At the Farm September 26 - 29, 2024

 

Wednesday.  Worked.

During lunch, I sowed Moss Verbena and Purple Prairie Clover in a corner of the Rose Edge Border.  I marked the area with sticks so I would remember the spot.  I'm thinking about seeding the whole bed.  I haven't done that in some years because it's been taken over by Tall Winecup in the spring which is so pretty, why try to improve on something so successful and effortless.  

I also seeded another bed in the Rose Garden with Moss Verbena and Purple Prairie Clover.  

Watered them both.  I'm planning to be here Wednesday through Sunday, so I can keep the seed beds moist while the seeds germinate.  This is the most critical time for success.  

After work, I sowed seeds in several more places.  Marked the spots with sticks.  I cleared out the Country Girl mum bed while I watered them in.  I seeded the Country Girl bed after I cleared it out.  I gathered some handfuls of mum runners that broke off while I cleared the bed.  I decided to pot up the ones with a little bit of root and see if they will take off.  I made 3 small pots and 2 gallon pots.

I cleared one of the big beds in the Vegetable Garden and sowed lettuce seeds  I used up the last of 3 different kinds of Bibb lettuces.  Lettuce seeds are small and don't have a long shelf life.  Better to use them up  

Outside to the Vegetable Garden.  I cleared out a 4 x 4 bed and sowed 4 rows of kale.  Watered it in and watered my lettuce seeds.  Keeping the soil moist until germination is important for lettuce. 

Next to the Rose Garden to water all my new seed beds.  I made 3 more seed beds of Moss Verbena at corners so that the flowers will spill out into paths.  I seeded some of the rose buckets with moss verbena as well.

Pruned the Noisette.  It's big, but the canes are scabby.  I really need to cut away some old canes to encourage new canes.   Maybe next winter.  But I pruned it quite a bit and cut away a lot of dead canes.  It would be great to get some late October and November blooms.

I pruned the Mlle Franziska Kruger and a couple of the Perl d'Or in the front bed.   

Friday.  Watered here and there while I worked.

During lunch I cleared a 4 x 4 bed in the Vegetable Garden and a bucket.  I sowed Cilantro in both.

After work I hand watered seed beds in the Rose Garden.  Just a little more babying and they can make it on their own.  Upfront work produces future results.  I'd love to get a good show.

I sat on the sofa for a long time watching the butterflies on the Bandana orange lantana.  It was quite a show.  So far I've grown many colors, and I  find the whole series to be stingy bloomers.  But it was very lovely today.

I ran into some poison ivy in the armadillo fence around the Paw Paw tree.  I immediately washed up as carefully as I could, changed clothes, threw away the gloves.  That took the wind out of my sails and I didn't do any more gardening that evening.

The butterflies are entertaining.  I saw a Variegated Fritillary yesterday.  First one this year.  And the Giant Swallowtails, the black and blue swallowtails, Zebra Longwings, Gulf Fritillaries, sulphurs, Hairstreaks, Long Tailed Skippers, the tiny skippers - they are all here this weekend.

Saturday.  Cool morning.  So pleasant.  I started in the Rose Garden.  I cleared out the wild corner and sowed Purple Prairie Clover and Rattlesnake Master.  Watered the area.

Finished clearing out most of the Rose Edge Border.  I sowed Prickly Poppy that Molly Glentzer gave me, Moss Verbena, Rattlesnake Master, Clasping Coneflower and Mexican Hat.  Watered the area.

I went down to the Orchard and did a bit of weeding, not much needed because of the heavy layer of pinebark mulch I put down.  I got the Orchard under control, now I am trying to maintain it with mulch.  It looks really pretty in there right now with ageratum and coneflowers and salvia blooming.  I am loving it, and only a few months ago, I was despairing that I would never get it back under control.  I scraped away some mulch in 4 or so spots and sowed Moss Verbena and Purple Prairie Clover.  There are a lot of Tall Winecup and Brown Eyes seed in that garden, and they are going to want to take over in the spring.  So no sense in seeding too much.

