Weekend at the Farm February 18 - 19, 2017

This is a picture of some collards I have growing in the Star Garden.  So pretty.

Drove up on Friday evening.  Bert was already here.  I left early Sunday morning to go to Josh's to babysit little Koy and Cleo so they could mulch their flower beds.

• Up early Saturday morning.  I loaded up some compost and watered it down to get it good and mushy.  I planted a couple of Violet Vision Agastache in the Star Garden with compost, then mulched around them.  I don't know anything about Violet Vision, but, they're in the ground.  Did a little weeding.  And I transplanted a couple of Blue Salvia farinaceas of various types that had taken root near the mother plants to other spots in the Star Garden.  They had taken root too close to the paths.  I also potted up  five or so salvia stems hoping they would root, but by the end of the day they were pretty wilted.  Who knows, they might take root.  I'll take them home and keep them watered.
• I went down to the Orchard with my agastache and compost and planted another half dozen or so in various spots in the Orchard.  I also had one more Henry Duelberg Salvia.  I planted it near one of the plum trees where it gets lots of sun.  I spent some time watering my Crabapple, Mayhaw, satsuma, and Jujube.  Hallelujah, my southern Crabapple is blooming for the first time ever!!  I spied one bloom and went over to inspect the tree.  Lots and lots of buds.  I've waited for many years for this.  My Pakistan mulberry is covered with blooms too.  Now if I can only get my Mayhaw to bloom I'd call this a red-letter year.  I've read that Crabapple blooms are some of the most fragrant fruit tree blooms (although I don't think anything can be more fragrant than citrus flowers!), and sure enough it is quite a wonderful smell!  I planted two autumn sages in the bed with my three-in-one apple tree.  These were little plantlets that had sprung up by their mother plant.  I had thrown them in the rain barrel and there they sat all last week.  When I pulled them out of the rain barrel they were slimy but still green.  So I stuck them in the ground.  But I'm not sure if they will make it.  The slimy leaves were crispy-looking when I looked at them later in the day.  But it's the roots that matter.  Only time will tell.  I also sowed some Zebrina French Hollyhock seeds in several places in the Orchard. I also watered all my new plants that I put in the ground last weekend.  If we have a really, really hard freeze I'm screwed.  But I'm betting on no more cold weather.
• Watered in the Rose Garden, all my young roses and some of my favorites, all the places where I have new transplants, and the althea I moved a couple weeks ago.  I also dug up about 10 or 12 or so Verbena Bonariensis seedlings that were growing in paths and planted them in the Long Border and some of the beds in the Rose Garden.  They are all planted in the vicinity of a sprinkler that I have set up to keep them wet all week.  I also sowed some Strawberry Fields Globe Amaranth, Cleome Fountain Mix and Zebrina seeds in the Long Border.  I did quite a bit of mulching in the Long Border.  I also planted three or so agastache in the Long Border.  I am making lots of effort NOT to lose control of the Long Border to weeds by mid-summer.  
• I planted 4 Self-Heal in the Medicine Garden.  These are quite pretty for an herb.  They have blue flowers, they kind of remind me of Ajuga - they have blue flower heads like Ajuga, and they spread like a ground cover.  Self Heal is good for healing wounds.
• I cut back some of the autumn sages in the flowerbed along the back of the house.  I also cut back some more elderberry.
• There was a beautiful Tiger Swallowtail floating around the gardens all day, so pretty.  And there were Red Admirals too.
• The purple verbena is beginning to bloom.  So pretty.  The gingers are beginning to emerge.  Everything is leafing out and re-birth begins!  Except for the Barleria plants that I put in the ground a couple months ago.  No green growth.  I planted them before the hard freeze, and I thought I had water on them but they sprinkler was turned off.  So they went through that harsh weather with no help.  If they were established I wouldn't give it a thought, they would have made it no problem.  They look like they might have died.  That was 7 or 8 plants, all $8 each.  Expensive to replace if I have to.
• My sassafrass tree is blooming.  The flowers are yellow, not extremely showy, but always a harbinger of spring that I watch for.  And there are lots of buds on my rose bushes which is weird for February.