Garden Notes - May 27, 2013

I was outside by 10:30 this morning, determined to make the best use of this gorgeous day.  I didn't stop until 4:30.  I only stopped because I could feel my shoulders stinging from sunburn.  But, it was a productive day!

First, I brought out all my plants into the sunshine and checked everything that I had already planted.

Next, I went to work in the front.  Jamie is anxious to get the mulch down, but I wanted to prune all the azalea bushes, hollies, and Japanese barberry bushes first.  I pruned them as far back as I could. Every year we mulch first, but then after I prune the bushes, I feel like I'm scooping up all the mulch when I pick up the branches.

I also did a lot of weeding up front. I still need to fertilize all the bushes up front, but I can do this after the mulch is laid.  The front is now ready for mulch.

The front took most of the day, but after I fertilize and mulch, I won't have to think about it again until next year.  And it looks so pretty!  Michael finished painting the rose trellises, so I'll put those in place tomorrow or Wednesday. And I planted the Snowball marigolds that I grew by the Midnight salvia and roses.  It should look lovely when they bloom (although I think the salvia will be spent).

Then I worked a little bit on the perennial garden.  I planted the Baptisia plant I bought at the plant sale, as well as the two Rose Campion plants.  I weeded a little bit and cut some dead canes off the climbing rose, and had to prune back a butterfly bush the a deer pushed over. Grrrr.





I planted all of my French marigolds, too - some at the edge of the perennial garden, some along the edge of my bean garden, and the rest along the edge of my vegetable garden.

Actually, before I planted the marigolds, I started to rake and shovel the vegetable garden.  It was impossible!  It was all hard and lumpy, and now I feel really bad that I put my seedlings into such unprepared soil!

When I realized that it would take me all day to prepare the soil, and that I already had an aching back, I worked up the courage to pull the rototiller out.  I was worried that I wouldn't be able to start it up, since I'm not really good with machinery.  Well, it started up (after a prayer!).  In no time, the vegetable garden, James' pumpkin patch and my bean garden were in perfect condition for planting!



So, moving right along!  Tomorrow, I plan on putting in the rest of my seedlings, all of my seeds, and my dahlias.  I plan on setting up some fences and the rose trellises, doing some fertilizing and setting out some mulch.  Another busy day!

A couple of concerns.  The deer and rabbits.  And the fact that a few of the plants are struggling (see plant on left.  Yikes!).

Need to Clean Things Up - Front of House

 

 

I have so much work to do up front:  Besides pruning the azaleas, I have to lay down new weed cloth before I can mulch, because the gardens are being over-run with grass, mint, weeds, and lily-of-the-valley.

 

I also need to get those new trellises painted so I can tie the climbing rose to it.  It's been spilling all over the place for the last couple of years.

 

And I need to do something about all the mint growing by the rosebush.  It looks like it's going to choke the bush if I don't get to it soon.

 

I'm not sure what to do with our walk-way.  It really needs to be replaced, as the bricks are crumbling and it's overgrown with weeds.  Maybe next year.

Scattering Annual Flower Seeds in the Perennial Bed

I have been dying to grow poppies for years, but have never had any luck, even when I've purchased the plants from garden centers.  They never do well, and they never grow back the next spring.

One of our instructors at the WMMGA told us how she scatters a variety of seeds in her gardens at this time of the year - late March/early April.  Some of these seeds are annual poppies!

So, using Tracy's instructions, I scattered poppy seeds, cleome seeds and foxglove seeds.  I was hoping to scatter some snapdragon seeds, but I never got around to purchasing any.

Tracy told me that I would have to rake up the mulch so the seed would have contact with the soil, and that I should run the rake over the soil a little bit to rough it up.  So, as I started to rake up the mulch, I realized that I would have to clear away all the oak leaves that had gathered during the end of the fall and winter.

There were actually a lot more leaves than this, but this is all I captured on my camera.  See all the green poking through!  Any way, it took me about an hour to rake up all the leaves.  I got a space among 4 rose bushes and the largest butterfly bush ready for the seeds.  What I didn't realize was how few seeds I would get in each packet, and I only purchased one packet each.  If I'm successful with this venture, I will buy at least 2 packages of each next year.

Tracy reminded us that it's very important to learn what the seedlings of each flower plant looks like, so that they won't be mistaken for weeds and yanked out.  After the seedlings have become a little larger, then we can replace the mulch.

April 7
I looked around the perennial bed yesterday for signs of life, but saw none.  It's been dry.  Our well hadn't been opened yet... I don't know if I was supposed to get out there and water.  I got the impression that you just scatter the seeds and voila!  Instant meadow of wildflowers.  It did rain tonight, and the next few days are supposed to be sunny and warm.

April 9
I scattered some seeds that Lynn Puffer gave me:  moonflowers and cleome.

May 6
Still no signs of life.  I read somewhere that the seeds need soil in order to grow, whereas my perennial bed is mostly mulch.  I did try to rake it away, but obviously not good enough!  Also, I read that foxgloves do best in "dappled shade".  This bed that I picked is in full sun.  Well, back to the drawing board!

More Pruning

Today was sunny, windy and a little cold, but I took two hours to go outside and do some more pruning.  I thinned out the largest butterfly bush, I leveled a huge, thorny bush by the hemlock hedge, and I began tackling the huge job of cutting back the out-of-control burning bush/lilac shrub by our dining room window.  It's a big job, since it/they have grown so large.  I actually need to buy a saw to cut out some of the branches.  So, it is a work-in-progress.

Still have to do one blueberry bush, the spirea, lilac hedges, fruit trees, mock orange and forsythia.

This is what the butterfly bush looked like before I thinned it.

This is after... although I admit that it doesn't look like I thinned it much, but actually, I took a lot off!

The lilac/burning bush, in need of a major hair cut.

Still so much to do.  I still have to order a saw.  I could also use a better camera!