Hot Year, Many Changes

Hmm, I don't think I ever mentioned the fence saga that really put me off gardening for the longest time. Long story short, for two years, part of the privacy fence had been precariously leaning. Then in March, the section gave in and fell down. After a bit of back and forth between rental owners, it was taken down.

It's amazing how much a thing like that hanging over you can ruin your enjoyment of your space. And it's amazing how a change like that can really change the garden. Especially once deer can enter the garden at will. So, I had to remove the deer buffet, also known as huge hosta plants. Which opened up a lot of space for now deer resistant plants. Okay, so next year no petunias, except on the deck. And I'll have to rig some bud cages for the peonies. Something ate the one and only peony bud this year.

However, lots of interesting new plantings. Dusty Miller, butterfly bush, weigla and blanket flowers. I even put in a watermelon plant. One watermelon, which unfortunately, came off of the vine too soon. But I did eat most of it. For some reason though, the evening primroses and black-eyed susans were sparse this year.

I have been enjoying being on my patio now. Of course, I was driven in for over a month of extreme heat during the summer. And now that it is finally cool, the light is gone very quickly. And it's chrysanthemum season already.

So, we'll see how the new garden goes. And the blog.

Merry Month of May

So, here we are, heading into Memorial Day. Earlier in the week, we had frost to the north and west. Didn't get that cold here, but there were temperatures in the 30s. Petunias and million bells didn't care, but the potted daliah has some burn on it.

Iris are blooming, more yellow this year. The daffodils have come and gone. And have been multiplying like crazy, I pulled up a clump by mistake and there were like 6-10 bulbs. I planted those two years ago as single bulbs. Insane.

Peonies are again a no bloom. I'm raising them into partially buried pots this June/July. I just don't think they like the soggy ground. I had to use hip waders in the backyard the other week. It's just that wet back there, especially when we get our April showers in May.

Rhododendrons are actually blooming this year. I think there are about a dozen flower heads. The ones I have just need heavily pruned to bloom, end of story.

Seeds are going to start going out this weekend. There are a few I ordered late and they'll get out by June. I hope to get my tomato plant and in the pot by June 1. I'm not late, if there was a threat of frost last week. I just can't be much later. ;)

Not a Trend....

So, while I was cleaning up the other day, I discovered that the one heather bush was broken. I guess it was under the weight of the snow, but there really wasn't enough snow to flatten it and split some of the trunks. Might just have been age or a disease. At any rate, I'm going to have to prune it back and remove the split trunks. Maybe it will pull through. Or maybe I'll have to find some other type of bush to put there. Hmmm....

The Difference a Week Makes

So, last Monday morning, I looked out and saw nearly two inches of fluffy snow. And it was still snowing to beat the band. In all this, I saw my poor junco buddy clinging to the finch sock to eat. The finch sock was also almost empty. Since the snow on the deck was already up to the tops of my sneakers, I just ran out with a new sock to put on the other hook. (I had gotten some spares since the one was badly patched with yarn.)

The next day, I spied my little junco buddy hopping around in the 3-4 inch deep snow. There was cracked corn spread about and "he" was sitting in one of my footprints eating, out of sight of the sparrows. Then, "he" went back to the finch sock. Silly little junco.

Now, the Thursday and Friday before that, it was in the sixties. Tuesday and Wednesday had lows in the single digits and we don't want to discuss the windchill. Friday was in the seventies and Saturday and today were flirting with the eighties. What a crazy March.

My crocus are blooming, while the daffodils are growing. I went out today to try and clean up the leaves that blew onto the patio. I also ripped up some of the old flower heads from last year. It's a shame the yard is still a swamp, I need to mow some of the grass that crept into the beds. Or rather the grass that the black-eyed susans are invading.

The fence saga. As far as as I know, nothing is being done about the fence. There are two posts that have just about given up holding onto the slats. Ten penny nails are not the proper way to secure wood structures. I'm this close to getting wood screws and L brackets to do the job right. I just have to pick an evening to brave Home Depot....

3 plants, 1 island

peonies
sunflowers
garlic.

That's all for now. Hopefully the snow will miss us this weekend. And I already miss the 70 degree temperatures from yesterday....

Potting Folly *anomaly post*

*We now interrupt into our posting hiatus for the following information*

So, I looked out this morning and got excited that the finches had returned to the finch sock. The level had dropped dramatically from the last time I recalled seeing it. So, I grabbed the nyger seed and started out the door. Only to discover that something had ripped a big hole in the sock close to the bottom. Right in reach of the railing... Ah, well, time for a new sock.