I cleared out a 4 x 4 bed in the Vegetable Garden and sowed parsley seed.  I cleared out another space to sow dill, but I have none!  I'm so surprised that I didn't re-order when I ran out last fall.  

Worked the majority of the afternoon in shady locations in the garden.  Clearing, clearing, clearing.  Looks pretty to me!

Sunday.  Another cool morning.  

I sowed 2 packages of Calendula in the Vegetable Garden.  I cleared an 8 x 4 bed on Saturday.  I was going to plant dill there, but I ran across the calendula seeds in my seed box and decided to plant them

Frostweed September 29, 2024

 This is snakeroot and frostweed.  I am liking how this looks.  This is the wild area in the Star Garden.  I sowed a ton of frostweed seed last winter, so I have lots of it just about to bloom.  This is a good fall pollinator plant. And I like have big leaved plants in the garden.

Fruity Pebbles Lantana September 27, 2024

This is a fun plant.  It is growing in the Rose Garden.  After the flowers are pollinated, they create a cone-shaped cluster of purple berries / seeds. For me, the plant behaves like an annual.  But I get lots of plants the next season from all the seeds that drop.  

 

Weekend at the Farm September 19 - 22, 2024

 

Blue mist flower and yellow and orange Cosmos in my front flowerbed.

Bert and I drove up together on Thursday evening after work.  I spent a little time in Mom's Garden pulling up Louisiana artemisia and weeding.  I haven't spent any time in that garden for a long time.  I didn't water it one time the whole summer until I seeded it last week.  But it looks pretty good.  

Friday morning before work I went back out to Mom's Garden.  I filled up the water tank and fixed the fountain apparatus.  It's working again, and looks fine, not sure why it stopped working.  I finished weeding and I trimmed the Mdm Alfred Carierre rose.  I watered.  

Cleared out some basketgrass in the Greenhouse Garden.  Did some watering in the Greenhouse Garden.  While I was in there, I found the fourth Ninebark I bought at the beginning of the summer.  I planted it, and then I couldn't remember where I planted it.  I looked and looked.  I finally decided it must have died.  But there it is tucked under a sweetshrub.  Mystery solved at last.

After work I raked the Greenhouse Garden and Mom's Garden.  And I did some raking in the Rose Garden.  I walked along the elderberry trail and cut away elderberry and Turks Cap so that one can walk freely without brushing against anything

Saturday.  Up before daylight.  

Nelly went to the vet on Friday and was finally spayed.  She was still feeling punky on Saturday, poor thing.

I cleared paths in the Star Garden so they are mostly walkable now.  Pulled weeds.  Staked a few things.

I checked on the Orchard, pulled a few weeds while I was there.  The little salvia are blooming pink and red, so pretty in the early morning.  But they wither away by the time the sun comes out hard.

Everything looks pretty good. 

Did some cooking and prep work for my NPSOT volunteers.  We worked on plant sale activities from 1:00 - 5:00.  Signage, plant tags and laminating plant signs.

Sunday.  Up before daylight.

I planted 2 Bushy Lippia in the Rose Garden and one in the Orchard.  I bought them from Ann about a month ago, and I finally got around to planting them.  I was going to plant all three in the Rose Garden in a group, but I ran into a really thick peppervine vine.  I scraped it with my scissors and poisoned it with a drop of Remedy / diesel in my oil can. 

I spent all morning pruning my roses in buckets and my La Vesuve rose, fertilizing and watering.  Hopefully October and November will give me a good show.  I weeded here and there as I worked, poisoned vines, and watered beds.  

I sprinkled some baking soda on nostoc algae in the Orchard.  Either applying baking soda last year was a total success or the change in my watering schedule or a combination of both have really gotten rid of the problem.  This little patch of algae is the only one I have had this year.  It's an incredible transformation.  It was a real problem for years.  Now it is gone with this one exception.  Wow.

I weeded a bit in the Orchard. when I went down there to plant the Bushy Lippia.

I watered in the Greenhouse Gardens.    

I watered all my seed beds - two in the rose Garden and one in Mom's Garden.  

Sunday was a beautiful day.  I had a wonderful time working in the gardens.  

Headed home to Houston after the football game.

