Weekend at the Farm October 25 - October 26, 2014

Our newly stained deck.
Arrived at the farm about 3:30.  Beautiful drive.  All the grasses have gone to seed along the highway, their fluffy heads are so pretty in white and beige.  The grasses undulate like waves in the ocean - green, tan, and pink.

• The wild onion seeds that I planted two weeks ago have begun to sprout.  And the wildflower seeds that I planted last weekend have begun to sprout.  In gardening, there is a clear relationship between hard work and success.  I love that part about this hobby!
• Saturday morning I cleared out two beds - one of the plum beds and one of the apple beds.  I seeded the apple bed with Drummond Phlox, Bluebonnets, and corn poppies.  I seeded the other with California poppies, red poppies, and Catchfly.  The soil was pretty dry, so I turned on the sprinkler for about 30 minutes before I continued on.  I had turned it off in order to discourage the gross fungus growing on the gravel down there.
• Gathered Philippine Lily seeds from the seed heads that have dried out.
• Saturday midday my husband and I went to the Rose Emporium and I bought 5 rose shrubs:  Marie van Houtte (introduced in 1871, it is a yellow and pink blend), Madame Wagram (introduced in 1894, a tea rose with particularly large flowers), Madame Joseph Schwartz (introduced in 1880, it is a white sport of Duchess de Brabant), Louis Philippe (introduced in 1834, this is a red china rose), and La Vesuve (introduced in 1825, it is a pink China rose that is a more robust version of the famous rose Old Blush ).  I also bought 3 Blackfoot Daisyies.  Blackfoots are drought tolerant.  I have a sunny, dry spot that I'm going to plant the daisies and one of my rose shrubs. 
• Stopped at Home Depot and bought a sack of rye grass seed and some stain.  I'm going to stain the deck that my husband built this summer.  And I'm going to seed the back yard.  Last April the back yard was bare dirt when we had the Crawfish Boil in April.  We might have Josh's wedding here next year on April 19, so I'm planning ahead - no bare dirt yard.
• Saturday afternoon I partially cleared the Mayhaw bed and seeded it with wildflower seed.  Cleared the Mexican plum bed and seeded it.  Partially cleared and seeded the three-in-one apple tree bed.  I'll tackle at least one more tomorrow, but I don't want to pull up all the salvias and zinnias yet.  The butterflies are thick out there.
• Late Saturday afternoon I spread rye grass seed in the backyard with my fertilizer spreader.
• Sunday morning I planted all my roses with fertilizer and leaf mulch.  Surrounded each of them with chicken wire to keep the rabbits at bay until they harden off a bit.
• Madame Wagram and Madame Joseph Schwartz where Pearlie Mae and Honey Sweet used to be.  Dug up Pearlie and Honey and put them in a shady spot to see if my neighbor wants them.
• Marie van Houtte at the far end of the Long Border, and I planted the Blackfoot Daisies near her.  It's dry in that spot, but I think I can keep the rose alive with a little vigilance, and the daisies are drought tolerant.
• La Vesuve - in the inside bed at the entrance to the Rose Garden.
• Louis Philippe in the bed with the two Dame de Couer roses
• Dug up some Tropical Sunrise cannas that had showed up in one of the rose beds in the Rose Garden.  They had become a huge clump and were totally crowding out my Star of the Republic rose.
• Planted the main clump in the Star Garden, and put some in the shade to see if my neighbor wants them.
• Transplanted Ox Eye Daisies from paths to various spots throughout the gardens.
• Sprinkled sevin dust on my brussels sprouts.
• Mulched Antoine Mari rose, a weedy place in the Star Garden, around Archduke Charles, and several other places.
• Pulled up spent salvia in the Morninglory Tree bed.  Big ant pile, got lots of stings.  Put down ant poison in several spots.
• Sprayed herbicide in the Rose Garden.
• Fertilized my brussles sprounts, mustard green, and collards.
• Spent some time training my Fortune's Double along the front fence.
• Pruned the shrubs along the front of the house.  October isn't really a good time for that, but I did it anyway.

Snakeroot October 25, 2014

 Snakeroot blooms in the fall.  It looks particularly pretty with these white Moonlight Caladiums that I planted in the spring. 