Also, I had got this hanging basket for the bathroom. I have a little collection of pothos like plants going and I had just seen one with yellow stripes. Now, it's a bit bigger than I had wanted, but I could definitely thin it out and have a pot for work and a pot for the jungle around the turtle aquarium and I'd even share with my mom. Now this was a good idea, up until I took it out of the pot. I figured, it was a relatively freshly rooted plant, due to how short the stalks were. Some were just a couple leaves. Boy, was I wrong. Some of those roots were wound around several times. Yikes. I had to cut through the roots just to tear a couple plants out. There was lots of ripping, but I formed my four separate pots. Now let's see if they live.

*We now return you to your regularly scheduled posting hiatus*


Honestly, I haven't felt like writing, so I'm taking a long break. I'll see about starting up again in spring. Happy holidays everyone.

Sit Bobo, Sit

This August is off to a refreshing start. Low humidity, low temperatures, and even lows in the 50s at night. It's just great weather. Not much to do but enjoy.

I've spotted a few Monarch butterflies in and around my place, but no nibblers on the milkweed. Swallowtails seem to love the hydrangea, too.

Wacking of the Weeds

So, I've been puttering, but I haven't gotten much weeding done. Granted, I don't know that I mind the black-eyed susans popping up in the iris bed, but the grape vine is probably too much.

I broke down and bought an electric weed wacker last week. I'm just tired of all those long grasses that escape the lawn mower. Granted, I didn't realize I needed another extension cord for it. And I've got to figure out a way to secure the cord so it does not keep popping out.

And the Bouquet

Hydrangea Massacre

Well, another hot week with bad air quality. Still, in the midst of hazy, hot and humid, I managed to make time for a little pruning. Granted, this is after my juggling class (yes, I'm a dork) and in the twilight. I didn't do that great a job, and there are still branches and blooms invading the neighbor's yard. But it is a lot better than it was. And they aren't staring at the bare interior of the bush either! I brought all the flowers I pruned off inside. It's a big vase full of them. I'll try and get pictures tomorrow when the light is better.

Procrastination Special

Woot! I'm in the running for the Tomato Procrastination Award! I put my seedling in its permanent pot on Saturday. At least I'll have tomato weather well into autumn, so I might get some fruit out of it.

Seems the garlic needed all winter to grow. The leaves have died off already. The bulbs are barely an inch. I plucked two out to dry and am going to let the rest be until next year. They should be bigger by then.

Oh, and did I mention how much I hate white root grass? It's running all through my gardens, and I cannot keep ahead of it. Even while mulching with the deadly lawn clippings. :(

On the plus side, the bonus day lily is going to bloom soon.

Wow, Two in Two Days!

I did get out with my camera. I do like the fact that I've got the transitional pH soil going on with this hydrangea. I really need to fertilize it with the rhododendron fertilizer next time to push it back to blue. I definitely do not want it to go all pink. And yes, that's all one bush. Yikes! It likes being pruned.

>







Also, my finch sock fell down. At first, I thought some squirrel was messing with it. There is a partially husked walnut near it. However, it turns out that the rope holding it up gave up the ghost. I guess it isn't all-weather enough. I restrung it and put it back up.

Brushes off the Dust

Yikes, it has been awhile. I blame apathy and finding time after work to blog. Not that much is going on it the garden either. I'm minding the heat and humidity a lot more this year. And if there's one thing the summers in DC are, it is hot and humid.

Hydrangea is blooming its little heart out. Unfortunately, I need to prune the neighbor's side a little bit harder next time. But then, that's probably why it is lush and thick over there.

Some of the butterflyweed came back on its own. Some regular orange some yellow. There are also some black eyed susans trying to move into the iris bed. Surprisingly, the beebalm is not thriving. Two little sprigs this year. I guess I have to let at least some of it go to seed. Hostas are in bloom too.

Sorry, no photos. I really need to get a new camera. The color and lighting values are going. But then it is several years old. These things don't last forever.

Happy Summer

It's odd. The eve of the summer solstice and we've had overnight lows in the 50s. We did not break 80 until today. After all that hot weather, we are back to springtime goodness.

As it so happens, my hydrangea is pink. And blue. And some of the flower heads are even purple. It's adorable looking.

