Quick Trip to the Farm September 21 - 22, 2023

 

These photos are all of the the very center bed in the Star Garden, the first flowerbed I ever made here.  Mellow Yellow hibiscus, zinnias, Tropicana cannas, cockscomb and Turnera.

I took Friday vacation to come up and do some plantings. We came up together Thursday evening and will return early Saturday for Julia's bridal shower and Nathan's 40th birthday in the kitchen at Brennan's. 

Up before daylight, out at first light.

I planted a half dozen Chili Pequin plants.  These are native perennial reseeding pepper plants.  I planted them in the Kitchen Herb Garden.  It's kind of shady in there, and these little plants are fine with some shade.  They get about 2 feet tall.  I already have 4 or 5 planted in there, so I'm trying to get them to grow en masse.  I need something that will take up space because it's a large area.  I can't keep that area full with annual herbs.  Too expensive.  And too shady for rosemary.  Since it's an herb garden, I like the idea of something in there that's edible.  

Next, I weeded in the Rose Garden for a bit.

Then I set up the new water fountain in the Water Garden.  I scooped out all the water from the water trough and poured it on the surrounding plants.  Then I scrubbed the sides and poured vinegar on the algae.  Bert and I picked up the trough (I think it's 200 gallons) and moved it to the road.  We rinsed it out and I scrubbed some more until it was pretty cleaned out.  We moved it back, filled it up with clean water and set up the fountain.  I really like this fountain.  The solar panel is incredibly sensitive.  The water shoots up really high.  That can be good and bad.  On windy days a lot of water sprays out of the trough and the water level goes down.  The good thing about that is that I can replace the water with nice clear water.    

While I was in there I weeded and pulled out some of the Debra artemisia that was crowding a small Texas Kidneywood.  I planted 2 white lantana under the White Pillar Althea.

Planted 2 thyme in a pot in the Star Garden.  Planted a Mexican sedum in a pot in the Star Garden.

Lastly on the planting, I planted 2 Eastern Blue Star where the snowball viburnum used to be.  That seems like it might be a good spot from a light perspective because I think they appreciate a little shelter from the sun in the afternoon.  The problem will be water.  That spot seems to get missed by the sprinkler system.  I'll have to watch out for that.  I spot watered in the Star Garden as I worked.  I'm still concentrating on the cannas to get a great show during the wedding.  

I dug up 2 cannas growing in paths and moved them to a flowerbed.

I did some raking and weeding for several hours throughout the shady parts of the Star Garden to avoid the hot sun.  While I was doing that, I came upon a Minerva Althea amongst the Diane altheas.  I remember several years ago taking a cutting from a Minerva in town and trying to root it, but my recollection is that it didn't take.  But sure enough, there was one in the garden - about 4 feet tall!  I can only think that it did in fact live, and I planted it in that spot.  I know that I have only purchased one Minerva, and that one is in the Rose Garden.  This is quite a happy discovery.   

Saturday morning.  I rushed through a few things before we had to leave to make it to the shower in time.  I tied up all the vines on my arbors in the Star Garden that were blocking the entranceways or reaching out far enough to be in the way in a path.  I staked a castor plant that was leaning.    I watered my little trees next to the Rose Garden.  

Sunday. I wasn't going to return, but I don't want to end up regretting skipping the entire day.  I drove up early and worked on the remaining pile of gravel.  I want to get the paths covered that people will see when they walk to the back of the house for the ceremony.  

I moved a few Mexican Mint Marigold that had taken root in the path.  I had rolled a cedar log edging piece over them, and they rooted.  That's a $15 value right there, no way I going to just yank it out.  I scared up a baby copperhead while I was in the bed.  I let it live.

I clipped and raked and laid down gravel.  I pulled up some of the cedar edging and re-set it because they sink into the ground over time. 

I'm going to run out of gravel soon, so I finished the front entrance under the arbor.  I dug of the stepping stones and re-set them, then laid down gravel.  Digging out the stepping stones turned out to be bad idea.  The granite ones did fine, but the flagstone all split in half  (which they do in cold weather) and when I set them back, they were rickety. 

I staked a few plants, repotted a dieffenbachia, moved some sprinklers around and headed home.

  

My Arbors September 23, 2023

 All my arbors are in various stages of preparedness for the wedding.  Several weeks ago I laid a piece of chicken wire across the top of this arbor and trained the ends of the vines across the top of it.  I need to work on this arbor again, maybe next week.  This is Alamo Vine and Hyacinth Bean vine.