Grandmother

Grandmother has a hymn book with great silver clasps, and she often reads in that book;
In the middle of the book lies the rose, quite flat and dry;
It is not as pretty as the roses she has standing in the glass;
And yet she smiles at it most pleasantly of all;
And tears even come into her eyes.
I wonder why Grandmother looks at the withered flower in the old book that way?
     - Hans Christian Anderson

La Marne Roses October 19, 2014

 This is one of my favorite views of the house.  My son told me today that he wants to get married here.  What a compliment.  He is thinking April 19.   

Blush Noisette October 19, 2014

 The noisette roses were developed and introduced in the south.  They are truly southern roses, suitable for our hot humid climate.  These roses send out long canes that are perfect for wrapping around pillars .  I have mine growing as a waterfall.  The canes just extend out and  droop to the ground.  Noisettes have a very sweet smell, and the flowers grow in clusters.

Weekend at the Farm October 18 - 19, 2014

Friday night went to dinner at Artista and the musical Anything Goes at the Hobby Center with my husband and mom and dad.  Very nice evening.  Drove to Burton Saturday morning.

• Stopped at the Arbor Gate and bought a Mutabalis rose for the center spot in my original flower bed - the first one I ever made all those many years ago.  I had a Marie can Houtte planted there that I put in last spring.  But one thing after another befell it.  First rabbits kept eating all the leaves off it, and then Obedient plant surrounded and smothered it.  It finally gave up the ghost.  I decided to try Mutabalis.  This rose can grow as tall as 10 feet.  Its nickname is the butterfly rose because the single flowers can be dark pink, coral, and yellow.  It is very colorful.  I've considered planting one over the years, but they get so big it isn't easy to find a good spot for it.  And I am not really a fan of singles.  Why have single blooms when you have doubles?  But I finally gave in.
• I also bought some vegetable plants while I was there which I kind of regret.  They are spindly things, they don't even look like they are going to make it.  Gunter was there with some of their plants selling them onsite.  My enthusiasm got the better of me. I bought three broccoli, three cauliflower, two celery, and mustard.  I also picked up three garlic bulbs to plant, a packet of cilantro, four rosemary plants, four chives, and three pot marigolds.
• Planted the Mutabalis in the center bed, pulled up lots of Obedient plant that was growing near it.
• Prepared the vegetable beds with fertilizer and chitin.  Planted the veggie plants I bought, spread the cilantro seed in various places.  Broke apart the garlic bulbs and planted the cloves.  Planted the pot marigolds with the garlic. 
• Pruned the tomato branches that were growing beyond the cages.  One of the Mexican sunflowers had fallen over and knocked a bunch of stuff all over the place.  I picked all that up - tomato cages, metal stakes, and wire frames.
• Baked a carrot cake to take to the Sandtown Wildlife Association meeting on Saturday evening.
• Attended the Wildlife Association meeting.  I'm hoping one day that I can find someone that will walk with me through  the woods on our property and tell me what some of the trees and vegetation are.  I know what the names of some things are such as Beautyberry, Poke Salad, many of the wildflowers.  But there are so many plants that I'm curious about, especially the trees.  Met some good people at the meeting.  The speaker was the deputy sheriff of Washington County.  He talked about the whole set up of the department, how many people work in the sheriff's office, how they interact with the state police and other nearby departments like Blinn.  He talked about the crime that happens in Washington County.  Very interesting.
• Sunday, up at 7.
• Planted 160 bulbs, 60 Ice Follies and 100 Double Campernelles.  Planted the sixty Ice Follies daffodils in groups of 5 - 6 in the border next to the Rose Garden.  Planted about 30 double Campernelles in the bed with Fortunes Double rose, ten or so in the Star Garden in the ginger bed and the red canna bed.  The rest of the Double Campernelles I planted in a row along the Rose Garden fence.   That will create a double row of double daffodils because I planted a row of 100 last year.  Should be pretty.
• Turned over the soil in one section of the Long Border and seeded it with California Poppies and Catchfly.  This area is dry, so I'm hoping the California Poppies will do well, they can take some drought.  I've never grown Catchfly, so who knows.  Each year I like to grow a few wildflowers that I've never grown to see if I like them.  That didn't work out too well for me last year...  The Dames Rocket I planted made huge green plants that never bloomed.  They are perennials, so maybe next spring I'll get some results.  I planted chicory last year, it never bloomed because the rabbits loved the tasty leaves.
• Turned over the soil in a few beds of the Rose Garden and seeded them with California Poppies and Catchfly.  
• Transplanted some Ox Eye Daisy that was growing in the paths of the Rose Garden and under some of the rose shrubs and planted in various places.  
• Deadheaded the roses.  The Rose Garden looks good.  Rolf Fiedler Ipheion bulbs, Hoop Petticoats, Blue Bottles, and Leeks have sprouted.  Black Eyed Susan and Bluebonnet seedlings have sprouted.
• Turned over the soil, pulled up mint, cut away dead vegetation and planted 4 chive plants in the Kitchen Herb Garden.  Surrounded them with chicken wire to protect them from the rabbits.
• Planted a rosemary plant in the Long Border.  Planted another one in the Medicine Garden.  Planted one in Kitchen Herb Garden.  I planted another one somewhere, but I forgot where I planted it.
• Sprayed herbicide in the Rose Garden.  Lots of Blackeyed Susans have sprouted in the paths.
• Planted some African Hostas that I picked up last weekend.  They were on top of the soil (which they seem to do naturally) in the Shade Garden.  I planted them in the bed with my Debutante Camellia.
• Harvested some of the Hyacinth Bean vine pods that have dried out.
• Cut some of the Philippine Lily seed pods that had opened up and spread them at the end of the La Marne Hedge, around the tree where the Ehrlicheers are planted, and several other beds that in partial shade.  I just love Philippine Lilies.  One day I hope to have hundreds of plants blooming at once.
• I am sore and tired.  Good weekend.

