Week at the Farm April 25 - 29, 2021

 

This is Climbing Pinkie.  

Arrived Sunday about noon after Airbnb guests left.

• I had a bunch of plants with me, so  spent the afternoon putting some of them in the ground.  
• The bed at the far end of the Rose Garden has not had much in it.  Last fall I planted a powderpuff shrub and a peacock shrub in there.  But the hard freeze did them in.  That's okay.  I always thought I should have planted a rose in there since it is a rose garden.  So I planted a Gaye Hammond rose. 
• I also planted 4 Heliopsis plants in that bed.  I added lots of molasses, lava rock and green sand to all the plantings.  And I also stuck in a few yellow Profusion zinnias, low-growing zinnias just for a little bedding plant color.  The Heliopsis plants are pretty cool.  They have dark red stems and they are excellent mid and late summer bloomers.  
• I planted 2 Fruity Pebbles Lantana in the bed around the old dead tree in the Rose Garden.
• And I stuck a couple of red profusion zinnias in one of the beds in the Rose Garden.
• And I stuck a couple of Giant Milkweed Calotropis procera in the Rose Garden beds as well.  
• Last week when I was here for a quick trip, I sowed some zinnia seeds in the Rose Garden.  They have all popped up.  Little by little I have been thinning them out since I threw lots of seed down.
• I watered here and there in the Rose Garden, Star Garden, and Greenhouse Gardens.
• I planted a Pink Buttons Polygonum next to the two Creeping Jenny plants next to the Greenhouse.  It might not get enough sun there, but so be it.  So, that is 3 ground cover plants there, maybe that will solve that problem area.  The white potato vine that grew on a goat wire arbor over the Greenhouse entrance never came back.  It had been there (evergreen) since the Greenhouse was built, about a decade.  But looks like the February freeze did it in.  I'm kinf od sad about that.
• Everything looks so beautiful right now.  I am enthralled.  Not too lush and overgrown, just perfect.
• Monday.  Worked.
• I sprayed a bit of herbicide here and there in the morning before work.  And I watered in a few spots.
•  Planted a pink Mandavilla vine on the little trellis in the Star Garden.  It was really small, so it was really inexpensive.  It won't survive the winter - not perennial, but such a good price that I bought it.  I like to change the things that grow on that little trellis each year,
• I sowed Heavenly Blue morning glory seeds on the conveyor belt where the yellow butterfly vine was. Although hope is fading fast, I am still hoping the butterfly vine will come back.  But in case it does not, something will twine up that tall structure.
• I sowed the other half of the morning glory packet on one leg of the arbor at the Rose Garden entrance.
• I cut two large, low branches off one my Mexican Buckeye in my mom's garden so that my crinums would get more room and more light.
• I erected 3 or so more chicken wire barriers to keep plants from flopping over. 
• After work I did some more chicken wire barriers.
• I did some weeding.
• I planted another Giant Milkweed in the Rose Garden. 
• I planted an unusual milkweed called Pineleaf Milkweed in the Star Garden.  We'll see how it does.  I crowded it in one of the beds and pulled up all the ageratum around it to give it a fighting chance.  Ageratum wants to be everywhere.
• I planted some of the Nicotiana in the Long Border that I sowed in little pots and have been maniacally protecting for about 3 months.  Surrounded them with chicken wire.  I don't know if I mentioned in a previous post that I planted 8 Nicotiana plants in the Medicine Garden, each one surrounded by chicken wire.  The chicken wire is to protect them from armadillo destruction, but also because Nicotiana is very unruly and floppy.  The Nicotiana that I sowed is some sort of Alata that I bought off of Ebay.  I was also gifted 3 Indian Peace Pipe Nicotiana from Ann Thames, and I planted them in my mom's garden.  They are large beautiful specimens.  She knows how to not crowd plants, a skill I either never learned or can't prevent myself from doing.
• I walked the Meadow which I have been doing frequently because plant height is still low enough that I can see the ground and watch for snakes as I walk. 
• I pulled up some parsnips from the garden and ate them for dinner.  I cut them up and browned them in a little olive oil and butter.  I love parsnips.  
• Tuesday.  Worked.
• At lunch I did some weeding in the Star Garden.
• I worked on the Boardwalk Gardens for a while.  I cleaned up the dead ginger vegetation.  I yanked up lots of Mexicali Rose growing in the wrong spots.  And I pulled up lots of dandelions.
• I weeded in the Orchard for a long time.  At one point I was weeding underneath some blackberry canes and glanced up into the greenery.  Copperhead coiled up sitting in the crook of two canes.  Well, at least I know ahead of time what my nightmares will be for the next couple of weeks.  I called Bert down to the Orchard, and he shot it. I pulled weeds for a while longer, but that was enough to take the wind out of my sails.
