Most of June was spent on road trips to the Grand Canyon and then to South Dakota. Everything is thick with weeds.
The last weekend of June was spent in the Rose Garden. The beds were choked with peppervine. I spent a good part of the day pulling it up and clearing it out of the garden beds. I pulled up zillions of brown eyed Susan stalks too, all brown and itchy.
I bought myself a new tool that is like a weed eater on wheels. I can't hold up regular weed eaters because they are too heavy. It's a cheaply made thing, though, made in China - doesn't even have a brand name. I bought it to mow my garden paths. It does the job, but it does the job slowly. Conceptually, I think it's a great tool. Hopefully I will have to spray poison even less infrequently than I am doing now. I see lots of toads and lizards which makes me feel extra reinforced that ceasing the spraying is so important. I spent time mowing in the Vegetable Garden, the Rose Garden, and the Star Garden. It's not great results, but I'm getting okay results.
July 3rd, tomorrow is the 250th birthday of the United States. I spent part of the morning in the Star Garden weeding. I filled up the truck easily because there are so many weeds and plants that needed to be cut back.
Next, I spent time in the back bed. I pulled up white Four O'Clocks and weeds. I pulled up several Giant Mistflower that had taken hold. I filled up the truck again with debris. So much to do! Weeded along the walkway that leads to the pool. I did some mowing in the Orchard.
Collected some Red Gaillardia seeds in the front bed where it is blooming profusely. So pretty and an excellent seeder. Also collected seed from the Heartleaf Skullcap.
July 10. I trimmed the grapevine that grows along the fence in the Star Garden. It was reaching into the trees and dragging along the ground. I was stung by a yellow jacket that was nesting somewhere in there. I never found the nest so that I could spray it. That sting will be a nuisance for a week with itching and swelling. I did some path-mowing in the Star Garden.
I also spent time in the Rose Garden. I weeded the bed at the entrance. I trimmed the Alamo Vine on the arbor. And I weeded in several beds. Did some path mowing as well. I trimmed the arbor leading into the Long Border and cut back all the Four O'Clocks that were leaning into the path.
Collected more Red Gaillardia seed and some Gregg's Mistflower.
Finished cleaning out the Front Beds which was an effort that I began last weekend. Pulled up lots of White Snakeroot that was crowding my roses.
In the evening, I worked down in the Orchard. It's downright scary in there. Incredibly overgrown. My little mower won't do the trick. I weeded a bed and part of another. But it's going to take a considerable amount of work to get that garden back into shape. Basically, for two months I didn't do any work in there. I focused on the Rose and Star Gardens since they are right in the line of site. The crabgrass is mature, so it's hard to pull out of the ground. Bert is going to come down there in the morning and weed eat the paths, so that will be helpful. The plant that I bought at a plant sale a few years ago labeled Simpsons Rosinweed is a bad garden plant because the flower stalks can't support themselves. I need to make a project of digging then up and putting them in the Meadow. But for now, I cut them all down so I could make my way through the paths. I worked through the rain, not a problem because it was a light rain, and it cooled me down. I worked until 8:30.
July 11 - I worked in the Orchard again. Bert came down and ran the weedeater on all the paths. It was an instant mental game changer for me. Yesterday was incredibly demoralizing. I cleaned out a couple of beds and pulled up a zillion swamp sunflowers. They had spread into the path and were completely surrounding my native plum tree. The swamp sunflower growth had been happening for several years, and I allowed it to happen. But this morning, I decided to pull them up in order to open up the garden. More to do there.
At 2:00 I held a NPSOT plant sale committee meeting. We discussed the remaining plants that we wanted to buy from our growers.
I didn't go back outside after that.
July 12 - Back out to the Orchard. I continued weeding paying special attention to clearing around my blueberries and other plants that I put in during the spring. The combination of my efforts and Bert's efforts, it looks pretty good in there. I still need to clean out the corners of the garden where peppervine and crabgrass are living happily, but it's definitely better.
I sowed some zinnia seeds in the Rose Garden.
July 17 - Sprayed herbicide in the Orchard, Mom's Garden, around the pool, the Vegetable Garden, the Star Garden, and the Rose Garden. The rest of the day was taken up with a NPSOT lecture at the library and a trip to visit Susie Marten's wildlife habitat in Chappell Hill.
July 18 - I spent about 40 minutes in the prairie cutting down sumac. It colonizes rapidly, and I don't want small trees covering my prairie. There were also some tangles of grape and greenbriar vines that I pulled out. Poisoned the cuts of everything. A lot more to do in there, but at least a small area was cleared.
Collected more red Gaillardia seeds.
Next I worked in the Orchard. I pulled a truckload of weeds and cleaned out dead blackberry canes.
A fella came by to take a look at our property where we are wanting to build a lake. We spent some time with him walking around.
