A Weekend at the Farm June 30 - July 1, 2012

Click on the link below for a video of the Star Garden in late June.

 http://youtu.be/B0ReCgWsi0g


Busy weekend (aren't they all?) By the end of the weekend my hands were cut up, and I was covered in mosquito and ant bites all over my feet, hands, arms, back and legs.  This was a rough one!

• Sprayed herbicide in the Rose Garden, the Orchard, the driveway, the Shade Garden, the Star Garden, the Vegetable Garden, the yard area (so that Bert doesn't have to mow inside the fence anymore), and along the fence lines. I wish I knew what the name of the weed is that is my Enemy Number One.  It's everywhere, and you have to pinch right in the center of it to pull it up, it spreads out from the center like a hand, flat to the ground.  By the end of the weekend my middle finger hurts from the pinching motion.  I spray them whenever I can, but if they are too close to a plant, I can't risk it. 
• Weeded and thinned out plants in the Star Garden and the Long Border.That was quite a bit of work.  I hauled many wheel barrows of debris off to the woods.  I'm mostly pulling up Tick Seed plants (Lanceleaf Coreopsis).  They really took over.
• Cleared out the Daffodil Bed. It was very weedy.  Seeded it with Zinnias.
• I took advantage of the little bit of rain we had and fertilized everywhere with two bags of fertilizer I brought with me.  Everything got some fertilizer.  Excellent.
• Pulled up lots of mint in the Herb Garden.  Looks better.
• Weeded in the Shade Garden.  Raked the paths.  Looks much better. 
• Sat on the porch and watched the rain.
• Put down some mulch in the Star Garden.  I'm trying to cover the paths with mulch hoping they will look better.  We'll see.
• I put on my tall rubber boots and waded into a particularly crowded part of the Long Border to thin out the Tick Seed. I don't like going into places like that without my long boots for two reasons:  fire ants and snakes. 
• I tied string from the morning glories in the Rose Garden arbor up to the roof of the arbor so they will have something to climb up.
• Watered some plants that looked really dry when I arrived on Friday - the hydrangeas and the Vitex.
• I mulched around the Mojito Colocasias in the Boardwalk Garden.  Several of them had fallen over.
• Deadheaded roses in the Rose Garden.
• Pulled up dead sunflowers in the Rose Garden that I was letting go to seed.
• Pulled up Verbena Bonariensis in the Rose Garden that didn't look good anymore.
• Seeded several places with zinnias.  I can't even remember where I seeded.  In fact sometimes I have the feeling that I seed a flower bed and then later I mulch the bed and smother the seeds.  Ah well. 
• Put two bags of grass clippings in the compost pile that my husband brought from Houston.
• Swam in the pool (more like washed myself off) many times throughout the weekend.  Sunday was incredibly pleasant because it was grey and there was no sun.