Debutante Camellia November 18, 2020

 I believe this is one of the very first, maybe even the first, plant that I ever planted here.  I am extremely proud of this camellia, and it is a much-loved favorite of mine.

At the Farm During the Pandemic November 1 - 5, 2020

 

• We arrived on Sunday about noon just after our Airbnb guests left.  Only one more set of guests next weekend and then Kim and her friends the next weekend.  After that we have the place to ourselves.  I have left some dates open in the winter months, but I don't expect anyone to rent in the winter.  What a relief.
• Halloween came and went without any fanfare.  No party at Nancy's house.  Covid strikes again.
• Sunday.  I drove around the property gathering grass seeds.
• I sowed Tickseed and Johnny Jump Ups in the Rose Garden.
• I saw that one of my largest lantanas was being attacked by voles.  No castor was growing nearby.  I might have landed on a great discovery!  Made a mental note to fix the problem the next day.
• I pulled up some of my basil in the Star Garden and the Rose Garden.  Some of the plants still look good (cold weather knocks them back immediately) so I left them alone, but a few are pretty spindly.  I pulled up some of the spindly ones and sowed seed.  When the last Airbnb guests leave next weekend I will start pulling up spent plants in earnest and sowing seed.
• I pulled up a patch of spent ageratum.  It had no more blue flowers, so I yanked it to sow seeds.
• I walked the Meadow.  All the forbes have gone to seed, and the greenery has turned brown, so there is room to walk through the area without feeling scared.  Snakes have begun their hibernation (or whatever you call their inactivity in cold weather).  The grasses are still in their phase of the seed heads drying.  I think the weekend of the 16th is the time to rent the shredder. 
• Monday.  Worked.
• Before work I went out to the Rose Garden, filled the vole hole under my large lantana with water, mushed down the dirt, added part of a bag of soil to the hole, re-planted the lantana (there is barely any root system left, but it is hanging on bravely) and staked it.  Maybe it will live.
• During lunch the dogs and I walked down the road with my paper bag and collected more grass seed.  It's a beautiful, cool and sunny fall day.
• Tuesday.  Another gorgeous day.
• Before work I tried to save another one of my large lantanas that was being ravaged by voles.  I ran water down the hole, mushed in the soil to fill the large vole hole, filled it with humus and manure, re-set the plant and staked it.
• I sowed a bunch of Tickseed and Johhny Jump Ups in the Rose Garden.
• Lost one of the small lantanas to voles that was planted around the old dead tree in the Rose Garden.
• I pulled up a patch of ageratum in the Star Garden that was no longer blooming.   
• Wednesday.  Worked.
• The election was yesterday with no final decision.
• During lunch I sowed some red corn poppy seeds left over from last year in the Star Garden and the Rose Garden.  After work I walked out to the Meadow and scattered the grass seeds that I collected over the last several days.
• I selected the site to plant my Junior Miss Camellia.  I chose a bed in the shady part of the Star Garden that I put in several years ago that has never had much going on.  It is situated right next to a cedar tree, so the soil is a web of reddish root mats.  Really hard to dig a hole, it took me about 20 minutes.  I threw all the shovelfuls into the wheel barrow, not worth saving.  I filled the hole with 6 or 7 watering cans of water.  That was it for Wednesday night. 
• Thursday.  Worked.
• I pulled up the Venezia morning glories growing on the Star Garden fence.  I gathered as much seed as I could before I grew bored, and threw then on the ground on the front arbor.
• Once the clump of morning glories was gone I weeded in that area, cut back several salvias and pulled up spent ageratum.
• I weeded in the shady part of the Star Garden where I plan to plant the camellia.  I added more water to the hole I dug.
• Bert drove me to a hollow tree where honey bees have made a hive.  He found it while he was walking with the dogs.  That was a special find.
• Friday.  Worked.
• Before work I sowed Moss Verbena, red poppies and Tickseed in the place where I removed the morning glory vines and , salvias and ageratum.
• I planted the Junior Miss camellia in the hole I dug.  Filled the hole with some good soil.  Watered it well.
• Adjusted the sprinkler timers.  
• During lunch I drove down the road and gathered seed from some interesting-looking grasses that I spotted when I was driving by a couple of days ago.  I scattered the seed in the Meadow.
• Gathered my things and headed home after work.  Bert left earlier that day to go hunting in Groesbeck.  Airbnb guests arrive on Saturday.

Blue Mist and White Mist Flower November 6, 2020

 I planted this variety of Blue Mist Flower last year.  It was very mannerly last year.  Now it is a monster, and last year it either set seed or tip rooted, I'm not sure which or maybe it was both.  This winter I will move some to other places.  It seems to like that sweet spot at the edge of shade where it gets some morning sun.  Actually, that would be a good spot to plant a hydrangea that I'm planning to relocate this winter.  The flowers are lacier than those of the white mist flower, and it has no scent.  The white mist flower has a very strong scent.  It's not unpleasant , but it's also not pleasant.  The insects absolutely love the scent apparently, because it gets more visitors by far.  Mist Flower (there are several varieties) is a reliable fall bloomer.  I really like it.  I have white mist flower growing in 3 places in the Star Garden.  You just can hardly believe the insect activity on mist flower.  So entertaining. 

In the photo below you can see the enormous size of blue mist.  I won't allow it to get this big next year.  I wasn't sure if I cut it back whether I would be cutting away the fall flowers, but now I don't care - it must be tamed! 