This is Alamo Vine.  Basically, I will just clip along the edges of this arbor as soon as I get around to it.

This is Hyacinth Bean.  I've tied it all back away from the entrance.  I might have to work on it again, and then the day before the wedding I will clip anything that is sticking out.  I just laid gravel down across that whole area .  It looks pretty good.  

This is Coral vine and Hyacinth Bean.  Hyacinth Bean is an annual.  I planted these seeds last spring hoping that the vines would be blooming for the wedding.  There are buds, but they are tiny.  Hopefully some of them will be blooming.  Coral vine is a perennial.  I has big, potato-like tubers for roots.  There is a hot pink variety and a white variety.  This one is white, and I absolutely love it. 

Buttercup Turnera September 23, 2023

 This is a great re-seeding annual.  All of the clumps that are growing in the garden came up from seed from plants that I grew last year.  The one issue I have with Turnera is that the flowers close early in the day.  It's a spectacular show if you get out there early.  Otherwise, they are just big green plants.  The native bees are crazy for them.  There are always hundreds of giant bumble bees out there at all times.  My granddaughter, Koy, wouldn't go into the Rose Garden last time she was here for fear of all the bees.  There is a solid yellow flowered variety as well.  I bought 6 or so plants of the solid yellow variety this year so that next year I will have dozens of those as well.  

Texas Kidneywood September 22, 2023

 There are blooms all over this airy shrub.  Because it so airy (spindly), it is hard to get a good picture of the entire shrub.  This one is planted in the Water Garden.  I have 4 Texas Kidneywoods planted in various gardens.  The scent of the flowers is outstanding.  I was setting up a new fountain in the Water Garden, and the smell that was floating through the air around me was so pleasant.  I am a big fan of pinnate leaves, and Kidneywood certainly qualifies.

Buttonbush September 22, 2023

 Buttonbush is a Texas native.  It is a deciduous shrub.  It makes white puffball flowers that turn into really cool-looking seed heads.  This is my first year growing it, so I have not seen what the seed heads do after they are green - what is the next step - not sure.  It's very wildlife friendly.  I think I have it growing in the perfect spot.  This spot gets some shade and some full sun.  And, it is always moist here.  

Some Flowers Blooming Now September 22, 2023

 These are Oxblood lilies that have popped up with the encouragement of the recent rain storm.

This is ageratum, always around at this time of year.  I often pull tons of it up to make room for wildflowers, but with the wedding coming soon, I need some color.

This is a flower from my White Pillar Althea.  This althea stays slender like a pillar which can be handy for skinny spots in the garden.  It's a good bloomer, although not as good as Strawberry Smoothie. 

This is Perl d'Or rose with some Passalong Pink verbena clambering up through its branches.

This is a vivid red zinnia that really caught my eye growing next to the ubiquitous ageratum.

Here is a random little Cosmos that popped up.  With as many seed as I have spread this year, that better be only the beginning - my Cosmos experiment was a resounding failure.

Double pink althea bloom and buds.

This is the double pink althea shrub.  Not as showy as any of the white forms.  It occurs to me that I should prune it back this winter so that it will get bushier.  I will add it to my to-do list.

These are bargain bin cannas from Home Depot.  But they are very reliable bloomers.  I can always count on a pop of color in the garden from these beauties.

This is yellow butterfly vine.  A deciduous perennial.  The seed pods are what give it its name.  They look exactly like a butterfly.  Really charming!  And you will see the vine pop up here and there from seed, but it's not often enough to be problematic.  It's good to have some to share.

This is a butterfly vine bloom.  The vine is already blooming at the top, and I am happy to see lots of buds down low on the trellis.  It will have lots of pretty blooms for the wedding.

I just love my cockscomb!

Ageratum and Pringle Aster.  The Pringle aster has not performed well this year.  Probably drought conditions, weather is everything.

This is Heliopsis getting a second wind after I cut it back.  Its big bloom time is early summer.

Long Weekend at the Farm September 13 - 17, 2023

 This is Pirate Pearls.

Bert and I came up on Wednesday.  I arrived after jury duty and worked for the rest of the day.  The evening was balmy, but I didn't go outside.  I will look back on that as a missed opportunity I'm sure.