Cannas October 12, 2014

 It would be a hard decision, but if I could only have one plant for my garden, it very likely might be the canna.  Pretty, tropical leaves, long blooming season, and gorgeous flowers.

Weekend at the Farm October 11 - 12, 2014

This is Banana Shrub. The flowers are about 2 inches, maybe less, across.  They have a very strong scent of ripe bananas.  The scent floats through the air, and you can smell it when you walk near the shrub, but it's not a strong scent when you put your nose to the bloom and breathe in.  Some flowers are strange like that, they smell so strong from a distance and hardly at all close up.  Nicotiana is like that to me as well.

Arrived Friday afternoon.  Napped for two hours.

• Friday night we put some sleeping bags in the back of the cub cadet , poured ourselves a nightcap, drove out to the road, and laid in the back and watched the stars for about an hour.  Really beautiful evening, a nice breeze and a clear sky.
• It was raining when we woke up on Saturday morning.  Laid in bed and listened to the rain on the roof.
• My Banana Shrub is blooming!  I am so excited about it.  This is the first time it has bloomed since I planted it.
• Since it was supposed to rain all day and all day tomorrow I decided to seed the long bed next to the Rose Garden with wild flowers.  I threw down seed of Blue Bonnets, Drummond Phlox, Flanders Poppy, Corn Poppy, and the rest of the Scarlet Flax left over from last year.  The rain will beat them down so they make good contact with the soil.
• Threw down organic fertilizer on all the gingers in the Circle Drive, the Medicine Garden, and the Shade Garden, the Bridal Wreath Shrubs, the Giant Ligularias in the Shade Garden, and the Debutante Camellia.
• I cut most of the seed heads of my wild Onion from my Houston house and spread them in various places in the Rose Garden.  Spread a lot of them around the Archduke Charles rose that is in front of the air conditioners.  Texas Wild Onion (as I refer to it, I don't know what the real name is) is an evergreen, onion-y smelling plant that has pretty white umbels in the spring and fall.  It is useful because it is evergreen and only gets about a foot tall (unless it is blooming).  Good front of the border plant.
• Sat on the front porch and then the back porch and watched the rain for a long time.
• Mopped the kitchen and vacuumed the whole house.
• Cut away salvia from the paths.  Cleared the paths as best I could.  
• Cleaned out the back bed in preparation for wildflower seeding.
• Cut back Indigo Spires so that the path wasn't blocked. 
• Cut away Hojo Santo so that the paths weren't blocked.  I was going to transplant some of the plantlets that had sprung up in the paths and build a new bed at the back of the house, but I decided no way! - this stuff is too invasive.  I don't want more.  I have it growing in two places in the Medicine Garden, and two places in the Star Garden.  That's enough.
• Spread leaf mulch in several places in the Star Garden.
• Threaded American Beauty Rose  branches through the rungs of its support.  
• Saturday evening I walked around and around and around with my husband talking about things we love, things we want to do, etc., wine glasses in hand.
• I noticed some hops growing on one of the hops vines my son gave me for Christmas.  Only two of the four vines survived the long, hot summer.  Hops are perennials, so hopefully the two I have will be in place for many years to come.
• Sunday morning drove into town  to meet the whole family for brunch at Brennan's to celebrate the October birthday girls.  Dove back to the farm afterwards.
• Sprayed herbicide on the fungus in the Orchard and the Vegetable Garden.  Sprayed a little in the Rose Garden until I ran out of spray. This fungus is disturbing me greatly.  I don't know how to eradicate it.  I am really stressed out about it.

