Paperwhites February 12, 2017

Four Days at the Farm February 9 - 12, 2017

 This is Catmint.  It is an herb, but different from Catnip.

Wednesday my granddaughter Cleo was born, my son's second daughter.  It was a beautiful and meaningful day.  Thursday morning I went to the farm.  Bert joined me later after a dentist appointment.

• What perfect weather we had on Thursday,  I stayed outside all day long. 
• The yellow daffodils are beginning to bloom, and the paperwhites are going strong.  I have bent down to smell their sweet scent a hundred times.  The blue flowers of my Catmint look really pretty.  Everything is starting to leaf out, we have had such a warm winter so far. I was surprised to notice last weekend that my Cadenza rose had tip rooted.  I've seen my Peggy Martin rose do that several times, but never any other rose.  Really interesting.  I cut through the middle of the cane that was was the culprit so that now I have two Cadenza roses.  I'll have to find a spot to plant the baby.  All the daylilies are starting to emerge, their tufts of green are so pretty.
• I cut back my trailing purple lantana all the way to the ground and pulled some of it up.  It really spreads!
• I raked here and there in the Star Garden.  Most of the leaves have been cleaned up already and spread in the unfinshed areas of the Star Garden (to keep the weeds down).  I also watered in the Star Garden.
• I pruned six autumn sages back by about half.  I found about 5 babies under the canopies that had tip rooted last summer.  I pulled them up without any special care and threw them in the rain barrel so they could get water.  I might use some of them in the Orchard, haven't decided yet.
• I partially pruned back one of my blue Vitex and my pink Vitex.  I didn't quite finish either of them.
• I cut some paperwhites and brought them into the house, something that I don't often do - I prefer to admire them outside. But they smell so sweet and I just love them.
• Friday.  I loaded the cub with mulch and laid it down in the bed with my sweet little woodland violets.  I also laid down some mulch in my bulb bed.
• Cut away the long lily stems that were dead and brown in the Circle Drive beds.
• I went down to the Orchard to plant two Mexican Honeysuckle.  After I planted them (one under the Pakistan Mulberry and one under the apple tree) I decided to go after my grape vines.  It took about 3 hours to prune them.  Whew.  I was glad to get that out of the way.
• Bert and I went to town to buy new toilets and a new kitchen faucet.  Went to the grocery store and the hardware store.
• I cut away the dead debris of my peach sage and spread a load of mulch in the Kitchen Herb Garden. 
• Trimmed my La Marne roses so that all the uneven branches were gone and they looked a bit more rounded.  There are a lot of dead canes that need to be cut away, but I will save that for another day.
• I cut and pruned and trimmed for several hours in the Star Garden to clear out dead debris from winter.  Did some raking.
• Saturday.  Trimmed a few roses growing around the house.
• Loaded the cub with mulch and went down to the Orchard.  I spent a lot of time weeding and re-mulching.  There weren't a lot of weeds in the places where I had previously mulched, but I pulled them out.  I weeded a few places where I have not mulched and then laid down mulch.  I watered my young fruit trees.  I turned over the soil and added compost to three spots where I planted three Henry Duelberg Salvias, three Jacob Cline Bee Balm and three of the autumn sages that I pulled out of the ground and tossed in the rain barrel yesterday.  Mulched around my new plantings and watered.  That took the whole morning.  Henry Duelberg salvia is a Greg Grant selection.  He found it growing in a cemetery next to Henry Duelberg's grave.  I love a good story.
• Bert and I drove down the road to say hi to Jeff and Amy.  They are starting on their house, just the dirt work going on now.
• I trimmed back another autumn sage in the Star Garden and uncovered another one that had taken root.  They are almost pests.
• I cut away lots of dead canes on my two Belinda's Dreams.  I should really cut them back, they are pretty leggy.  But I didn't want to get into all that rose pruning this year.  My plan was to skip the heavy pruning this year, instead opting for a little light shearing of each one.
• It was such a hot day that I took advantage of the warm break and sprayed herbicide in the Orchard, Rose Garden, and Star Garden.  Herbicide does not work when the temperatures are in the sixties or below.
• On my way to go mulch my trailing lantana that I cut back a couple days ago I decided to mulch around my Ehamanii cannas. That led me to deciding to dig up my hops vines which grow nearby and move them to the Orchard.  Hops are not aggressive at all, and I have other vines that like to spring up in that same spot.  The hops can't compete.  I gathered some compost along the way and planted my hops vines in the Orchard.  Bert and I will have to figure out some sort of arbor for them to grow on, maybe a tripod of cedar?
• I transplanted a miniature butterfly bush from a pot into the ground.  I think it will thrive better if it's in the ground.  Mulched around it and around the trailing lantana that grows next to it - finally got to the lantana. 
• I cleaned out some of the beds that are at the outer edges of the Star Garden, cut back my copper Canyon Daisies, trimmed my Cassia Tree (it gets so unruly) and finished trimming my two blue vitexes since I was in the area.  Raked out the leaves, mulched the whole area and watered.  Looks good.
• My mulberry tree has lots of tiny mulberries on it.  I made Bert come out and look at them before the animals take them all.  Grr.
• My Lady Banks is budding out.  It's a once a year bloomer, so I really look forward to her flowers.
• I watered my stand of wildflowers in the Rose Edge border. 
• Sunday I watched 20 back to back episodes of Scandal and rested.

Oxalis February 5, 2017

I might be the only person in the world that likes this common oxalis.  I planted it on purpose.  Most people are trying to get rid of it.  It starts popping up in cool weather, blooms in the spring (this variety blooms a hot pink color) and fades away when it gets hot.  In fact, I love oxalis so much that I bought 200 little bulbs of Iron Cross oxalis to plant in the spring.  Iron Cross is a much less invasive variety with much more decorative leaves.   The spiky green plants in the background of the photo are Excelsior Spanish Bluebells.

