Roses October 15, 2020

 This is Bermudas Kathleen.  It is a found rose, origin unknown. It grows into a monster.  The flowers are single and they turn from pink to orange to yellow.  It is probably a relative of the Butterfly rose because it has the same traits.  No scent. 

This is a noisette rose.  Highly scented, but a shy bloomer.

This is Cramoisier Superior.  Very good scent.  Good bloomer.

Mexican Torch flower and Noisette.

Mrs. Dudley Cross.

Bermudas Kathleen with Cypress Vine behind it.

Cypress Vine October 15, 2020

 Cypress Vine comes back from seed every year.  It pops up all over the place in the vicinity of the trellis that I grow it on.  It pulls up easily, so I just pull it up wherever I don't want it.  Or, if I'm lucky, I have mulch, and I lay down mulch in the surrounding area so that seeds won't sprout in areas where I don't want it to grow.  Beautiful, ferny vegetation.  The flowers open up in the sunshine.  In the morning there will be no flowers, but by noon the flowers are open and it is dotted with red.  There are also white and pink varieties, but I've never seen those seeds sold separately, only in a red, pink, white mix of seeds.

Heavenly Blue Morning Glories October 14, 2020

 I have been waiting for months for these morning glories to bloom.  I sowed the seeds months ago.  And they have covered this little stand for almost as long.  But they only set buds recently which seems like an abnormally long time for bud set.  The wait was worth it, though.

I stuck these pictures of Venezia morning glories on the end of this post.  They have been in bloom for half the summer already which is why I don't understand why Heavenly Blue has been so pokey.

 

Black and Blue Sage October 7, 2020

 About 2 months ago I cut back all the black and blue in this bed hoping to get a second flush before winter set in.  I cut it all the way to the ground.  And here is the second flush of blooms. Thryallis is in the background of the top picture.  

At the Farm During the Pandemic October 7 - 9, 2020

 

• Arrived at the farm on Tuesday evening just after our AirBnB guests left.  One of them painted a picture of the front of the house and left it for us as a gift.  We love it, so nice of them!
• Wednesday.  Worked.
• I added several bags of manure and humus to one of the beds in the Vegetable Garden and planted two collards.
• I bought a wonderful grass at the Arbor Gate called Blond Ambition blue gramma.  The seed heads are positioned horizontally on the stems rather than vertically.  Really unique.  I wish now I had bought all they had. I planted it near my bunny grass along the back path.
• Yesterday evening I noticed some new vole piles (they pile up the dirt that they burrow out of their tunnels) very near one of my new camellias.  Noooo!  Not my expensive new camellias!  I ran the hose down in the tunnels for a long time.
• Dinner at Volare in Brenham for my birthday.
• Thursday.  Worked.
• I had Bert cut down two olive trees in the Star Garden.  They were trees given to me as gifts many years ago.  I really had no place to plant them, so they have always been languishing in two shady spots in the Star Garden.  Olives are not understory trees!  In one spot I planted a Two Winged Silverbell (Halesia Diptera) which blooms white flowers .  I plan to leave the other spot open because the olive tree was blocking easy access to one of my flowerbeds.
• Leaves are starting to drop.  Another summer gone.  What happened to the time?  Thinking about it makes me feel very wistful.  
• Bert took the blower to everything around the house including the Shade Garden and the Greenhouse Garden.  It looks really good.  Another group of guests arrive on Saturday.
• The Pringle aster, although still covered with white flowers, is on the wane.  The blue and the white mist flower will be blooming soon as well as the Texas aster.  And the Barbados Cherries in the Medicine Garden are blooming now.
• The Giant Swallowtails are really making a big showing right now.  They are the largest butterflies in North America, so how lucky am I that they are in my region of the country! 
• When the sun went down I sprayed my roses in the Rose Garden for black spot - of course I'm already seeing black spot, so too late again.  Why break my record for missing the mark. 
• Friday.  Took the day as vacation although I had to join several work conversations through the day.
• I worked in the Orchard for about 45 minutes.  I weeded, did some hand watering of my rosemary, new lantanas and fig tree.  I sprayed some herbicide.  I raked a bit.  And I surrounded a couple of my lantanas with pine needles because they are planted in a dry spot.
• I worked for a while on the bed right at the fence by the shed.  I cut back all the wild petunia, pulled up dried lily sticks, pulled weeds, and roughed up the soil.  I spread Ox Eye seeds over the whole bed.  Watered them in.
• I hand-watered the Long Border really well.  I will be gone until Tuesday evening, so they needed a little support.  I raked the path that runs along the length of the bed.  And I raked out parts of the bed.  There is a huge pine tree adjacent to the Rose Garden and Long Border.  And it has made its end of summer needle drop.  Lots of needles drop into the Long Border.  That's my best pine straw spot, so I am not complaining!  I sowed Ox Eye Daisy seeds in the spots that I raked.  One of the sprinklers hits those spots, so I should see some good germination.
• I hand-watered all the beds in the Rose Garden.  I tied back some zinnias, mulched some plants with pine straw, tied up some Peggy Martin canes and raked.  
• Watered all the pots around the pool and in the Medicine Garden. 
• Re-positioned all the sprinklers in the Star Garden, the Greenhouse Garden and the Rose Garden.
• Throughout the day I was busy weeding, weeding, weeding.
• Filled all the rain barrels along the front porch.  They are wooden barrels, and when they are not full the wood shrinks.  Best to keep them full with the hose if it is not going to rain.
• Headed back to Houston.

Thryallis October 9, 2020

 This is a shrubby perennial that I highly recommend.  It has a very long bloom cycle.  It's very colorful.  For some reason I am not a fan of yellowbell plant.  But I love thryallis.  It is a deciduous shrubby perenail, and I cut mine down to the ground every winter to keep it from getting leggy. It is pretty drought tolerant.  Two of mine are in a spot that gets no regular water.

Barbados Cherry in the Medicine Garden October 8, 2020

 I have three barbados cherry shrubs in the Medicine Garden.  I've had them for 13 years.  They are good shrubs, nothing to write home about.  The flowers make small cherry-like berries that supposedly are edible, but I've never eaten them.  The birds like them.  I planted them in the Medicine Garden because they are edible.  That garden (originally - I've moved away from this somewhat) is planted with plants that are edibles, medicinals, and usefuls.  Other plants in that garden are Gotu Kola, valerian, catnip, elderberry, wormwood, horsetail reed, turks cap, gingers, hojo santo, bay tree, oregano, henna, lambs ear, tansy, St. Johns Wort, and rosemary.  But now, I also have some bulbs, some Ox Eyes, a camellia, several hydrangeas, and others that don't immediately come to mind.