Sent: 6/24/2004 10:15 AM
From:
I'd rather have rain than this wind! It was like this last year too. The garlics that I planted around Aunt Rose's hostas all snapped off mid-stalk. My zinnias look awful, I hope I can keep them going til they get into the ground. I think 2 more nights and the freeze danger will be over. The basils look blackish, I think they may have frozen anyway. Today I will mow, turn compost & add some activator, put together the 2nd green arch, and pour out bagged soil for sweet potato hills.
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Got everrything done except the arch. Today I planted out all the sweet potatoes, a bunch of daylilies that have been sitting in trash bags at my sister's house, sowed six areas of edamame, planted the mini-petunias, zinnias, my hollyhock and angelica seedlings, the orange coleus and the yellow bleeding heart. The bleeding heart is a climber and I had so many choices on where it could go! I finally chose the old basketball pole that already has mesh wrapped around it. But I may have to get some more of those to climb up the stupid maple tree and other structures. I lost one of the three Russian sage. I left it standing to see if the mini-pets would climb it. My mother's daylilies have been blooming for several days, and last year's garlic chives started opening today.
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Recommend Delete Message 45 of 57 in Discussion
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Friday, turned compost and planted out some coleus, hypoesta (polka dot plant) and snapdragons. Very buggy.
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Recommend Delete Message 46 of 57 in Discussion
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Monday, did some mowing and hand trimming and planted out the Oklahoma zinias I had gotten on Friday. Tuesday, the blue-eyed grass and Uncle Marshall's irises are in bloom.
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Wednesday, watered, turned compost, weeded in the northwest quad. Surprisingly, no bugs. I gave up on the new arch because I just can't decide where to put it. So I ended up planting the ornamental sweet potatoes on a small grate that's already up along the driveway, and also against a tree near the shade bed. Today I'll put mosquito dunks in the birdbaths.
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Friday, John & I went to Farmer Whiting's and got some English Ivy to plant on the arch where my mother's climbing roses are, since I think they are dead. If by some miracle they leaf out in thext couple of years, I'll sacrifice the ivies. I also added topsoil to those areas. Did a little pruning on my rose, the spiraea and the forsythia. The daisies are blooming in the Northeast quad. They have migrated a bit from last year. The clump that bloomed last year is barren now, and then I had waited to mow the lawn because I thought the daffodils were going to come - so that allowed the daisies to spread a ways. It looks good.
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Saturday, watered the annuals. My beans are up. Later I will add some activator to the compost bins.
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good luck with your beans this season .. remember mine .. only a few pods ! spinach is still growing .. tangelo tree is amass with fruit, and same with lemons . although pruned badly.. the trees are coming on really great.
so is the passonfruit vine .. a few frosts and triggered off some unusual out of season growth .. flowers .. the last of tomatoes now. frosts are killing it off. but perennial stocks have started to flower on bush.
muriel. aka Annie.
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Thanks for the update! Those things are all so exotic for us! Sunday, did some landscaping. relocated a soaker hose from an annual bed to the shade bed and covered it with some mulch and topsoil. Hauled some rocks from the pile to make a nice adging, gives the archway a reason for being.
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From: MSN NicknameKathyAnnsCottage Sent: 6/24/2004 10:16 AM
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Also turned compost on Sunday. Tuesday I planted a very nice stepping stone that John made. Also weeded in the western quad around the lysomachia and the beach rose. The beach rose is blooming today. I love the maroon foliage on the lyso. I'm looking forward to the yellow flowers. No sign of datura. Winter kill, possibly? Today I am watering the perennials. Here's our stepping stone. The darkish lump is an experiment, a lighthouse made with a candy mold.
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From: Zinnia Sent: 6/16/2004 11:50 AM
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Thursday, turned compost. Friday, mowed grass and cut down some hogweed in the western quad. I forgot to mention, Queen Anne's lace have been blooming for a few days. I think I should not have put the worm bin outdoors. It got very putrid after being in the sun and I think they all must have died.
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From: Zinnia Sent: 6/20/2004 12:04 PM
Catmint and creeping buttercup have been blooming for at least a few days. The first fleabanes bloomed today. It looks like the biggest of the mystery bulb from Cousin Nancy's bloomed and went by already. I am going to have to do some detective work to identify it Went shopping with Nancy today and picked up 2 more of those orange colues, plus a couple of other bedding annuals. Maybe I'll put them in tonight if the wind dies down.
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Recommend Delete Message 57 of 57 in Discussion
From: Zinnia Sent: 6/23/2004 5:33 PM
First time I have been home all week! Turned compost and planted out the new annuals - 2 more of the sedona colues, and a flat each of nierembergia (cup flower, white with a yellow center) and nemesia, pretty blue and white. While working in the hosta bed I saw some holes in the other coleuses so I put out the rest of the copper. Steve hates the copper because he thinks Carlos tripped on it and cut his paws, but in fact Carlos cuts his paw every summer, even before we had copper. So I may have to take it up and just stick with beer over there - too shady to grow garlic. Today I saw the first blooms of the pink rose, yellow daisy, chickweed and pretty dewcup (alchemilla mollis). Put out some more of my handmade stepping stones - small ones in shapes, made from my paper molds.
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From: MSN NicknameKathyAnnsCottage Sent: 6/24/2004 10:17 AM
Today the hydrangea is blooming, and German chamomile.
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From: MSN NicknameKathyAnnsCottage Sent: 6/25/2004 10:59 AM
Thursday, weeded a lot in the Western quad and cut down some more pigweed. I think my compost smells a little. Later I will go into my neighbor's yard and see if it can be detected over there, because her lawn swing is not far from it and I know she uses the swing. The lavender that made it through the winter is blooming beautifully. There are also some blooms of evening primrose that seeded over from next door. Thank you Jerry!
