Giants in the Vegetable Garden September 6, 2014

Late summer.  Most of what I have growing is ornamental.  Castor Bean plants, Mexican "Torch" Sunflowers, pumpkin, tomatoes, asparagus gone to seed, arugula, Marjoram, lots of French Marigolds, Scarlet Runner Beans (which are edible, but I am growing them for the pretty red flowers), okra, birdhouse gourd vines, and Nasturtiums.

Castor Beans above.  Castor Beans and birdhouse gourd vines below.

Above, my gigantic Mexican sunflowers growing in back of the castor bean.  The birdhouse gourd is in the right side of the photo growing on goat wire fencing.

Hycinth Bean Over the Front Gate Sept 6, 2014

Hyacinth Bean vine is grown from seed.  These seeds were collected from my vines I grew last year.  The bloom are over a foot long.  Very pretty.  After the blooms fade they are replaced by bright purple seed pods.  Not edible, but very decorative.

 

 

 

Hurricane Lilies September 6, 2014

I love this time of the year when the Hurricane Lilies pop up out of the ground.  It is the harbinger of fall for me.

Above and below - for every bloom you see there are usually three or four bulbs under the ground that did not bloom.  I will dig up the clumps as soon as they stop blooming and spread them around the other beds in the circle drive. 

Below, I dug up some bulbs last year and planted some around this tree.  I'm surprised they bloomed this year, Hurricane Lilies are known to sulk after being moved.

Weekend at the Farm September 6 - 7, 2014

 My little eight month old grandson, Ollie.

Friday noon bought clothes for Henry and Oliver.  Bought a sparkly purse and sparkly bracelet for Zelda.  Stopped at the Antique Rose Emporium and purchased three roses.   Arrived at the Farm around 3:00.  Nathan , Jessica, and Oliver spent the night Friday night, and we all went to Austin on Saturday for Henry's birthday party.

• Bought Marie D Orleans, introduced in 1883, Archduke Charles in 1837, and Rosette Delizy, introduced in 1922.  Delizy is a small tea shrub.  The outer petals are dark pink and the center petals are yellow.  Charles is a China rose with red outer petals, pink center petals, and the flowers darken to red as they age.  Marie is a dark pink tea rose.  I haven't decided which shrub will go in what spot, but I know where I am planting them.  I'm planting one of the roses in the bed I cleared out last weekend in front of the picket fence around the air conditioners.  Another one will be planted in the front bed where my Belinda's Dream inexplicably died.  The third rose will be planted in the Rose Garden.  I am going to dig up the Pearlie Mae.  Pearlie is not a good performer.
• Collected Gulf Coast Penstemon seeds from the Star Garden and spread them in the border outside of the Rose Garden. 
• Collected Castor Bean seeds from the Vegetable Garden and put them in a baggie for planting next spring.
• Staked my three tomato plants that I put in the ground several weeks ago.  Unfortunately I was about a week late, and they had already fallen over.  I put a cage around them and tied them to stakes to help them straighten up.  
• Cut away some obtrusive growth in the Vegetable Garden.
• Poured rain on Sunday night.  Five inches in the rain gauge. What a relief.
• Planted Archduke Charles in front of the picket fence.
• Fertilized the La Marne Roses.
• Planted Rosette Delizy in front of the house where the Belinda's Dream was.  Fertilized and mulched.
• Cleaned out the bed where the Living Easy was planted and planted Marie D'Orleans.  Pulled up Living Easy, pulled all those deep-rooted-evil weeds, fertilized and mulched.
• Spent time in the Vegetable Garden cutting and hauling away those massive Torch Mexican Sunflowers.  They fell over in the storm that came through early Sunday morning.  I was admiring them only the day before.  Getting them out of there really made a positive difference in the appearance of the Vegetable Garden, though. 
• My husband and I went out to one of the trails and picked up some rocks that we had put there many years ago when the house was first built.  As one would expect, the corral boards we used to make the beds in the Rose Garden are all starting to rot.  We loaded them into the cub, and I used most of them to replace three boards.  Pretty hot, didn't make a career out it.
• Spent an hour or so clearing out debris around my Lady Banks rose and in other places throughout the Long Border.  I pulled up Four O'Clocks, Swamp Sunflower, and zinnias. Pretty soon I will be seeding the Long Border with wildflower seeds.  Lots of Swamp Sunflower had fallen over, so I cut them to the ground.  I pulled some up that were growing in the wrong spot.  I cut away Hyacinth Bean vine that was growing into the cannas and the Antoine Mari rose next to it.
• Cleared away weeds around the Soncy rose.  
• Mulched here and there - around the Peggy Martin rose, Lady Banks, and Archduke Charles.
• Mulched all the La Marnes.
• Cut back all the French marigolds in the Vegetable Garden that were growing in the path.  Cut  arugula  away from the tomato plant.
• Pruned Mml. Franziska Krueger.
• Fertilized the tomatoes.
• Things look pretty good. I'm caught up.  Is everything perfect?  No, but I have command over it.  Yes!