• I decided to pull down the unsightly scarecrow that is down there in the Orchard. Removing that thing has been a long time in coming.  Since it was constructed on two iron tree stakes I had to tear apart the sleeves, cut away the hat, tear off the shirt, and do some general yanking on it.  I began tearing away at the pants and all of a sudden - here is a huge bumble bee.  It started coming after me.  I didn't know if there was a nest in the pants or the boots or it was a complete coincidence, and I didn't wait around to find out.  I ran as fast as I could up the hill to the house with the bee chasing me.  I was screaming and waving my arms around.  I'm sure it was a sight to see.  I didn't get stung.  The stings only hurt briefly, but the swelling and itching afterwards is awful.  I'll do anything to avoid bee and wasp stings.  By the time I got to the top of the hill I was huffing and puffing.  Whew!  I am not in good shape.  Bert ended up going down there and setting fire to the remaining scarecrow - good idea, I should have set fire to the whole thing in the first place.  No bee nest, but the way.  I guess I just got spooked by the copperhead sighting.
• After work I did more chicken wire staking.  I sowed several packets of Moonflower in mom's garden.  I had left them soaking in water for several days to make sure I got good germination.  They are not reliable germinators unless you soak them a long, long time in water.
• I trimmed dead branches off my Noisette in the Rose Garden.  There was a cardinal in the rose shrub sitting on eggs, so I didn't want to disturb her.  But with all the activity from the Crawfish Boil and my activity in there every day, the pair ultimately abandoned the nest.
• I planted a yellow lantana in the front bed.  I thought the one that was there before was dead, but I noticed a tiny bit of green when I was in there. Some things are still coming back, but very very slowly. 
• I went through the Rose Garden sowing zinnia seeds everywhere I found an empty spot of soil.  I also did a little of that, but on a smaller scale, in the Star Garden.  The Star Garden has so much blue salvia now that I don't need to relay on zinnias as heavily.  At any rate, I am waiting on the brown eyed Susans to bloom.  They take up all the room in the Star Garden right now.
• Wednesday.  Worked.
• Amy Thomsen stopped by to borrow my Ecolab paperwork so she could review it.  I drove her around the property and she identified a few trees for me. One was an elm that I always thought was a cottonwood.  And one tree that I have never identified and always wondered what it was - a winged elm.  Next we drove down Sandtown road where she had spotted some Coral Honeysuckle growing up some trees in the bramble. I already have some Coral Honeysuckle growing on an arbor at the entrance to the Star Garden (which I bought at Buchanan's Nursery last year, but I went with her.  The adventure sounded fun.  We each (with a lot of effort) dug up some of the honeysuckle and brought our treasures home.  She gathered some mulberries off my wild mulberry tree to plant at various places on her property.  She has a mulberry on her property, but it is a male.  I have several of both.  She headed home.  
• I'm very worried I might have gotten into some poison ivy while I was doing honeysuckle gathering that because by Thursday morning I started to get itchy.  Om the other hand, I am staying out until dark every night working and walking the property, so perhaps I'm just covered in horsefly, ant, and mosquito bites.  A little bit more time will reveal the answer.
• After work I walked the Meadow again.   I'm seeing lots of good grasses - yay!
• I planted the last Heliopsis in the bed around the old dead tree in the Roe Garden.  I see a Heliopsis that I planted last year is dying.  I felt around and can feel a vole hole next to it.  I will move it on Thursday to try and save it.
• I planted a Balmy Pink monarda in the Rose Garden.  I love bee balm.
• I turned over a section of bed in the Vegetable Garden and added some soil amendments so that Bert could plant his plant.  That is his little section of garden.  While I was there I cut away plants leaning into paths and stakes a few things.
• Watered in the Rose Garden. 
• I planted the larger Coral Honeysuckle in the arbor box on the arbor in the Rose Garden.  I had also dug up a tiny one, so I planted it on the mattress spring wrapped around the old dead tree in the Rose Garden.  I haven't seen any sign of my Coral vine coming back.  But again, maybe it is still too early.
• I fertilized all my roses in the Rose Garden.  We are supposed get some really good rain this weekend, so now is the time.  
• Did some more staking.  I have used every last scintch of chicken wire I have.  When I return on my next trip, probably on Sunday, I will bring more.  Blake and her girlfriends are going to be here Friday through Sunday.  And next weekend the place is rented.
• Thursday.  Worked.
• In the morning, I spread the rest of the bag of fertilizer over all my roses in the Star Garden and front beds.  And I hit my altheas and other large plants as well.
• I dug up my Heliopsis that looked like it was under siege from voles and moved it to another bed.
• Headed back to Houston in the evening after work.