I was affected by the big water main break in DC this week. I did not lose water pressure, but I was under a boil water advisory for three days. I brushed my teeth with bottled water, ate frozen microwave meals, and washed my hands with dehumidifier water. (For the record, dehumidifier water is bad for your skin and I used a lot of lotion.) I'm glad my water results tested negative for contamination, eventually. My container plants needed watering. I did not want to risk contaminating the sprinkling cans, because I do use them for my turtles or to refill the bird bath.

Hydrangea

My hydrangea is budding out. I should have open flowers by the weekend. I'm kinda wondering if they are going to be pink or blue this year. Regardless, I need to fertilize it with food for acidic plants this year. As well as the Rhodies.

The chrysanthemum that I thought I lost last year, is coming back strong. The little yellow buds are about to burst forth. Maybe I'll get around to posting photos one of these days.

Weekly Update

So, I was having a good weekend until I mowed the lawn.

I had gotten notice that the landlord wants to have the deck powerwashed and restained. Which I took as notification that he had managed to come out and look at the fence. So, I dug out an old piece of wood from the stack behind the shed and propped up the fence. I had done it just in time for the last batch of thunderstorms. It held up fine.

One morning on the way to work, I saw a little frog on my front sidewalk. He was about the size of my thumb and brown in the near dawn darkness. I left him to go about his job of eating bugs.

I had taken the day off Friday and was working in the living room on stuff. While I was sitting there, several little birds were looking for birdseed. I didn't get up, because they never come back when I disturb them. Until one of the little brown birds perched on the screen and looked in. I took that as a sign that they were really, really hungry.

I went canoeing yesterday before more storms. I get a little further each time and feel less worn out afterwards.

Right, mowing the lawn. Unfortunately, I discovered that I had a garter snake in the backyard the hard way. :( Poor little snake. It was about a foot long. Just the right size to be eating slugs and other pests. Drats.

Huh, 400.

So, some changes at work have made blogging weird for awhile. I'll find a new grove.

Anyway, Wednesday we had truly terrible storms buffet the region. There was rotation spotted on Doppler near work. And since there was a confirmed tornado near there that killed two girls several years ago, they take that kind of thing seriously. Fortunately, the first batch of storms moved along at 60 mph. Unprecidented in our region. So, it was here and gone. A few hours later, another batch moved through, also with tornados and strong winds. Not as fast, but still fast. A third moved through in the late night hours. I didn't have electricity for a couple hours, which wasn't too bad, seeing as how it was late. But, trying to sleep without even a fan going in the mugginess was terrible.

Right now, we're heading into a weekend of extreme heat advisories. Tomorrow the feels like temperatures will be between 105 and 109. Sunday and Monday, it will feel like it is 110 or higher. Ouch. Air quality is going to be horrid. And some folks are still without power from the storms.

Something is wrong with my peonies. The buds I was so proud of died. Just dried up. Since I've already verified the depths and the late cold snaps weren't serious frosts, I'm looking at some kind of disease. Drats. Probably a non-organic remedy too. Bugger.

But the evening primrose are blooming, so there's something in the yard.

Summer

Well, there has been a return to summerlike temperatures this week. Unfortunately, that has been balanced out with night time temperatures in the 40s. Brrr. Got to work cold, and come home baking. Ah, spring.

I have two flowers on the rhodie, both buried deep in the bush itself. You can see them if you look hard enough. Same color as the lamium flowers underneath.

The amaryllis is blooming. I really need to take pictures when the sun is at a better angle.

Millions of Millions of Bells

Well, I got the canoe out on the lake today. Saw a blue bird and a tiger swallowtail and two blue herons. It was a beautiful day. Wasn't out for long. There had been a lot of lugging that tired me out, but I wanted to get out on the lake.

I bought a purple million bells, and a peachy cross between million bells and petunia, and two six packs of petunias. I need to get out and plant them at some point. And take pictures. But not now. It's a spectacularly wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Sunny and warm all weekend. :)

Cold Shower Season

Yesterday, I stopped out to pick up sundries and was swayed to bring home some plants. A Roma tomato plant, to replace the previous seedling. Seedling was forgotten while hardening up, and did not exactly approve of cold temperatures, strong winds and deluges. *sigh* And true to form, I picked up a hanging basket of millionbells. Mixed basket of pale yellow, golden yellow and a pinkish red variety. :)

This morning, I mowed my back yard. The grass loves the rain. It even loves living in soupy soil. Unfortunately, that means that I created some muddy spots as water filled in my footsteps in places. *sigh* Hot out there too.

Yellow iris are open now, as are the white Tennessee variety. :)