| June 1, 2004 Fed all roses and got the rest of the plants in the new beds. Planted a few in the back deck beds, too. Some Oriental lilies are blooming and smell so sweet. |
| |
| June 2, 2004 Pruned the ivy topiaries at the garage door. |
| |
| June 3, 2004 Ordered a bunch of stuff from Park's Gardens today at 75% off. Can't beat those prices. I ordered: 1 Kalmia 'Minuet', 1 Sedum 'Autumn Fire', 3 Shasta Daisy 'Snowcap', 6 Veronica 'Waterperry Blue', 6 Hollyhock Mallow 'Fastigiata', 1 Golden-Leaved Lily of the Nile, 3 Dahlia 'Park Princess', 1 Calla 'Naomi Campbell', 2 Daylily 'Minnie Pearl', 1 Salvia 'Marcus PPAF', 2 Heucherella 'Dayglow Pink', 1 Daylily 'Daring Deception', 1 Daylily 'Forty-second Street', 1 Daylily 'Prelude to Love', 1 Geranium 'Brookside', 1 Geranium 'Nimbus', 1 Hardy Geranium 'Claridge Druce', and 1 Hardy Geranium 'Rozanne'. Now to find a place to plant all of these plants. |
| |
| June 4, 2004 Rained all day so no gardening got done. |
| |
| June 5, 2004 Got 4 inches of rain yesterday. Too wet this morning to do anything outside. Did get everything on hand, except the pink impatiens, planted and the lawn mowed this afternoon, as well as pruning the left side white azalea and the ones going down the steps on the right. Phlox 'Blue Boy' sprouted normally this spring, but is dying one stalk at a time. Lots of babies, but almost all of the larger stalks are turning yellow and wilting. No root damage obvious. My new Meyer lemon had started to sprout but that sprout is now limp and one leaf disappeared. Wonder what's up with that? |
| |
| June 6, 2004 Put weed and feed on the lawn. Sprayed the hillside into the woods with RoundUp. Sprayed the peach trees. Potted up 4 hostas: 'Paul's Glory', 'Honeysong', 'Kabitan', and 'Pineapple Upside Down Cake'. Mulched 2 sets of new beds. I'll probably plant some of the things I ordered last week in the last set of beds so I held off on them. Lots of things blooming now: 'Carnival' hollyhock, sildacea, daylilies 'Blazing Bonfire', 'Pardon Me', 'Happy Returns', 'Siloam June Bug', 'Raspberry Pixie', 'Little Business', 'Stella d'Oro', and 'Always Afternoon', rose 'Heritage', spiderworts in the front and side beds, rose campion, dahlia 'Park Princess', all verbenas, shasta daisies, sages (most are past prime and ready for a trim), all clematis vitacella (also just about past prime), calla lilies, butterfly weed, most coreopsis, oriental lilies (some are done), perennial geraniums (most past peak and trimmed), dianthus 'Telstar', hostas are just getting started, goatsbeard, Japanese iris have peaked but still have a few buds, annual sweet alyssum, several hydrangeas, dwarf foxglove, and several veronica spicatas. |
| |
| June 7, 2004 Imagine my surprize this evening, when heading out to work in the garden and to take some pictures before getting to work. I leaned over the edge of the grapevine bed to see if a just-opened lily had any scent, then stepped away. I took a few pictures and then spied a coiled-up snake, in the middle of a salvia plant that had flopped over, not more than 12 inches from where I had stood just seconds before. (Cutting that salvia back was #1 on my list of things to do tonight and I was just getting ready to take a before picture of it when I saw the snake.) Yikes! DH wasn't home so I called out to my neighbor, who was in his yard, and told him what I had found. He came over and killed a 24" long, 1" in diameter copperhead by putting 3 bullets through him. (Probably blew out the hardward cloth lining of that bed, too, LOL.) I just cannot believe that snake didn't strike. I was so close to it! I'm thankful I didn't step over into that bed, as I am in the habit of doing at times, as it surely would have struck if I had. But I did have presence of mind to get pictures--before and after. My neighbor was real comforting: "If you see one, there's bound to be more around." Oh, goody. DH was at a friend's house so I called him to tell him he missed the action. Didn't have much interest in mucking around in plants after that, so I tried sitting out on the front porch to read. Mosquitoes drove me in so I took a shower. While drying off, I found a tick attached to me at my waist--don't know how long it's been there. I don't think I got it tonight as I wasn't out there long enough. That's at least 20 I've found (attached to me) this year so far. It'll be a miracle if I don't get Lyme disease. These jokers are TINY so I can't tell whether they are deer tick or not and the little buggers are immune to DEET. I did find one deer tick on my sock last week but I dispatched IT before it could get to ME. |
| |
| June 9, 2004 Park's Gardens order arrived today. |
| |
| June 12, 2004 First time I've been able to work outside since Monday due to rain or prior committments. Did get some serious and much-needed deadheading done, despite the clouds. Got all the new plants planted. One veronica 'Waterperry Blue' was dead, as was salvia 'Marcus'. Got started on the fence across the back yard behind the new beds. All four posts for the left side set. Will probably wait until Monday to add the stringers. Should get that section done by the end of next weekend, weather permitting. Then I can finish up planting in that section. Hoping to be able to fill in a bit in front of the fence for a few shrubs and maybe the pink dogwood tree which is now in a container. |
| |