At the Farm During the Pandemic October 19 - 23, 2020

 

• Drove to the farm over my lunch hour on Monday.  The Airbnb guests left on Monday morning. Bert took taking delivery of my new Mini Cooper on Tuesday and joined me after that. 
• There are so many butterflies right now.  I never saw any Julias this past summer, and despite the intense butterfly activity right now, still no Julias.  But lots of Sulphurs, Monarchs, Queens, Longtails, Skippers, Swallowtails, Hairstreaks, Painted Ladies, Buckeyes, Red Admirals, and more that I don't recognize.  And bumblebees and honey bees all over my basil plants.  I have a dozen or so really large basil plants in the Rose Garden that I sowed from seed back in the spring.  The bee activity on those plants is amazing (and exactly what I intended - a plan that went according to plan!).When basil flowers, it is an excellent nectar plant.  And basil will flower all summer long.
• I did no work on Monday evening.  I just did some strolling through the gardens, wine glass in hand. 
• Debra gave me a six pack of Brussels sprouts that she bought thinking they were broccoli, so I need to make room for those.  I really like Brussels sprouts, but I've only tried to grow them once, and it wasn't too successful.
• Tuesday.  Worked.
• I watered in the Greenhouse Gardens before work.  
• All my camellias are loaded with buds.  I'm hoping for a great show from my Yuletide camellia because I watered it frequently throughout the summer. I've never done that before.
• I began the process of pulling up the perennial ageratum in the Star Garden and sowing seeds.
• I pulled up my red amaranth, added humus / manure and planted the six Brussels sprouts that Debra gave me.
• I cut my Pringle Aster to the ground. It was done blooming.
• Deadheaded roses in the front beds and in the Rose Garden.
• Wednesday.  Worked.
• I watered the Long Border before work.
• Pulled weeds here and there.  October is the time when most of the work goes away regarding weeds.  In fact, most of the work goes away period.   Once November gets here and all the ageratum is completely spent, it's time to start pulling it up and sowing seeds.  The leaf raking will begin in earnest.  And this year we will rent a bush hog and mow down the Meadow.  Then at the first sign of a few rainy days in a row, I will throw out my wildflower seeds.  This winter I want to build a new garden in the sunny area on the other side of the Greenhouse.  I want to move my red and purple cannas to make more walking space in the Star Garden, and I will move them to the new garden.  So, lots of projects for the coming winter.
• After work Bert and I took a ride around the property and I gathered seed off all the native grasses that grow along the trails.  I will spread them in my Meadow.
• I am very happy to report that planting my lantanas and other plants in the recent past with seeds and vegetation from my castor plants seems to be working to prevent vole attacks!  I've only lost one plant since I started that practice, and it was a plant that I put in the ground before my bright idea.  Very exciting.  I gathered all the dried seed heads from my castor plants, and there are zillions more that are still red, so I can gather even more before winter.  I will be prepared for springtime war.
• Thursday.  Vacation.  
• I spent the morning cutting down Philippine Lily stalks and spreading the seed.  As I went along doing that, I cleared paths, pulled weeds and did general clean up in the beds.
• Friday.  Vacation.  Rain, and then a cold front moved in during the afternoon.
• Raked trouble spots in the Vegetable Garden, the Star Garden and the Rose Garden.
• I staked some plants that were leaning over in the Rose Garden.
• I spread the grass seed in the Meadow that I collected the day before.  After I spread the seed we had a good, solid rain.  That was fortuitous - I didn't plan it, but sometimes things just work out well.
• I cleared some more space in the flowerbed near the front arbor, surrounded the edge with pine needles and sowed Tickseed.
• I sowed some Tall Poppy Mallow and Tickseed in the Fortune's Double bed.  I set the sprinkler on it - we have Airbnb guests Sunday through Wednesday, so I don't want it to go dry. I also sowed seed here and there in the Rose Garden.
• Picked lots of green beans in the Vegetable Garden, had green beans for dinner.  
• Sprayed herbicide in the Vegetable Garden, Star Garden, Rose Garden and Orchard.
• Hand watered in the Orchard - the fig tree, a few lantanas and my new rosemary (it was looking pretty wan).
• Laid down pine needle mulch (gathered from my good pine needle drop-spot) around the sweetshrub next to the Greenhouse.
• Hand-watered the Long Border. 
• Sowed a few Calendula seeds in one of the pots in the Vegetable Garden.  I already did that, but the sprinkler wasn't hitting it and they didn't make it.  I moved the pot and re-sowed the seeds.
• Bert and I drove in to Round Top to check out the fall Antique Festival.  To me, it all looks like junk.  But junk is perfect for placing interesting items along the trails.  We found a cool object d'art (smile) and bought it.  Bert attached it to a tree on one of the trails.
• Walked the gardens in the evening.  It was almost cold and very pleasant.  Soon the mosquitos will be gone for the season, and every evening is a perfect evening.
• My company sent out an email.  We have to go back to the office.  I am in team four (we will populate the office at one quarter occupation).  My turn will be November 23rd for one week, and then I will be back again December 21.

Cannas and Morning Glories October 21, 2020

 

White Philippine Violet October 22, 2020

 Philippine Violet spreads by seeds.  The seed is hard to collect because once it's ripe it sort of shoots out.  It doesn't sit in the seed pod and eventually drop to the ground.  So, it ends up sprouting everywhere and has to be pulled up (which is very easy) in places where you don't want it.  I haven't really paid close enough attention to know if it comes up from the roots after winter, but I'm pretty sure that none of mine has.  Mine all seem to be coming up from seed.  This plant likes shade or to sit at the edge of sun and shade.  There is a purple variety that I love, but I've tried growing it twice with no luck.

In the picture immediately below - morning glory, Mexican sage and Philippine Violet in the background.  Just trying to get another picture into the blog of my beautiful morning glories.

Malabar Spinach Seeds Turning Black October 22, 2020

 I assume that the progress of the Malabar seeds go from green / pink to black, and then they dry out and drop their seed.  Right now, the seeds at the lowest point of each seed string are beginning to turn black.  I know I've written this before, but this plant is fascinating.