At the Farm During the Pandemic February 1 - 7, 2021

 

This is Coral Delight camellia.

• Monday.  Worked.
• I finally planted a few of the Alocasias that I dug up from Amy and Josh's back yard.  I  planted two good sized bulbs (or whatever you call them - tubers?) in the thryallis bed in the back.  That soil is dense with roots, and whatever goes in that bed has to have a pretty strong will to live.  So those should be perfect.  I spread some humus and manure over the top of them to give them a little encouragement.  I planted one of the tubers in a pot that sits by the swimming pool.  And I stuck a tiny one in a bed in the Star Garden.  I have a few more, but I will likely throw them out.
• I planted 3 Mrs. James Hendry crinum bulbs in my mom's garden. 
• I cut a few yaupons in the Shade Garden and poisoned the tips. That whole area used to be yaupon scrub.  It was the one of the first gardens I ever built.  We cleared out all the yaupon, it was hard work.  But yaupon is impossible to eradicate completely.  I try to find them and pull them up when they are very small, but if I miss them, they get too big to pull up (without hurting my self). 
• Tuesday.  Worked.
•  I pruned my pink Vitex.
• I cut back the white mist flower in the Star Garden. 
• Wednesday.  Worked.
• I pruned one of my blue Vitex and part of the other.
• I gave my Royal Velvet camellia a good watering.  My hose busted over there, and Bert will have to repair it.
• I cut back some grasses and gathered up some Philippine Lily stalks.
• I cut back a couple of Philippine Violets. 
• And I did some raking in the Star Garden.
• After work I planted some potatoes - red and yellow.  I tucked them in all over the place.  I still have more to plant.
• Thursday.  Worked.
• Bert bought the trough that I'm going to use for my water garden.  Very exciting!  He set it up steady on some stones.   
• I know I should feel bad, but Southern Bulb Company accidentally sent me 3 more Mrs. James Hendry crinums.  At some point I had called them and changed the delivery address, and that must have thrown them for a loop because they sent me another order.  I don't feel bad, I'm super excited!  They are very expensive bulbs, with tax and shipping they cost $100.
• I planted the stolen bulbs in my mom's garden.
• I planted a few more potatoes in the Vegetable Garden and threw the rest in the compost pile.
• I cut back my Copper Canyon daisies and a few other plants.
• Cut back the 3 Thryallis in the back bed.  While I was there I cut back my bunny grasses and a few Siberian iris clumps.  The back bed needs some help.  Horseherb got a foothold in those beds, and it is a booger to pull up.  Yuck.  I hate that weed - some folks think it is a great groundcover.  I disagree.
• Friday.  Worked.
• Bert went to Schroeder's and got a yard of mulch for me.
• Headed to Houston after work to spend the night and go to Cleo's birthday party on Saturday.
• No work in the garden.  We had a good hard rain.  Cold and wet.
• Returned Saturday evening.
• Sunday.
• Picked the first 2 asparagus of the season.  Weeded (not very many weeds in the asparagus beds, I am diligent about keeping them cleaned out because they don't like competition) and spread mulch.
• I pulled up all the tall poppy mallow that had completely taken over one of my 4x4 beds in the Vegetable Garden.  Turned the soil and spread mulch over the top. 
• I planted 2 Augusta Duelberg (white) salvia, 3 white trailing lantana and 3 white petunias in my mom's garden.  Mulched.
• Mulched around all the other plantings in there - the lilies, bulbs, camellia, althea, verbenas, rose, and iris.  
• I used up all the mulch except for one wheel barrow-ful.  I will use the last bit here and there.
• Next, I painted the fence around my mom's garden with some green paint Bert found in the shed. Yay, we didn't have to buy paint - that's a savings.  Bert also found the light green paint that we painted the Greenhouse, so I painted the back of the Greenhouse.  The back of the Greenhouse was pretty rust stained and grubby from years of junk being stored behind it.  Now that one of the entrances to the garden is right there, it needed a face lift.  I also painted the wood trim on the Greenhouse that Bert just replaced.