| June 13, 2004 Another dreary, overcast, cool, just-enough-rain-to-be-messy day. Looks like the week ahead is going to be more of the same. Did manage to finish pruning the azaleas and take a few well-chosen limbs off of both large dogwoods. Another sweet pepper dead for no apparent reason. Four plants left, all of which are blooming and have tiny peppers. |
| |
| June 14, 2004 Rained last night and today was an OK day until about 8 pm then another shower. Got the stringers put on the left fence section. Put in 14 inches of "retaining" boards against the posts. I'll fill in to the top of this with soil. It will slant a little towards the fence, but not much. Also did all we could to make it sturdy, since the soil there is all "land fill" with lots of leaf mold and not the sturdiest soil around, including tying it to the neighbor's existing split rail fence post (with permission, of course), bracing it with a 2x4 across the back of all the posts at ground level, driving in some metal fence posts against that, and tying the 2x10 base to the existing (new) bed with a "Z" brace. We're leaving the posts on either side of the gate taller. Will move the blue bird box from the front porch (too much foot traffic there--makes the birds nervous and they don't stay long enough to lay eggs) to one of the posts. May put a feeder or something else (not thought of yet) on the other one. Bought two verdigris finished post caps for those; the other post tops won't show. Hoping to find verdigris hinges and latch for the gate. Planning on planting hollyhocks on either side of the gate--probably should get those started soon. |
| |
| June 15, 2004 John got the left side fence finished and it looks great! Just a few minor details and then I can what has become a third bed in that set and plant. Could have finished those tonight except it started raining. Again. |
| |
| June 16, 2004 Got 1 1/2 inches of rain last night so it was too wet to work on the back yard renovation. John did get the trellis built (attached trim to a sheet of lattice) for rose 'Awakening' which is putting out new growth. Hoping it doesn't rain tonight so he can get those little details taken care of tomorrow. If he does, I can fill in that bed and get the planting done. |
| |
| June 17, 2004 Good grief--more rain. Couldn't work on the newest bed or the fence, so I deadheaded, finished the every-two-week container feedings and staked up some plants. My 'Stark Sensation' peach is heavily laden with 2" in diameter fruit, and when it's wet with rain (as it is most of the time lately) the branches bend. Got them all staked up so they won't break. That's a problem I don't mind having. One good thing about the rain--saw the prettiest double rainbow this evening. 'Dasher II' cucumbers are doing well. All are, actually, but they are ahead of the others, with several 4" long cukes seen tonight. Won't be long now. |
| |
| June 18, 2004 Got the lattice put up for 'Awakening' rose. Hoping it will be dry enough to get it in the ground soon. |
| |
| June 19, 2004 Cleaned off the front porch and brough some caladiums and hostas up from the back deck. Also got the bed in front of the fence finished and filled in. Will try to get a few things planted tomorrow. A short shower around 5 pm brought a welcome cooler temperature and lower humidity. 'Tophat' blueberries are starting to turn. I'm going to bring it into the garage at night in an attempt to save it from the critters that have always gotten the berries in the past. 'Meyer' lemon is really showing off this year--it's full of either fruit, at one stage or another, or blossoms and blossom buds. |
| |
| June 20, 2004 Got hydrangea 'Pee Gee' planted in its new home in the corner, between the old hydrangea and the fence. Mulched both of those hydrangeas as well as the last two new lined beds. Built up the end of the left side bed with one more timber and got soil to fill it. |
| |
| June 21, 2004 Posts set for the right side of the fence. |
| |
| June 23, 2004 Went to Winston-Salem today and to L. A. Reynolds garden center. Got five miniature hostas: 'Baby Bunting', 'Quilting Bee', 'Dorset Blue', 'Bitsy Gold', and 'lakeside Explosion'. Got most of the fence spacers and stringers up, as well as a couple of braces. Picked the first 'Dasher II' (8) and 'Straight Eight' (2) cucumbers. |
| |
| June 27, 2004 While out of town this weekend, I went to McDonald's Garden Center in Hampton. Managed to come home with quite a few things, mostly seeds, but also some plants: a replacement 'Chickasaw' miniature crape myrtle, a 'Pia' hydrangea, 'Siloam David Kirchoff' and 'Indian Giver' daylilies, and hostas '', '', '', '', and ''. Also harvested some seeds from a (hopefully) white lunaria that I'd been keeping my eye on on my daily walks at my mother's. Also say a hydrangea with breathtakingly beautiful dark purple blooms on my walks this weekend. My mother will see if she can get a cutting or see what was done to the plant to make it so dark. Japanese and Mexican bean beetles have attacked the pole beans so a dusted a little Sevin on them. Daylily 'Siloam Orchid Lace' is blooming and it's so pretty. |
| |
| June 29, 2004 Had to go to Lowe's to get more supplies for the fence, and while there, I got their last 6-pack of impatiens to try something I read about for the pond. They're rather bedraggled looking but will suffice for this purpose. Fence is really shaping up--we're hoping to wind it up this weekend. |
| |
| June 30, 2004 Getting more done on the fence--had to stop for heavy rain shower. Lilium 'Garden Party' is blooming. Picked about 15 cucumbers and a couple of 'Early Girl' tomatoes. |
| |
Sign Our Guestbook