.  Too hot to start anything growing right now except for okra and sunflowers.  So I sowed some Mexican Torch Sunflower seeds as well.  Don't think I'm going to grow okra this year.  Not sure yet, but I have time to decide.  Okra scoffs at heat.
• Seeded the beds in the Star Garden with zinnias as well.  And I set out some Blackeyed Susan vine seeds around my trellises.  Not sure if they will sprout at this point because of the heat.  We'll see.  
• Every one of my muscles hurts - legs, back, arms, even my hand muscles.  Trudging to work again on a Monday, sore and tired!    

Muscadine Grapes June 23, 2013

 I have 3 muscadine grape vines in my Orchard.  This is the first year they have produced grapes.  The vines are 3 years old.  Grapes need cross pollination to produce, so I have 2 female vines and one male.  The male is Ison.  The females are both Black Beauty.  My goal is to produce grapes to make grape jelly, I have no interest in trying to make wine.
As the vines mature through the years they will begin to produce more heavily.  You have to have a lot of grapes in order for the animals to carry most of them off and still have enough to make jelly!  All animals like grapes.  The birds, the deer, the raccoon all love them.
Muscadines can handle the Texas heat and humidity.  They can be found growing wild all through the woods in Texas.  They have been fun to grow!  I'm excited to finally have grapes!

Agapanthus June 1, 2013

Agapanthus are perennial bulbs.  They can take sun, and they can also take a bit of shade.

Lantana - Butterfly Magnets June 1, 2013

Lantana is a Texas native.  There is a pink and yellow variety that is growing all through the wild areas along the roads and highways.  I have a yellow and an orange-yellow variety.  There are endless color combinations - purple, pale yellow, white, and many multi-colored combos.  Butterflies love Lantana.    

Day Lilies June 1, 2013

This is Strawberry Candy Day Lily.  It is a cheerful little day lily with crimped edges and a dark pink ring at the top of a yellow throat with black tips on the stamens.

This is a no-name day lily.  I purchased it as Strawberry Candy, but it is not.  The reason:  I bought it at WalMart.  It was miss labelled.  I hate when I don't know the name of what is growing in my garden.  On the other hand, I have a lovely day lily, and I purchased it on the cheap.

This is Easy Ned Day Lily.  I love this one particularly because the blooms are unusual.

Weekend at the Farm June 1 - 2, 2013

This my blackberry jam.  Made blackberry jelly last weekend.  It is not recommended to double the recipe when making jam and jelly.  It doesn't set properly when the recipe is doubled.  A typical recipe makes about seven - eight cups.  Half fruit and half sugar and a box of pectin.  There's a lot of sugar in jelly!

We got a good rain Saturday night.  About an inch and a quarter.

• Watered all day Saturday.  We won't be back for 3 weeks, so I was trying to give my babies a helping hand.  It's gotten really hot.
• Adjusted all the sprinklers.
• Picked blackberries on Saturday morning.  Made blackberry jam Saturday afternoon when I returned home from our most recent minor emergency.
• Rocky got a bad cut on his leg about 10:30 Saturday morning.  Don't know how it happened.  I took him to the vet.  Ten stitches, $214, and two hours later he was all better.
• Swam in the pool with my husband and our neighbor, Ray.
• Pulled some weeds.  By the time we get back the weeds will be really bad.
• Cleaned all the ceiling fans.  
• Cleaned house.  My husband's son and his wife are going to use the place on one of the weekends when we are out of town.  And his niece and her husband will use the place the other weekend.  So I vacuumed, cleaned bathrooms, changed the sheets, and shook out all the rugs.  
• Got up early Sunday and drove to Austin to help my husband's son move into his new house.  Zellie is walking.  So cute.