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From: MSN NicknameKathyAnnsCottage Sent: 6/25/2004 11:00 AM
P.S. the old rose is now in full bloom too.
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From: MSN NicknameKathyAnnsCottage Sent: 6/27/2004 12:26 PM
Sunday, turned compost. I couldn't smell it next door, so I guess it's ok. Did all the mowing and most of the hand-trimming. white clover was out-competing Johnny-jump-ups in some spots, so I beat them back a little. Pulled up most of the chickweed because it was taking over. The baby's breath I planted last year did not survive. I still don't see any sign of poppies either. I will need to divide the gaillardia because it's going to crowd out the catmint.
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From: MSN NicknameAdmin_Kathy Sent: 6/28/2004 8:50 AM
Last night in the western quad I found blooms of lollypop lily and blue balloon flower.
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From: MSN NicknameKathyAnnsCottage Sent: 7/1/2004 1:07 PM
Wednesday, turned compost and weeded here & there. Thursday, watered perennials and more weeding. The flowerbeds don't require much at all, but the western quad where I am hoping to encourage all the different spreaders, is still quite overrun with oxalis, pigweed and ground ivy. I may just chop up a huge pile of leaves and keep the whole thing mulched over or plant it in annuals while the spreaders do their thing, but I am afraid that may discourage goldenrod, which is seeding quite well at the moment. I think my corn gluten results in that section are not so good. Oxalis is still there but red clover is gone. Tonight I will move the english ivies because it appears my mother's climbing roses will come back after all. Today I spotted some pretty pink yarrow in the western quad, and the beach rose is blooming well. No sign of japanese beetles yet.
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From: MSN NicknameKathyAnnsCottage Sent: 7/3/2004 3:52 PM
Saturday, turned compost and added shredded paper to bin #2. Started on trimming the yew. I may give in and get electric trimmers for that job! I clipped away last year's blooms from the one lavender that did not get trimmed last fall. It's just coming into bloom. The lavender that didn't get trimmed to hard last year is in full bloom. The others will probably survive, but I don't expect any blooms. I was too clip-crazy with them last year. :( Today we also have blooms of gaillardia and tiger lily. So the current cast of characters also includes 3 colors of Johnny jump-up, hydrangea, Queen Anne's lace, pink yarrow, German chamomile, roses, lady's mantle, balloon flower, lollypop lily, white and yellow daisy, tiarella, evening primrose, walking onion, still some garlic chives, red hawkweed (yellow has gone by), fleabane. The Eye of the Tiger iris did not come back, not surprisingly since it is a zone 5. I was taking a chance with it.
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From: MSN NicknameKathyAnnsCottage Sent: 7/6/2004 7:19 PM
Tuesday, turned compost, mowed and finished almost all the hedge trimming. I'll have to break down and get a taller ladder so I can finish. I'll resist the electric clippers just for now. We have blooms of red asiatic lily, zinnia and a few annual bachelor buttons. The asiatics look fantastic near the yellow German chamomile, pink yarrow and white fleabane.
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From: MSN NicknameKathyAnnsCottage Sent: 7/9/2004 7:24 PM
Friday, turned compost. Went to Public Works and picked up the new bin. I wish I had known about it 2 weeks earlier! It was $35.00 as opposed to the $149.00 one I bought in the hardware store! Oh well, This one is better, too, because it sits on the ground so worms and other helpers can get up into it.
Steve has begun referring to the western quad as "The Bordello".
bordello.jpg
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Recommend Message 12 of 56 in Discussion
From: MSN NicknameKathyAnnsCottage Sent: 7/12/2004 9:14 AM
The privet is in bloom and the smell is InToXiCaTiNg! Also in bloom are the chives I got from the plant swap - not as pretty as the ones that seeded over from the neighbor's house. And the lilies that came from the trash bag at my sister's house are good old tiger lilies.
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From: MSN NicknameKathyAnnsCottage Sent: 7/13/2004 11:05 AM
Tuesday, turned compost, did the watering. There is a lot of slug damage even where there is copper, so it's possible there are slugs living within the perimeter of the copper. I'll put out some beer. There is a mystery plant growing in the sweet potato patch. At first I thought it was a tomato but it looks like it's going to flower in the center of its leaf whorls so that rules out tomato. I'll let it flower and hope it's not something horrible. It shot up 2 feet over the weekend which does not bode well, but then again the bugs don't seem interested in it.
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From: MSN NicknameKathyAnnsCottage Sent: 7/13/2004 11:17 AM
mystery2.jpg
mystery1.jpg
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From: MSN NicknameKathyAnnsCottage Sent: 7/16/2004 8:54 PM
Friday, did the mowing. Turned compost - it was hot!! :) Dug up a bunch of dandelions from around a couple of the sweet potato hills. Today a woodchuck came out in broad daylight and nibbled at some chives. In bloom: asiatic lily "Connecticut King" and those pretty bluebell things that seeded over from next door. I found out that what I have been calling "pigweed" is actually dock.
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From: MSN NicknameKathyAnnsCottage Sent: 7/19/2004 7:50 PM
Monday, turned compost. It was back to being cold again. One of the astilbes is blooming, as well as quite a few of the annuals I sowed. Still waiting for most of the cosmos. i amamazed, the butter beans planted in the easterly side of the iris bed are a lot taller than some just a few feet away in the pereskovia and peony areas. The only explanation I can think of is, I don't water the iris beds. ??
Posted by greenside-up
at 11:29 AM EDT