Thursday.  Rain!!!  Lightening and hard rain came right at dusk.  I was already up and watching it happen.  It rained until about 7:30.  Even Bert (who loves to sleep later than me) woke up and came out and sat on the porch to watch the rain.  

I worked in the Vegetable Garden first.  The baking soda I spread last week seemed to do a good job on the nostoc algae , but after the rain, the ground in the Vegetable Garden was slimy and unpleasant.  I pulled all the weeds in the newest long bed except where I came upon a few ant beds.  I put down poison on the ant beds and will swing back around later and pull the weeds growing on the ant beds.

Next I worked in the Shade Garden.  Basket grass has taken over a few beds.  I had a claw hand tool that I used to scrape along the soil and partially pull it up.  The I pulled it out of the ground by hand.  That worked pretty well.  I raked the paths as I went and cut away plants leaning into paths.  I dug up some flagstone along the paths that was partially buried and reset them on top of the soil.  I also dug up a few gingers growing in paths and planted them in a bed.  None of the beautyberries set seed in the Shade Garden with the exception of two that are right next to sprinkler heads.  And even those did not do as well as usual.  The drought took a toll.

Friday.  I planted 2 large fall asters in the Rose Garden, and half dozen or so of the bandana series lantanas and 3 scrawny New Gold lantana.  The New Gold are superior to all the new varieties, such outstanding performers!  I tried to find a flat of those, but I only found 3.  Since I had to stick something in the ground, I bought a flat of bandana.  Deer have eaten the flowers off of the white pentas I planted last week and the Johnson Amaryllis.  

Next I set to work in the Shade Garden and kept on with my cleanup of that garden.  I picked up all the dead sticks of sweetspire.  I don't know if drought or voles or what killed all the sweetspire.  I had so much that I had grown to hate it.  It was always creeping into the path and I had to cut and pull it away.  Now, it is completely gone.  The sticks were totally rotten, so they were easy to pick up.  I thought I was going to have to cut every one down.  I also pulled up lots of basket grass and a thin vine that crawls along the ground with tiny little watermelon-like gourds.  I but down and poisoned some yaupon that was growing in there as well as some greenbriar.  Did some more raking and reset some more flagstone.  It looks pretty good in there.  The snakeroot should be blooming for the wedding.  It's not as plentiful as in non-drought years, but that's probably a good thing since I usually have too much of a good thing going on, plants everywhere making a jumbled mess.  

It rained again.  Not for a long time, but it was most welcome.   I made manicotti, a salad and some black bean soup.  Josh and the girls and Max and Julia arrived in the early evening.  They are going to hang the strings of lights for the wedding.  Josh and Max stayed up until 4 in the morning arguing or whatever they call it.  I guess it's their love language.

Saturday.  Max and Josh hung lights, but they were in considerable pain from the night before.  The girls and I planted some orange lantana in the Rose Garden.  Mid afternoon it poured rain - a bona fide soaking, yay!  We all sat on the porch and watched the rain.  I made them all leave around 5 because I wanted to work in the garden.  

I worked for about 2 hours.  I stood in the ageratum and thinned it out and pulled crab grass.  I tied the hyacinth bean vines to the arbor so that they would not crowd the entrance.  Trimmed plants leaning into paths.

Sunday.  Up before daylight, out the door at dawn.  I worked in the Star Garden exclusively.  I cut back the mock orange shrub to about half its size.  By the end of summer it always looks so scabby.  

I weeded the Toad Lily bed, the Vitex bed and the ginger bed.  I pulled up or cut to the ground all the wild petunia wherever I saw it.  Raked the paths.  It looks much improved in that area. 

I sprayed herbicide in the Orchard, the Vegetable Garden, the Rose Garden and the Star Garden.

 

Velvet Leaf Senna September 17, 2023

 I've never tried to grow this type of senna before.  Very interested to see how it fairs in our winter.  It is supposed to be perennial in my zone.  But I haven't had much luck with the more common, smooth leaf senna.  This plant will get much bigger over time, the plant below is only a baby.   It is native.

Celosia September 13, 2023

 Celosia, also known as Cockscomb.  This plant is very easy to grow from seed.  I love the variable flowerheads.  They are all different, all interesting.  This little stand is in the center bed of the Star Garden.  I remember last fall throwing seed down in that spot.  I love when that happens.  The native bees are very attracted to it which is interesting.