Weekend at the Farm October 1 - 2, 2016

 This is a little cluster of Ox Blood Lilies that were blooming in the front flower bed when I arrived.

Arrived Friday evening.  Bert drove separately Friday morning to mow.  The weather is gorgeous!  No humidity, cool, perfect.

• Saturday morning I went out first thing and cut away plants leaning into the paths.
• I spent some time tying back my Climbing Pinkie and Cl. American Beauty roses on their supports.
• Went into the Rose Garden and pulled up a dead Belinda's Dream rose.  I ordered some iris from Shreiner's Iris Gardens, and I planted them in the empty spot.  I planted:
• Bollywood - yellow standard and lavender falls with yellow edges
• Fal Fiesta - pale orange standard, orange falls
• Badlands - dark purple
• Ocelot - peach standard, dark purple falls
• American Classic - standard and falls are white with dark blue edging
• Over Alaska - pale blue standard, dark blue falls
• Who Need A Prince - yellow standard, burgundy falls

• Iris are so elegant and varied in their colors and patterns. I love them. 
• I took the loppers in the Rose Garden and spent some time cutting away dead rose canes. 
• I spent some time in the Shade Garden clearing the paths.  I didn't have to work too hard because Bert took the blower in there and blew off all the paths.  It looks great in there.
• Nathan, Jess and the kids arrived about 5:00 to spend the night.  They left early in the morning to go on a train ride somewhere in Burnett, TX.
• Sunday morning I went straight out to the Rose Garden and sprayed fungicide on my roses.
• I moved a half dozen or so plugs of Homestead Purple Verbena growing in the Rose Garden paths over to various places in the Star Garden and the Rose Garden.  It is a beautiful flowering perennial ground cover, a real show stopper in the spring and fall.  I love it.
• Sunday was so beautiful.  There is something about the sunshine in the waning summer and the fall.  Maybe it is special because that same sunshine in 100 degree heat and 100% humidity a mere week ago was so relentless.  The Candida rain lilies, Schoolhouse lilies, hurricane lilies are all blooming in the Rose Garden.  So pretty!  I have several hundred zinnias that sprung up in the Orchard after I mulched.  They are all about a foot tall.  Barring any disaster I will have an amazing display in October just before the first freeze.  I'm looking forward to that.
• I found a packet of Nasturtiums and Kraus Parsley that I bought but forgot to plant.  It's late for the Nasturtiums, but I went ahead and stuck them in the ground.  I might not get flowers before a freeze, but I could get some leaves for salad greens.  The packet of parsley has 750 seeds.  I broadcast them over an area in the Vegetable Garden that I roughed up.  The packet says I should plant them after danger of frost.  I always grow mine through the winter months, and they grow just fine.
• Spent some time in The Orchard just snipping here and there with my scissors.  It's in great shape, no weeds and a lot of zinnias about to bloom.  The butterflies were floating all around me.
• I planted the Montbretia bulbs that I dug up about three weeks ago.  I planted them in between the La Marne roses in the Star Garden.  Then I dug up some more of the Montbretias that are growing in the wrong place and planted them in between the La Marne roses as well.
• I puttered in the Rose Garden.  Everything is in such good shape there is not a lot to do except admire the butterflies and bees and flowers. 
• I got a wheelbarrow full of white rock that was left over from a load we bought months ago and dumped it on a muddy spot in the Rose Garden.
• Headed home about 4:30.  Bert is staying until Tuesday because I'm having a load of mulch delivered Tuesday morning.