Roses October 12, 2014

 Above, this is Soncy rose.  The flowers do not often look good.  White roses are tricky in the south.  But Soncy is having a good hair day today.

 Above, Belinda's Dream.  Probably the best rose to grow if you are only going to have one.  Scent, shrub shape, flower shape and bloom frequency.  Belinda's Dream has it all.

 Above, Chorale.  Beautiful shell pink color.

 Above, Heritage.  A classic rose.

 Above, I think this is Dame de Coeur, but I took so many pictures that I'm not sure. 

 Above, Monsieur  Tillier.

 More pictures of Chorale - so pretty.

 Above and below, Belinda's Dream.

 Above, Dame De Coeur.

 Above, Iceberg.

 Above, Bailey Red, one of the few singles I grow.

 Above, Chorale.

 Above, Ducher.

Above, Belinda's Dream. 

Morning Glories October 12, 2014

 This is not the morning glory that I intended to buy.  I wanted the true blue morning glory, but this one is quite pretty.  I planted these seeds very late in the season, so they are just beginning to bloom.  I planted them amongst my Hyacinth Bean vine that is growing on the arbor at the front of the house.  They look pretty together.

Weekend at the Farm October 4 - 5, 2014

Friday after work I went to the annual bulb sale put on by the Houston Garden Club.  Sandy Bramanti's wedding on Saturday evening.  Drove to the farm after the reception.

• Fertilized my Snowstorm Beautyberry.  I thought one of them had died due to lack of water, but it sprang back when the weather got cooler.  It must have dropped all its leaves as a defense mechanism.  
• Fertilized my Banana Shrub.  Still have never gotten a flower (which smell like ripe bananas), but I think next year is the year.
• I planted 2 Ellen Bosanquet Crinum bulbs (they are massive bulbs) in the beds in the Star Garden that lead to the Rose Garden.  I planted one in the bed with the Snowstorm Beautyberries and one in the bed with the half-dead Sweet Olive.  Both of them are in partial shade, I think the flowers are prettier when they are protected from the afternoon sun.
• Cut back all the dried seed heads of Gulf Coast Penstemon.  They were surrounding my Banana Shrub (they are very tall).  I shook out all the seed in the bed along the side of the Rose Garden where all my double daffodils are planted and my Black Eyed Susan seedlings are growing.  
• Cut away salvia growing in the path next to my Chaste Trees.
• Mulched the Banana Shrub, the Sweet Olive, in the bed where the Hydrangea is growing that Ashley gave me, both Crinums I just planted, and the Crinum bed in the Rose Garden.
• Edged the bed where the Crinums are growing in the Rose Garden with rock that I hauled back from the woods a couple weeks ago.  Trying to head off weeds - that bed can get weedy.  One thing about the change in weather - the summer weeds die back, and the winter weeds start making an appearance.  
• Pulled up the birdhouse Gourd Vine in the Vegetable Garden.  I waited one week too long to pick those gourds.  They were fine last weekend - big and perfect for picking and drying.  This week they are gone.  I found one in the Infinity Garden, almost completely eaten, not even any seeds were left so I could plant them again next year.  Haven't found the others. Whatever is eating them (I assume a racoon) usually leaves a half-eaten mess somewhere.  
• Sprinkled generous amounts of chitin in the bed where the vine was growing and turned over the soil.  Buried lots of marigold greenery throughout.
• Planted 2 White Butterfly Ginger (smells just like honeysuckle - wonderful) along the Boardwalk on opposite sides of the walk.  One side gets a bit more sun, but it isn't full sun.