Garden Mysteries

Some puzzling questions.

1. Why did the daffodils a street over bloom a week or two before mine even started budding?
2. As long as I'm on the topic of bulbs, why do so many gardeners grow Grape Hyacinth? At our old house they were a terrible nuisance. Every year they somehow managed to escape a bed surrounded by a concrete walkway and the driveway and get into the lawn. They seemed to be heading for the neighbor's yard - they moved a little closer every year. Anyway, I never hear anyone complaining about their grape hyacinth spreading, and can't help wondering why?
3. What will the Mystery Berry Cane turn out to be? I suspect either blackberry or raspberry. We had a large blackberry bush at our old house, along with a strawberry bed. I think I miss the fruit bed more than I miss any of the other gardens. Although the Lilac Bush is a close second.
4. Last September my Mom got me 2 clematis plants that were on sale at the local farm market. If I recall correctly, it was buy one get one free. They are supposed to be climbing the lattice that is supposed to form a windbreak for my veggie garden. The mystery is: I mixed up the tags after planting them, and have no idea which one is which. The 'Clematis' photo folder has 2 sub-folders labeled 'left' and 'right'.
5. What is the 'mystery weed', and how do I kill it?? This weed has frustrated annoyed plagued me since I built the (veggie) garden last year. At first it was only in one bed. Now it's in both beds, and in the paths. It spreads through it's roots, and for some reason I can't get the entire root out. I suspect that the newspaper layers weren't thick enough or didn't overlap enough and that's why the root always breaks, no matter how careful I am in pulling the weed out.
   
6. The question most people ask around this time of year: 'Will the lilacs bloom for the lilac festival?' Right now they are on schedule. The question becomes 'Will they stay on schedule?'
   
7. Will any more of my winter-sown containers sprout? So far the parsley and basil have sprouted. And one that doesn't have a label. I'm sure I thought I would remember what was in it, since it was the only one without a label. Based on my garden journal, the educated guess is that it's Cilantro.

Just some things to ponder.
~Sarah

Possible Frost Tonight

When I checked the weather this morning I noticed that the temperature was supposed to get down to 31 tonight. Tomorrow night it's supposed to be 33. In fact, the nighttime temperature for the next week doesn't even make it out of the thirties. With this sad news in hand I decided it was time to start winterizing my garden. First I picked all the tomatoes and peppers and filled a half-bushel basket.

Then I started pulling out plants, knocking the dirt off, and hauling them off to my compost heap. In one bed I have a cold frame set up over a basil plant and some lettuce. I set up a grow tunnel (similar to the one here, but mine is smaller) over my scallions and another lettuce plant. I covered the tunnel with the 'fleece' that came with it and a blanket over that.
Most of the tomatoes I picked were still green, so I punched holes in some paper bags, put a layer of tomatoes on the bottom, folded the top over and took them down to the basement. I'll probably freeze most of them after they ripen. I also harvested about half a dozen peppers.


After lunch I helped Mom and Dad move one of the Russian Sage plants. It was very hard to get out of the ground - the roots were really strong. I had to break a couple, but I think most of the roots are strong and healthy. It should survive the transplant pretty well. The picture was taken in August when the Sage was a honey bee magnet.

Still on my To-Do-Before-It-Snows-List:

• Get rose cones or other coverings for Mandevilla and Mom's Heather
• Plant more Lettuce and Scallions in cold frame
• Get heavy plastic to help insulate cold frame
• Rake Grandpa and Grandma's leaves, mow over them, and spread on garden beds
• Wrap transplanted Russian Sage and Japanese Maple with burlap
• Plant bulbs
• Install edging around Perennial garden

Farewell~
Sarah

Garden Makeover Update

Everything appears to have survived so far. It's kind of hard to tell with the Bee Balm and Anise Hyssop since they had already died back. They don't look any deader, so I guess that's a good thing. The Cosmos and Calendula plants I saved revived nicely. I broadcast some cosmos seeds over part of the garden before I replaced the mulch. Hopefully they will germinate next summer.

Today I took some Mandevilla cutttings. I'm trying to root one in water and the other with rooting hormone in a potting soil mix. As for the rest of the plant, since Mom doesn't really want it dug up and brought inside, I'm going to cover it with straw, a rose cone, and possibly some burlap.

We are expecting a frost over the weekend, so I brought some containers into the garage. I discovered that one of the plants in the herb container had grown through the drainage hole and into the ground underneath. I think it's the fennel since it's the largest plant in the pot. I also rummaged around in the shed and unearthed a cold frame. I put it over one of my remaining basil plants and some lettuce. I'm hoping to be able to grow lettuce all winter, or at least get an early start in the spring.

Here are some pictures from Wednesday:
This is from after I finished replacing the mulch.
This is from June, so you can see the changes I made. (The pictures are not taken from the same angle. The picture above is the front of the garden and the one below was taken from the left side of the picture above.)

My Horehound:
And last but not least, my 'supervisor':
Farewell~
Sarah

Updates On Miscellaneous Plants and Gardens

Looking back through my posts I realized there are a few things I've neglected to mention, so here's a list of all the things I should have mentioned, but didn't.

• The Repels-All seemed to keep the critters away for several weeks. I have not had time to re-apply it, so I'm still having to put up with chippie holes in my garden. They don't dig far, just enough to make an indentation. I found a hole outside my garden and I fill it in with rocks and pebbles every day. If I ever get to Lowes, I'm going to get some expanding insulation and fill in his hole for good!