  

Velvet Leaf Senna September 18, 2024

 This is a current favorite of mine.  This came up from seed that I spread last year from a plant I purchased at Buchanan's.  I now have one growing in both arbor boxes in the Rose Garden, the wild corner in the Rose Garden, and 2 beds in the Rose Garden.  The mother plant did not come back.  It was a rough summer last year, perhaps that's the reason why.  

Below you can see the seed pods beginning to form.  

 

Weekend at the Farm September 13 - 15, 2024

 

I arrived mid afternoon on Friday.  Grandparents lunches with Koy and Cleo, then headed there.  Bert is in Groesbeck with his boys.  He joined me on Saturday.

Pretty hot when I got there, so I stayed inside for a bit.

I sowed Rattlesnake Master and Prairie Verbena seed in Mom's Garden.  It's just occurring to me that Rattlesnake Master might not be the best name for a plant in a garden dedicated to my mom, but it's white and structurally it is very unusual.  I watered it, and I can get 2 waterings in on Saturday and one on Sunday before I leave.  That should get them going.  I need a timer to really insure that they will germinate and thrive.  There has been no rain to speak of in August or September here, so everything is gasping that is not irrigated.  And Mom's Garden is not irrigated. 

Saturday.  The days have gotten so much shorter.  It's still dark outside at 7:00.  Drank coffee until it was light enough to go out and work.

I started in the Orchard.  I did some raking and cutting plants leaning into paths.  I deadheaded coneflower and spread the seed.  I weeded.  Poisoned the grass that spreads by stolons by cutting off the tops and putting a drop of poison on the cut.  That seems to be working to kill the stolons.  I'm keeping up with it, and the garden is under control.  It looks real pretty in fact, and the butterflies are numerous:  Julias, Zebra Longwings, Giant Swallowtails and Gulf Fritillaries.  The Julias and the Zebra Longwings are especially exciting to see.

I watered The Choctaw Pecan and the Mexican Sycamore.  Watered in the Rose Garden and Mom's Garden.  

Next I worked in the Shade Garden.  It is a garden that doesn't need work very often, sort of a self-cleaning garden.  But It really needed some work today.  I cut snakeroot and gingers away from paths.  I cleared out basketgrass.  I cut down yaupon and poisoned the tips.  Raked.  Still more to do in there.  But it's worlds better. 

Inside for a rest.

Sprayed vinegar in the Orchard, the Vegetable Garden, the Rose Garden and the Star Garden.

I watered the Rose Garden and worked in there as I watered.  

Water the seeds again that I sowed yesterday in Mom's Garden.

Picked up all my piles of debris in the Shade Garden.

Sunday morning took a walk with Bert and the dogs, then drove to Houston.  Koy, Cleo and I went to lunch at Birraporettis and then to see The Little Mermaid at the Houston Ballet.

Weekend at the Farm August 30 - 31, 2024

This is Joe Pye weed with a great big native bumble bee on it.

Friday.  Worked in Burton.  

I did some occasional weeding throughout the day. I staked an Augusta Duelberg that was leaning into a path.  I cleaned out the area surrounding my tuberosa butterfly weed.

During the lunch hour I met with the La Bahia Board members to plan for the plant swap.  That's really coming up soon!

I didn't do anything after work, I just really didn't feel like it.

Saturday.  The humidity was low and the temperature in the morning was pleasant.  The days are getting shorter, summer is coming to a close.  

I spent a couple of hours in the Orchard pulling weeds.  I'm making every effort to keep it from slipping back into a mess.  I spread Texas Orange Lantana throughout the beds.  I'd be okay with blue mist flower (the tall and the short varieties), the orange lantana,  blue salvia, swamp sunflower, and echinacea blooming throughout that garden along with the fruit.  As low maintenance as possible.  

I weeded in the Vegetable Garden.  If I don't get a move on I will miss my window to plant my fall garden.  But it won't get done this weekend.

I watered in the Rose Garden and the Greenhouse Gardens. 

Headed home about 2:00 to pick up Sam.  He's spending the night with me and we are going to an Astros game on Sunday.