At the Farm During the Pandemic October 19 - 23, 2020

 

• Drove to the farm over my lunch hour on Monday.  The Airbnb guests left on Monday morning. Bert took taking delivery of my new Mini Cooper on Tuesday and joined me after that. 
• There are so many butterflies right now.  I never saw any Julias this past summer, and despite the intense butterfly activity right now, still no Julias.  But lots of Sulphurs, Monarchs, Queens, Longtails, Skippers, Swallowtails, Hairstreaks, Painted Ladies, Buckeyes, Red Admirals, and more that I don't recognize.  And bumblebees and honey bees all over my basil plants.  I have a dozen or so really large basil plants in the Rose Garden that I sowed from seed back in the spring.  The bee activity on those plants is amazing (and exactly what I intended - a plan that went according to plan!).When basil flowers, it is an excellent nectar plant.  And basil will flower all summer long.
• I did no work on Monday evening.  I just did some strolling through the gardens, wine glass in hand. 
• Debra gave me a six pack of Brussels sprouts that she bought thinking they were broccoli, so I need to make room for those.  I really like Brussels sprouts, but I've only tried to grow them once, and it wasn't too successful.
• Tuesday.  Worked.
• I watered in the Greenhouse Gardens before work.  
• All my camellias are loaded with buds.  I'm hoping for a great show from my Yuletide camellia because I watered it frequently throughout the summer. I've never done that before.
• I began the process of pulling up the perennial ageratum in the Star Garden and sowing seeds.
• I pulled up my red amaranth, added humus / manure and planted the six Brussels sprouts that Debra gave me.
• I cut my Pringle Aster to the ground. It was done blooming.
• Deadheaded roses in the front beds and in the Rose Garden.
• Wednesday.  Worked.
• I watered the Long Border before work.
• Pulled weeds here and there.  October is the time when most of the work goes away regarding weeds.  In fact, most of the work goes away period.   Once November gets here and all the ageratum is completely spent, it's time to start pulling it up and sowing seeds.  The leaf raking will begin in earnest.  And this year we will rent a bush hog and mow down the Meadow.  Then at the first sign of a few rainy days in a row, I will throw out my wildflower seeds.  This winter I want to build a new garden in the sunny area on the other side of the Greenhouse.  I want to move my red and purple cannas to make more walking space in the Star Garden, and I will move them to the new garden.  So, lots of projects for the coming winter.
• After work Bert and I took a ride around the property and I gathered seed off all the native grasses that grow along the trails.  I will spread them in my Meadow.
• I am very happy to report that planting my lantanas and other plants in the recent past with seeds and vegetation from my castor plants seems to be working to prevent vole attacks!  I've only lost one plant since I started that practice, and it was a plant that I put in the ground before my bright idea.  Very exciting.  I gathered all the dried seed heads from my castor plants, and there are zillions more that are still red, so I can gather even more before winter.  I will be prepared for springtime war.
• Thursday.  Vacation.  
• I spent the morning cutting down Philippine Lily stalks and spreading the seed.  As I went along doing that, I cleared paths, pulled weeds and did general clean up in the beds.
• Friday.  Vacation.  Rain, and then a cold front moved in during the afternoon.
• Raked trouble spots in the Vegetable Garden, the Star Garden and the Rose Garden.
• I staked some plants that were leaning over in the Rose Garden.
• I spread the grass seed in the Meadow that I collected the day before.  After I spread the seed we had a good, solid rain.  That was fortuitous - I didn't plan it, but sometimes things just work out well.
• I cleared some more space in the flowerbed near the front arbor, surrounded the edge with pine needles and sowed Tickseed.
• I sowed some Tall Poppy Mallow and Tickseed in the Fortune's Double bed.  I set the sprinkler on it - we have Airbnb guests Sunday through Wednesday, so I don't want it to go dry. I also sowed seed here and there in the Rose Garden.
• Picked lots of green beans in the Vegetable Garden, had green beans for dinner.  
• Sprayed herbicide in the Vegetable Garden, Star Garden, Rose Garden and Orchard.
• Hand watered in the Orchard - the fig tree, a few lantanas and my new rosemary (it was looking pretty wan).
• Laid down pine needle mulch (gathered from my good pine needle drop-spot) around the sweetshrub next to the Greenhouse.
• Hand-watered the Long Border. 
• Sowed a few Calendula seeds in one of the pots in the Vegetable Garden.  I already did that, but the sprinkler wasn't hitting it and they didn't make it.  I moved the pot and re-sowed the seeds.
• Bert and I drove in to Round Top to check out the fall Antique Festival.  To me, it all looks like junk.  But junk is perfect for placing interesting items along the trails.  We found a cool object d'art (smile) and bought it.  Bert attached it to a tree on one of the trails.
• Walked the gardens in the evening.  It was almost cold and very pleasant.  Soon the mosquitos will be gone for the season, and every evening is a perfect evening.
• My company sent out an email.  We have to go back to the office.  I am in team four (we will populate the office at one quarter occupation).  My turn will be November 23rd for one week, and then I will be back again December 21.