Nicotiana Spetember 1, 2014

I grow this for the scent.  Nicotiana has a great smell, and it prefers a partly shady location.  Pretty flowers in the shade are unusual.  I plant them whenever I can find them.  Nicotiana is a re-seeding annual.

 A couple of years ago I had a stand of Nicotiana that was about 6 feet wide and 4 feet tall in the herb garden.  Heavenly smell.  Despite the fact that Nicotiana reseeds, it disappeared.  It's always interesting to me that weather - temperature, rain fall, and locaton can make such a difference.  This little plant in the Star Garden is an offset from that original stand.

Buttercup Turnera Sptember 1, 2014

 I planted three plants this spring in a partly sunny location.  It gets a lot taller when it is planted in a full sun location.  Turnera will re-seed, so I am hoping that I will lots of seedlings that I can spread around next year.  The flowers close up in the afternoon.  I really like this plant.  I think it is very showy.  There is also a solid yellow flower variety.  I prefer this creamy beige color with the brown throat.

Weekend at the Farm August 30 - September 1, 2014

A stray Philippine Liliy blooming on the side of the house.  Their regular bloom time is early August.

Went to dinner on Friday night to celebrate Dad's birthday.  To the lake on Saturday and Sunday.  Left Sunday evening for Burton.  My husband went dove hunting.

Monday:

• Watered around the pool area - the cassia tree, cigar plant, cannas, and lorapetalums.  It is so drought-y.  Very dry, very distressing.
• Watered the Long Border.  
• Watered half-dead plants in the Greenhouse Gardens.
• Pulled weeds in the Greenhouse Gardens.
• Pulled weeds in the Orchard.
• Pulled up spent zinnias in the Star Garden.
• Watered here and there in the Star Garden.
• Poured off the mead into the secondary fermentation vessel. I had to wait for my husband to get to Burton because I couldn't get the lid off the Primary Fermentation Vessel.  I didn't have enough strength.  Talk about helpless.
• Turned over the bed in front of the picket fence around the air conditioner.  I'm going to plant a shrub rose, I think.  Dug up as many of the Montbretias as I could find (tiny bulblets) and transferred them to a spot under the Harlequin Glorybower.  Transferred all the Paul Redman irises to various places in the Star Garden.   That bed looks better than it has in ages, and there is nothing in it.
• Took a 3 hour nap.
• August, especially the end of August, is the worst month in Texas.  As a gardener, I find it absolutely depressing.  When it is combined with a drought, it is beyond horrible.  I have lost some shrubs.  It always seems to be one step forward and one step back when there is drought.
• My husband and I have been researching properties near Houston.  It would be great to find some land that fits the following criteria:  only have one house note, city water, near my children, grandchildren, and parents, garden where I live, near enough to commute every day.  Is that so hard to find?  We'll see.  I would be willing to sell Burton if we could move to the right place.