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.
No comments:
Post a Comment