I drove up on Friday morning and worked from here. Bert drove up after his golf game.
- Friday evening after work I spent several hours cutting back plants to clear paths (mostly salvia and gomphrena) in the Rose Garden and the Star Garden. I cut plants away that were leaning into plants about to bloom, particularly my verbenas and my mums. Weeded. Spot watered in the Rose Garden. Watered by hand all the verbenas I planted last weekend in the Rose Garden. Deadheaded roses.
- Watered in the Long Border.
- Watered all my new trees - Senna, Witch Hazels, Parsley Hawthorn, and Huisache.
- Saturday, up before daylight. I went straight out the the Orchard. It needs work. I never quite finished my project of cleaning out that garden several weeks ago, and it's a bit of a mess. I cut away the last of the dead blackberry canes. I did lots of weeding that involved a shovel to loosen the weeds. I cleaned out several beds completely and pulled up the big chunks of weeds in others. Sprayed herbicide in the paths. I pulled up all the basil - I am so over it. This variety of basil throws off way too much seed.
- Bert finished repairing the Boardwalk, so I decided to honor that by cleaning out the Boardwalk Gardens. Mostly that involves pulling up Mexicali Rose which spreads aggressively into the Turks Cap, around the camellias and into the blackberry brambles below. The White Butterfly ginger is in bloom and smelled wonderful. There was some peppervine down below growing over the Texas Lantana, so I pulled it up. I cut back the Texas Lantana to get a fall show, the one growing along the Boardwalk and the one growing in the Orchard.
- Inside for the hot part of the day. Back out in the evening. I dug a hole to plant another Witch Hazel that I bought. I planted it near the one that I planted 2 weeks ago near the entrance to the property. I filled the hole with water many times as well as some fertilizer. More weed pulling and clipping. I pulled up a bunch of dead gomphrena in the front bed of the Rose Garden. The roots had been completely chewed up by voles. When I dug a hole to plant a Passalong Pink verbena in that same bed, the soil gave way to reveal a huge hole - they were making a den in that spot obviously. I planted the verbena anyway and smushed down all the soil with the heel of my boot. I dumped a huge load of debris in the official erosion area that is mentioned in my wildlife management plan.
- I cut all the seed off my Inland Sea Oats growing in the Greenhouse Gardens and threw them along the tree line in the Meadow.
- Sprayed herbicide in the Star Garden paths.
- Sunday. Trimmed away morning glory vine in the Water Garden that was trying to cover my climbing rose. I cut to the ground the tall artemesia growing in the Water Garden that Debra gave me. I dug some up and moved it to the Rose Garden in a dry spot. It is very drought tolerant, but so tall that I don't know what to do with it. It's very unwieldy. I dug a hole in the spot where I dug up the artemesia and planted a small Texas Kidneywood that I bought last week. I filled the hole with water lots of time before I planted it to give it a chance. Watered the one at the other end of the garden that I planted last week or so.
- I planted the Witch Hazel in the hole I prepared the evening before.
- Dug a big hole to plant an Anacacho Orchid tree at the edge of the Greenhouse Garden on the other side of the horseshoe pit. Same drill, filled the hole with fertilizer and water many times. Planted the tree. Anacaho Orchid is a native, deciduous spring flowering tree with pretty little round leaves.
- I staked some of my white mist flower in the Star Garden that is covered in buds.
- I weeded in the Harlequin Glorybower bed and cut back the Beautyberry because I was going to plant a little Texas Mountain Laurel next to it. But at the last minute I decided to plant it next to my Snowball Bush because it's not doing too well, and it can't decide if it wants to die. The Mountain Laurel is very small which is why I bought it. It was cheap and I have a lot of patience. I love buying small plants that get big because they are inexpensive - comparatively anyway.
- Cut away vines of luffa from the front fence. There must be 20 gourds out there now, I don't need more.
- Filled the water tank in the Water Garden and added a little piece to the fountain that makes a little spray. I had removed it some time ago, so it was basically a bubbler. But there are lots of mosquito larva in the water, so the water needs to move more.
- Cut dead almond verbena branches away with my little electric saw.
- Sprayed herbicide in the Vegetable Garden paths and the Rose Garden paths.
- I raked in the Camellia Garden. Pulled weeds. Fertilized all the camellias.
- Watered my new trees again. Watered the roses in pots in the Rose Garden.
- Arranged all the sprinklers.
- Headed home about 4:00.
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