It's been raining hard here all week, so everything has taken a leap in growth.
- Saturday morning I took pictures of the house before we messed it up too much. We are going to try and rent our house on Airbnb while we are in Alaska. I created our account and posted the pics and time the house is available.
- Sprayed herbicide in the Star Garden.
- I spent several hours pulling weeds in the morning before it got too hot. I pulled weeds in the Rose Garden and generally cleared the way for my young roses. I am being careful not to let them get smothered by verbena, tickseed, and brown-eyed Susans. I cleared some weedy growth out of the Daffodil Border. Deadheaded roses.
- Weeded in the Star Garden. I am pulling up lots of ageratum, this year I will be lots more organized with the ageratum, I'm not going to let it get so pervasive. It's pretty, but enough is enough.
- The birds were singing, and it felt very merry - not too hot, just pretty and warm.
- Lots of butterflies are fluttering around - Monarchs, black swallowtails, mourning cloaks, red admirals, and painted ladies.
- I took several walks in the Meadow. I'm fascinated by it. All the diversity is endlessly diverting. I'm sure by the time the dead of summer is here and the crabgrass has taken over, I will not be singing the Meadow's praises. But right now it is beautiful I came upon a copperhead on one of my walks which startled me (as always), but I just kept walking past.
- I spotted a Painted Bunting at the feeder.
- I walked around all the gardens for several hours after dinner and enjoyed the evening air and all the flowers and the hummingbird moths.
- Sunday. I walked the Meadow first thing in the morning.
- I cut some yaupon along the edge of the Meadow and squirted Remedy and diesel on the cuts. Soon it will be too hot to even consider getting out there and doing that kind of work. Hauling them off is the worst part.
- Pulled weeds all morning in the Star Garden.
- I staked my asters in the Star Garden.
- Planted Mexican Butterfly vine against one of the conveyor belts in the Star Garden. I've decided to plant perennial vines on all my arbors. I decided this after I had such a poor performance on my front arbor last year of Morning Glory. Lots and lots of green, no flowers, I am pretty certain because of nematodes because all of a sudden they just died away. That is what things do that are infested. This year I've planted a coral honeysuckle and now the Mexican Butterfly.
- I worked until about 1:00 then headed to the Antique Rose Emporium. I was on the lookout for a Sky Vine, but they were not selling any. So I bought a pink Coral Vine. I have the white Coral Vine, growing over the arbor leading to the Orchard. I planted the pink on the mattress springs we hung on the dead tree in the Rose Garden.
- I'm also on the lookout for a cold-tolerant passion vine such as incarnata or cerulean.
- I also bought two Peachie Keen agastache. I already have one, and I think they will look much better massed in a group. It killed me to pull up the larkspur and poppies. But the poppies are almost spent, and the larkspur were over-crowded anyway. I have never had luck with agastache, but I am determined this year to keep them from getting crowded and covered up with zinnias and other culprits. I also bought 3 Rosie Posie agastache and planted them near the peach ones, again, I pulled up poppies and larkspur. And I bought 2 Blue Marvel salvia and planted them next to the one that I planted several weeks ago.
- I have been so happy with all my salvias this year. They are so showy. I have been making a conscious effort to put perennials into the Star Garden and stop relying on the seeds. It's easier to keep the weeds down when I can mulch. If I sow seeds I can't mulch. All the coneflower seeds that I sowed last year are really doing well. Coneflower is a perennial, and when the plants get large I will be able to mulch around them as well. Less work for me.
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