Cilantro February 5, 2017

 This is the row of Cilantro seeds that I planted last fall.

Weekend at the Farm February 4 - 5, 2017

This is the bed at the top of the Boardwalk where I planted the Philippine Violets and the Ajuga.

Arrived Friday evening after work.  Bert was already here.  Cold.

• I've started buying my spring plants.  I like getting them in the ground now, while it's still cold.  They have time to get established before the extreme heat, and it's certainly easier on me physically to do the work when it's not so hot.  I bought two more Nikko Blue hydrangeas to plant on the other side of the path where I planted three last weekend.  I also bought a Strawberry Bush and a Mexican Honeysuckle.  And I bought three white Philippine Violets and a half flat of Bronzed Beauty Bugleweed (ajuga).
• Saturday morning.  I cut back my spindly Bayse's Blueberry rose by about half.  Hopefully this year it will do something.  It has under-performed so far by my standards.
• I watered a few of my transplants in the Star Garden that I moved last weekend.
• Did a little watering in the Rose Garden to keep my transplants going.
• I raked out the beds in the Medicine Garden where I wanted to plant my Nikko Blues and my Strawberry Bush.  Hauled over a big pile of my compost and turned over the soil.  Planted two Nikko Blues and the Strawberry Bush.
• Loaded the cub cadet with mulch and mulched the hydrangeas, Strawberry Bush and the surrounding areas.
• Next I raked out the area at the top of the Boardwalk closest to the house.  Hauled over a big pile of compost, spread it and turned over the soil.  Planted three Philippine Violet (which grow to be large and shrubby) and 7 Bronzed Beauty Ajuga.  
• Loaded the cub with mulch and spread it over that area.
• I filled the plastic pots with compost that my ajuga and Philippine Violets came in and carried them over to the Rose Garden.  I have lots and lots of Homestead Purple Verbena that is growing over the edges of the flowerbeds but has not taken root.  So I laid stem across the pots and weighted them down with bog rocks.  They will take root, and I'll transfer them to flowerbeds.
• I cut back my Madame Antoine Mari rose in the Long Border and trimmed back my Caldwell Pink rose int he Rose Garden.  I'm not planning to do a lot of rose pruning this year, at least nothing drastic.  I'm planning only to cut them back so they are more neat-looking.
• Sunday.  I dug up the China Chiffon Althea in the Long Border and moved it into the Rose Garden in a narrow flowerbed that I made last weekend.  Mulched around it.
• I planted the Mexican Honeysuckle that I bought last week in the spot where I dug up the althea.  Added compost to the hole and mulched around it.
• Watered here and there.
• Loaded the cub cadet with a load of mulch and finished a few spots in the Medicine Garden that I didn't get yesterday.  I used the rest around the Mojito Colocasias along the Boardwalk.  I didn't get finished there, so that's were I'll start next time.
• I set the sprinklers in the Rose Garden to some new spots that would cover the new plantings.

Weekend at the Farm January 27 - 29, 2017

This weekend I had four daffodils blooming.  I guess they are confused about the hot-cold-hot weather.

Arrived Friday morning.  Cleaned the house.  Josh, Blake, Sam and Charlie came for a visit and spent the night on Saturday.  Weather was perfect and the kids were adorable!

• I had three Nikko Blue Hydrangeas and a Julia Child rose to plant.  I got to work after the kids left.
• I planted the three Nikkos in the Medicine Garden.  That garden needs more anchor plants.  I think (hope) that the spot I planted them has just the right amount of sun and shade.  I used my compost to fill all the holes, and I used the soil that I shoveled out of the holes to fill a spot in the Rose Garden where I made a narrow bed.  I'm going to dig up my China Chiffon Althea next weekend and plant it in that narrow bed.  It doesn't get enough sun where it's growing now.  
• I planted the Julia Child rose in the spot where one of my Dame de Couer roses died.  The owner of the Arbor Gate recommended this rose.  It's a yellow rose, and although I have one (Graham Thomas) I really wanted another one.  Graham hardly ever blooms for me even though I feel like it's in the right spot and gets the right amount of nutrients.  I used compost on my Julia Child rose as well.
• I spent a lot of time digging up plugs of Homestead Purple Verbena and planting them throughout the Star Garden, the Rose Garden, and I planted four plugs down in the Orchard which I have not done yet.  Even if I do say so myself, I am doing some amazing plantings.  The spring will be so incredibly colorful (if no disaster strikes - like marauding hogs or foraging deer or rabbits or weird unexpected freezes...).  While I was in the Orchard I watered the four roses and my orange tree, three-in-one apple, and Mayhaw.
• I spent the whole afternoon watering in the Rose Garden to keep all my plugs alive that I planted last weekend.  And I weeded.  I also watered the Daffodil Border which I have not done yet this year. 
• I loaded the wheelbarrow with mulch and mulched the ginger bed in the Star Garden.  I watered all my Philippine Violets (Barleria cristata) that I planted last month.
• I raked out part of the Long Border where pine needles and leaves were covering up my spreading Butter Pat Chrysanthemum - I don't want to lose that treasure!  Watered it for good measure.
• The day was so beautiful, and the weekend was so pleasant, I hated for them to end.  

Multiplying Butterpat Chrysanthemum January 22, 2017

I bought a small container of Butterpat at the Round Top Herb Festival last spring  The yellow flowers in the fall were beautiful and numerous.  It is spreading by underground stolons with little leaves appearing far away from the original container.

 I need to cut away the long bloom stems that look like dried sticks.

 It has spread through my iris.

 This little fellow in the photo below is growing outside of the flowerbed.