• I have two container garden tomatoes; one has 2 or 3 plants that didn't fit into my garden plan and the other has one of my experiment tomatoes. They have both grown well, but I have to water them every day as they dry out very quickly. Somehow I ended up with a Calendula plant in one of them. It doesn't get much sun since the tomatoes are so bushy, but I'll leave it there and see what happens.
• Back in July I mentioned I was going to try and root some Basil and Lemon Balm. The Basil was a huge success! I took the cuttings on July 5'th and planted them 6 days later on the 11'th. I'm still working on the Lemon Balm, but have finally gotten some to root.
  
• Our herb container garden is doing well, except for the Lovage. I think it's getting to much shade from the Fennel and Pineapple Sage.
• I bought 2 Clematis plants to climb the lattice and make it look a little nicer. They seem to be doing well.
  
• My Brandywine Tomatoes have gotten blossom end rot for the second year in a row. I don't think I'll grow quite as many next year. I've been giving them more water, fertilizing and cutting off runners and some of the larger leaves in an effort to get more calcium to the tomatoes. It seems a little bizarre since Brandywines are supposed to be the easiest heirloom tomato to grow. On the other hand, the Mrs. Benson tomatoes have had no problems and are producing much larger fruits than I expected.

Farewell~
Sarah

Rain Made The Veggies Grow

The vegetable really took off after the rain Wednesday and Thursday - the zucchini is huge and using up the entire 3' x 3' space allotted to it. I've been harvesting radishes every few days and the lettuce should be ready for picking soon. We got some more rain this afternoon, so I shouldn't have to water for a few days.

I took several cuttings from the Spicy Globe Basil, and one from the Lemon Balm. From everything I've read, they should root quickly. The basil will go near the tomatoes and peppers to deter the insects that are eating the leaves. The Lemon Balm is a bit of an experiment - we grow it in a pot to keep it from spreading; it wintered over well, but the leaves have black spots all over them. After doing some research I decided to try starting a new plant since the old may be root bound or in need of division. I thought it would be a good idea to have a new established plant in case the old one dies after division in the fall.

We are still battling the Japanese beetles. The trap didn't seem to be working very well, so I made a mixture of soap and water with a little vinegar to spray on the beetles; it seems to be working pretty well. The next day there were fewer beetles, but they had spread out to Mom's Rose of Sharon and my Anise Hyssop and Bee Balm. We applied Sevin to the Japanese Maple, Anise Hyssop and Bee Balm. Of course it's probably all washed off now with the rain today, but hopefully it did some good.

I took 70+ pictures Friday and Saturday, and should have them on the internet by Tuesday.

Farewell~
Sarah

Cold First Day of July

The the month of July is usually warm with temperatures in the upper 80's and 90's. Not so today. The high temperature is 66 and the overnight low is 51. It should warm up in the next couple of days. We're still waiting for rain according to the meteorologists we should get some before the end of the week.

The vegetable garden is growing rapidly. I bought another basil plant on Friday to plant near the Brandywine Tomatoes and hopefully stop the insect damage. The wilted tomato plant didn't survive, so the basil is going in it's place. I'm still having some trouble with something digging in the dirt and around the plants. We're going to put chicken wire around the bottom of the fence to try and stop the chipmunks from sneaking in.
Dad finished the gate yesterday. He took a piece of fence and remade it into a very nice gate. I'll take pictures tomorrow. He also attached a piece of lattice to the south end of the fence to serve as a windbreak. The lattice was only 8 feet wide, and the fence is approximately 14 feet wide, so he put some slats through the spaces left in the fence to break the wind. Next year I will try planting some clematis or morning glories to hide the lattice and provide some extra protection from the wind.

I've started collecting Cleome seeds. The Rose Campion is also producing seeds, and should be ready for harvest soon. The 4 o' clocks haven't grown much, but I think a good rain shower will fix that. The Double Click Cosmos is amazing! The flower petals start off rolled into little cones that gradually open over a few days. The package described double and semi-double flowers, but they look more like a variety called Sea Shells. They're pretty anyway. Maybe when the plants get taller the blooms will improve; they're still pretty short. I'm still waiting for the Calendula to bloom, and most of it is still pretty droopy.

I'm sure everything will perk up as soon as we get a good rainstorm, however as this quote so aptly puts it: "Despite the gardener's best intentions, Nature will improvise." ~Michael P. Garafalo, gardendigest.com

Farewell~
Sarah

Needed: Precipitation to Lessen my Perspiration

In other words, we need rain! Unfortunately the meteorologists have not scheduled any rain until next Tuesday. So until then I will keep watering my plants the hard way. One of my tomato plants (Brandywine variety) was completely wilted to day. I gave it some extra water, hopefully it will revive.

The critter problem seems to be fixed, so I've turned my attention to the problem of insects eating the plants once the Sevin wears off. The 3 peppers closest to the basil plant seem unaffected, and since basil is supposed to be very easy to root, I'm going to root several branches and plant them near the affected plants. I may also get some marigolds, but since I'm very allergic to them they will be a last resort.

On the bright side, my flowers are doing very well. The calendula is a little droopy, but other than that all the plants are happy and thriving. I hung my Zerbina Wandering Jew on the porch since it did very well out there last year, but it is taking quite a beating from the wind this year. If the wind keeps up I'll have to move it inside.

I take pictures of my gardens and plants nearly every day and post the good ones here.

Farewell ~
Sarah