Four Days at the Farm February 23 - 26, 2024

 This is the Snow Moon rising.  

Friday vacation.  I spent the morning pruning roses, cleaning out flowerbeds and breaking off dead debris from salvia and Mexican Mint Marigold.  I pruned my pink Vitex , all except for 5 or so branches too thick for me to cut with hand clippers.  I kept intending to get the loppers and finish the job, but I never got back to it.  I cut double red althea down to about half its size.  I've never done that to an althea before, so I'm interested to see how it does.  I cut down all the Southern wood fern dead debris in the dining Room Bed.

Anne Thames and I visited the Antique Rose Emporium to get them to join the NICE program for the Native Plant Society.  They were very enthusiastic about it.  On the way home we stopped at Texas Trees nursery and spoke to them about the program as well.

In the early evening I did some clean up in the Rose Garden.  I pruned a couple of roses and pulled weeds.

Saturday.  I planted a Methley plum tree in the Orchard.  Dug up 4 sorry looking Missy Prissy iris that were in the way. 

I met Josh halfway and picked up the girls.  I had the La Bahia NPSOT folks over to tour my Small Prairie Restoration.  That lasted all afternoon.

Sunday, met Josh halfway and dropped off the girls.  

Cut back my tall blue mistflower in the Star Garden.  I used all the debris in an erosion spot.  No worries if it seeds because it is native.

I painted the fence that runs along the side of the house leading to the barn.  

I went down to the Orchard and put down poison for leaf cutter ants.  I cut back my Texas Lantana to the nub.  I moved a tall blue mistflower from the Star Garden down to the Orchard and planted it under the Jujube.  I saw that my 3 in 1 apple tree is down to 1, so I will need to get another apple tree or that one will never make an apple.  I've lost 2 of the grafts, very disappointing.  I weeded for a long time until it was nearly dark.  

Monday vacation.  

I planted the 4 Missy Prissy in the Rose Garden and dug up another one that was being consumed by salvia.  I planted them in the Noisette bed. I fertilized them very lightly.

Leaf cutter ants had stripped 2 of my roses, so I put down poison along their trails.

Fertilized some of the roses in pots.  More to do there.  The fennel seed that I tossed in the buckets is popping up.  The deer don't seem to like the fennel.  Hopefully I'm right and that will keep them away. 

I sowed a row of green fennel in the Vegetable Garden - for the butterflies.

I worked in the Orchard.  I pulled weeds, raked, cleaned out beds.  I pulled up all the brown eyes in the fig bed.  I don't want any in that bed.

Took Nelly to the vet for boosters, and we headed to Houston after that.