Cannas and Morning Glories October 21, 2020

 

White Philippine Violet October 22, 2020

 Philippine Violet spreads by seeds.  The seed is hard to collect because once it's ripe it sort of shoots out.  It doesn't sit in the seed pod and eventually drop to the ground.  So, it ends up sprouting everywhere and has to be pulled up (which is very easy) in places where you don't want it.  I haven't really paid close enough attention to know if it comes up from the roots after winter, but I'm pretty sure that none of mine has.  Mine all seem to be coming up from seed.  This plant likes shade or to sit at the edge of sun and shade.  There is a purple variety that I love, but I've tried growing it twice with no luck.

In the picture immediately below - morning glory, Mexican sage and Philippine Violet in the background.  Just trying to get another picture into the blog of my beautiful morning glories.

Malabar Spinach Seeds Turning Black October 22, 2020

 I assume that the progress of the Malabar seeds go from green / pink to black, and then they dry out and drop their seed.  Right now, the seeds at the lowest point of each seed string are beginning to turn black.  I know I've written this before, but this plant is fascinating.    

Biltmore Ballgown Abutilon October 21, 2020

 I heard good things about this perennial from the lady that owns The Arbor Gate.  I bought 3 of them.  I planted one of them in the shady part of the Star Garden and 2 of them in the Medicine Garden.  They like shade.  And they are fall bloomers.  It's hard to see in these pictures, but there are lots of buds on them.  This year they are kind of spindly, so I'm interested next year in seeing how they grow up from the roots after winter.  I can pinch them next year also to help them get bushier.  

At the Farm During the Pandemic October 13 - 15, 2020

 

• Drove up here on my lunch hour on Tuesday.  
• Watered a few things, but no time for much of anything.
• After work I turned over the soil in the Vegetable Garden where I had dumped two bags of manure / humus last week.  I planted a mustard green plant in that spot.  I added some lime to an adjacent spot and sowed a packet of spinach.
• Bert and I took a ride around the property in the dark of the evening.  Everything smelled of damp earth, and there were no stars and no moon.
• Wednesday.  Worked.
• I hand-watered in the Long Border.  And I hand-watered in the Hot Border.  Some of the seeds I sowed in the Hot Border have sprouted, but most did not.  Since I'm gone so much with the Airbnb guests, I haven't been able to water as much as I would have liked.  I thought when I sowed them, they would germinate with only a few waterings, but obviously I was wrong. 
• After work I planted 2 Heliopsis in the Rose Garden and a Mexican sedum.  I planted 2 small Copper Canyon daisy in the bed where the others are growing.
• I cut back some spent ageratum in the Star Garden that was leaning into a path.
• Deadheaded salvias in the Rose Garden.
• Hand watered all the beds at the front of the Rose Garden.
• Thursday.  Worked.
• Before work I hand watered in the Greenhouse Gardens.  I sowed some Ox Eye daisies in the hydrangea bed.  And I set a sprinkler on them to keep them watered while I'm gone.  Airbnb guests arrive on Friday.

Roses October 15, 2020

 This is Bermudas Kathleen.  It is a found rose, origin unknown. It grows into a monster.  The flowers are single and they turn from pink to orange to yellow.  It is probably a relative of the Butterfly rose because it has the same traits.  No scent. 

This is a noisette rose.  Highly scented, but a shy bloomer.

This is Cramoisier Superior.  Very good scent.  Good bloomer.

Mexican Torch flower and Noisette.

Mrs. Dudley Cross.

Bermudas Kathleen with Cypress Vine behind it.

Cypress Vine October 15, 2020

 Cypress Vine comes back from seed every year.  It pops up all over the place in the vicinity of the trellis that I grow it on.  It pulls up easily, so I just pull it up wherever I don't want it.  Or, if I'm lucky, I have mulch, and I lay down mulch in the surrounding area so that seeds won't sprout in areas where I don't want it to grow.  Beautiful, ferny vegetation.  The flowers open up in the sunshine.  In the morning there will be no flowers, but by noon the flowers are open and it is dotted with red.  There are also white and pink varieties, but I've never seen those seeds sold separately, only in a red, pink, white mix of seeds.

Heavenly Blue Morning Glories October 14, 2020

 I have been waiting for months for these morning glories to bloom.  I sowed the seeds months ago.  And they have covered this little stand for almost as long.  But they only set buds recently which seems like an abnormally long time for bud set.  The wait was worth it, though.

I stuck these pictures of Venezia morning glories on the end of this post.  They have been in bloom for half the summer already which is why I don't understand why Heavenly Blue has been so pokey.

 

Black and Blue Sage October 7, 2020

 About 2 months ago I cut back all the black and blue in this bed hoping to get a second flush before winter set in.  I cut it all the way to the ground.  And here is the second flush of blooms. Thryallis is in the background of the top picture.  