I planted 10 of the Ox Eyes that I potted up some months ago. I put them in a semi shady spot along the walkway to the pool. They were all in gallon pots. Those are going for $16.99 in the nurseries these days, so I feel good about that.
Headed to Blake's to stay with the kids.
July 23 - I worked in the Rose Garden pulling weeds and spot watering. I sowed lots of zinnias. I sprayed herbicide in a few spots that I missed last weekend.
I used a pair of hedge trimmers to clean up the walkway to the world sculpture in the Greenhouse Gardens - Turks Cap, Elderberry, Inland Sea Oats, and Hojo Santo. I cut down and poisoned 2 Beautyberry shrubs that were growing too close to the path.
Spent some time in the Water Garden. I bought a new fountain. They break pretty often, the filtration system has to be kept clean, and I am not very good at remembering that. I set up the new fountain. There are lots of tadpoles in the water sort of hiding amongst the rock bridge that I built! So cute. I watered and pulled weeds. Sprayed herbicide in a few places I missed last week. More to do in there, but it got too hot to continue.
I went back out to the Water Garden later with my new mini mower and mowed flat all the dead grass clumps that I killed with poison last weekend.
I noticed that my cactus I received from the Lammers was looking spotty and pale. Cactus beetles. I began slapping them off with one of my new gloves, and even as I began doing it, I knew it was a bad idea. That glove is now covered with thin, almost invisible stickers that are bedeviling me constantly.
Pulled some weeds in the Vegetable Garden.
July 24 - Pulled up all the Red Gaillardia in the front bed. Cleaned out weeds, cut back Mexican Hat. I dumped all the plants in the Meadow in an area where I don't have any growing. They were covered in seed.
Picked some eggplants. I've had a terrible year with my bell peppers. I'm going to fertilize to see if I can encourage the plants to bloom.
I hand watered all my zinnia seed beds in the Rose Garden. Pulled a few weeds.
Next, I went down to the Orchard and hand watered my blueberry bushes. I spread zinnia seeds in some of my newly cleared beds. Watered them in. Did some weeding. More weeding to do in there, but it looks pretty darn good right now.
The Philippine Lilies and the gingers are on the wane now. They were real pretty for several weeks. There is nothing blooming profusely right now except for the Almond Verbena. Its scent fills the Star Garden. I cut back a clump of blue salvia in the Orchard, now is the time to cut everything back. Roses and salvias in particular.
In the evening, I went back down to the Orchard and pulled some weeds in a very weedy spot. There aren't many of those left after mine and Bert's push a couple weeks ago. But the corners still need to be tackled.
July 25 - I worked in the Orchard again. I checked in the Rose Garden first to see if I should water my seed beds, but they looked moist from the night before.
I worked in the corners of the Orchard for several hours. I pulled up a lot of camphor weed. Cut down and poisoned a lot of peppervine. And pulled up a lot of swamp sunflower to clear the area - it had spread a lot. I did some weeding of crabgrass, but sprayed poison on some of it as well. And I cut down dead blackberry canes.
Cut back a giant mistflower in the Greenhouse Garden. It was trying to be gigantic, so I put it in its place!
In the evening I went out to the Rose Garden and watered my seed beds.
July 26 - Back down to the Orchard. I finished clearing out the corners. I poisoned peppervine and pulled up lots of crabgrass. The grapes are coming ripe. I'd say next weekend I will start picking. Muscadine grapes are annoying because they don't all come ripe at the same time. So you have to keep going down there and picking day after day. I find that I can't keep up my interest long enough to collect enough for jelly. Plus, they come ripe at the absolute hottest time of the year. I weeded here and there throughout the garden. I sowed zinnia seeds in most all of the beds.
I pulled the hose over to the front bed and gave it a good soaking. Sowed zinnias in the spot where I pulled up the Red Gaillardia.
Weeded in the Vegetable Garden. And I sowed some Flamingo Feather celosia in one of the 4 x 4 beds.
Sprayed my cactus with insecticidal soap to try and get rid of the cactus beetles.
July 31st. It is my first day of retirement. Yay! I arrived about 9:00 from Houston, and so I didn't do much work. If I can't start at 7:00-ish and acclimate to the heat, I can't work hard and long. I watered the front bed where I sowed zinnia seeds last weekend. The sprinkler does not get that area very well, so I am helping them along. I weeded in the Star Garden where it was still shady. Collected seed off my red-stemmed Helianthus.
There are lots of butterflies in the gardens - long tailed skippers aplenty, Gulf Fritillaries, American Beauties, Tiger Swallowtails, and Sulphurs.
I also weeded in the Orchard for a bit. I went down there to check on all the seeds I sowed over the last couple of weekends, and of course I couldn't help but pick a few weeds!
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