Mml Franziska Krueger September 10, 2017

Franziska is always in bloom.  The flowers start out dark pink and fade to orange / yellow.

Weekend at the Farm September 9 - 10, 2017

We arrived on Saturday afternoon after attending Henry's 3rd birthday party.  Time flies.  The weather was so beautiful.  It was a pleasure to be outside working.

• I sowed 2 packages of green beans in the Vegetable Garden.  I feel like I'm cutting it pretty close to the first freeze, but hopefully I'll get some beans.
• I laid down 3 truck loads of mulch in the Daffodil Border from the mulch pile that Bluebonnet Electric gave me from their tree cutting this summer.  It's crap mulch for anything but my Daffodil Border, but it's perfect for that - and free.  I have almost completely finished mulching that very big area.  
• I am currently very focused on persuading Bert that we need a boxer-322d mini-skid-steer.  It's perfect - it has a small footprint with a front end loader.  It will change my world for activities such as laying down decomposed granite and for moving mulch.  You stand on it while driving and drive it like a scooter.  $14, 500 and worth every penny as far as I'm concerned.  I first saw one when we were having the Orchard built.  Lucas Stroech had one.  I never forgot about it.  I could have had had the whole Daffodil Border mulched in a few hours if I had my Boxer.
• I spent the rest of the day in the Star Garden.  I cut away Four O'Clocks leaning into the paths.  I trimmed the Almond Verbena so that you could walk on either side of it without branches brushing against you.  I weeded everywhere.  I raked all the paths - every one - and there are a lot of them.  I shifted some sprinklers and watered a little bit.  I pulled up Hojo Santo.  I sprayed herbicide.  I cut away Mellow Yellow Hibiscus leaning over.  I cut back spent Rudbeckia Maxima stems.  I trimmed away at the Moonflower vine on the pointed arbor so that it was clear to walk through.  I deadheaded roses.  I pulled up morning glory vines that were crawling over my roses.  The weather was so beautiful that I never got tired.
• About three o'clock my grassland bales were delivered.  I ordered (at the advice of my neighbor) 2 round bales of hay from a man named James Shulenberg.  He has fields of native grasses that he mows and sells to people.   The hay will rot and make my grassland soil healthy, but the hay also contains seeds of the native grasses that will (hopefully) germinate on my land and help me develop my grassland.   So I'm very excited about it.     

White Butterfly Ginger August 31, 2017

White Butterfly ginger blooms in August.  One of my bet smelling plants, one of my favorites.

Althea August 31,2017

Without my plant diary which I left in Burton, I cannot remember the name of this semi-double althea.  I recall that part of the name is chiffon.  It is still very small.  I planted it two summers ago in the Long Border, but a nearby Almond Verbena soon over-shadowed it.  So I moved it last spring to a bed in the Rose Garden.  It managed to survive the drought-y conditions I left it in all summer, and now it is blooming really well.

Flowers Blooming in My Garden Right Now August 31, 2-17

This is a partially opened coneflower bloom.

This is a yellow Four O'Clock bloom.

This is milkweed.

The below two pictures are Thryallis.

These are little button zinnias.

The below two pictures are double red althea.

This is a ginger, don't know the name of it.

The below two pictures are ageratum.  I have an abundance of this plant that reseeds every year.  It is about to be in full bloom.

The below two pictures are Belinda's Dream, one of my favorites.

The two picture below are Cramoisior Superior.

This is Perl d'Or.

The two pictures below are Heritage.

Pink, White and Red Turk's Cap August 31, 2017

I have three varieties of Turk's Cap growing throughout my gardens.  Most of it is growing in shade - pretty dense shade in some cases.  The pink variety is Pam Puryear.  The white variety was given to me by my neighbor.  The red I bought from a nursery.  They spreads like crazy through seed and by rooting wherever they touch the ground.  The seed pods are edible when they turn red - they look like a tiny red apple, and the flavor reminds me of apple.

More Ox Blood Lilies August 31, 2017

Although very small in stature they really pop in the garden.  Look at this spot of red in my shady garden, visible through the screen of elderberry branches.

 Below, oxblood lilies popping up amid some daylily grass.

 Below, some more of the pink variety coming up.