At the Farm During the Pandemic October 7 - 9, 2020

 

• Arrived at the farm on Tuesday evening just after our AirBnB guests left.  One of them painted a picture of the front of the house and left it for us as a gift.  We love it, so nice of them!
• Wednesday.  Worked.
• I added several bags of manure and humus to one of the beds in the Vegetable Garden and planted two collards.
• I bought a wonderful grass at the Arbor Gate called Blond Ambition blue gramma.  The seed heads are positioned horizontally on the stems rather than vertically.  Really unique.  I wish now I had bought all they had. I planted it near my bunny grass along the back path.
• Yesterday evening I noticed some new vole piles (they pile up the dirt that they burrow out of their tunnels) very near one of my new camellias.  Noooo!  Not my expensive new camellias!  I ran the hose down in the tunnels for a long time.
• Dinner at Volare in Brenham for my birthday.
• Thursday.  Worked.
• I had Bert cut down two olive trees in the Star Garden.  They were trees given to me as gifts many years ago.  I really had no place to plant them, so they have always been languishing in two shady spots in the Star Garden.  Olives are not understory trees!  In one spot I planted a Two Winged Silverbell (Halesia Diptera) which blooms white flowers .  I plan to leave the other spot open because the olive tree was blocking easy access to one of my flowerbeds.
• Leaves are starting to drop.  Another summer gone.  What happened to the time?  Thinking about it makes me feel very wistful.  
• Bert took the blower to everything around the house including the Shade Garden and the Greenhouse Garden.  It looks really good.  Another group of guests arrive on Saturday.
• The Pringle aster, although still covered with white flowers, is on the wane.  The blue and the white mist flower will be blooming soon as well as the Texas aster.  And the Barbados Cherries in the Medicine Garden are blooming now.
• The Giant Swallowtails are really making a big showing right now.  They are the largest butterflies in North America, so how lucky am I that they are in my region of the country! 
• When the sun went down I sprayed my roses in the Rose Garden for black spot - of course I'm already seeing black spot, so too late again.  Why break my record for missing the mark. 
• Friday.  Took the day as vacation although I had to join several work conversations through the day.
• I worked in the Orchard for about 45 minutes.  I weeded, did some hand watering of my rosemary, new lantanas and fig tree.  I sprayed some herbicide.  I raked a bit.  And I surrounded a couple of my lantanas with pine needles because they are planted in a dry spot.
• I worked for a while on the bed right at the fence by the shed.  I cut back all the wild petunia, pulled up dried lily sticks, pulled weeds, and roughed up the soil.  I spread Ox Eye seeds over the whole bed.  Watered them in.
• I hand-watered the Long Border really well.  I will be gone until Tuesday evening, so they needed a little support.  I raked the path that runs along the length of the bed.  And I raked out parts of the bed.  There is a huge pine tree adjacent to the Rose Garden and Long Border.  And it has made its end of summer needle drop.  Lots of needles drop into the Long Border.  That's my best pine straw spot, so I am not complaining!  I sowed Ox Eye Daisy seeds in the spots that I raked.  One of the sprinklers hits those spots, so I should see some good germination.
• I hand-watered all the beds in the Rose Garden.  I tied back some zinnias, mulched some plants with pine straw, tied up some Peggy Martin canes and raked.  
• Watered all the pots around the pool and in the Medicine Garden. 
• Re-positioned all the sprinklers in the Star Garden, the Greenhouse Garden and the Rose Garden.
• Throughout the day I was busy weeding, weeding, weeding.
• Filled all the rain barrels along the front porch.  They are wooden barrels, and when they are not full the wood shrinks.  Best to keep them full with the hose if it is not going to rain.
• Headed back to Houston.

Thryallis October 9, 2020

 This is a shrubby perennial that I highly recommend.  It has a very long bloom cycle.  It's very colorful.  For some reason I am not a fan of yellowbell plant.  But I love thryallis.  It is a deciduous shrubby perenail, and I cut mine down to the ground every winter to keep it from getting leggy. It is pretty drought tolerant.  Two of mine are in a spot that gets no regular water.

Barbados Cherry in the Medicine Garden October 8, 2020

 I have three barbados cherry shrubs in the Medicine Garden.  I've had them for 13 years.  They are good shrubs, nothing to write home about.  The flowers make small cherry-like berries that supposedly are edible, but I've never eaten them.  The birds like them.  I planted them in the Medicine Garden because they are edible.  That garden (originally - I've moved away from this somewhat) is planted with plants that are edibles, medicinals, and usefuls.  Other plants in that garden are Gotu Kola, valerian, catnip, elderberry, wormwood, horsetail reed, turks cap, gingers, hojo santo, bay tree, oregano, henna, lambs ear, tansy, St. Johns Wort, and rosemary.  But now, I also have some bulbs, some Ox Eyes, a camellia, several hydrangeas, and others that don't immediately come to mind.