There are weeds in my hair. My knees creak. My back is stiff. I've been back in the back yard, trying to catch up on gardening. It was so hot and humid in the middle of summer, that I let the garden go. Now I am paying the price. I grew lots and lots of weeds. Some of my favorite flowers are completely gone. A few specimens have encroached into spaces I didn't want encroached upon.. I make mental notes to replace some flowers. On the other hand, having spaces between some of the bigger plants sets them off. Perhaps I shall put down a red cedar mulch and let it go at that. Chris helps bring in bags of red cedar mulch and bags of pine bark nuggets. It will take a while to spread it all out...after I've cleaned up the garden some more. Perhaps I am wasting my time. Every time I pull a weed, weed seeds are distributed. It can't be helped.
How is it that the three rose buses I planted last fall, are all in different states of health? The pink rose bush is lovely. There are no black spots on the leaves. The bush put on growth and the flowers look good enough to eat. The white rose bush has less vigor. It is dropping its leaves...heading into dormancy a little early. Pity the yellow rose. It tried. It died.
I've learned to add silicone to my soil. It is very sandy. Water runs through it. Silicone holds water and makes it available to the plants during times of drought. I added silicone in the holes where I planted a pear tree, a viburnum and two hydrangeas. It was work digging a hole and working the soil, but it made a difference. These plants came through the heat and humidity looking good...no wilting...and with very little extra watering.
The space under the maple tree is a mess. I know I will be fighting maple tree roots. How can I use this space ? Shall I plant in pots? A raised bed? Shall I put a patio there, paving over the roots? No decision yet. I've planted in this area for several years. Nothing seems to grow vigorously in this area. It is hard work to dig a cleared area in the middle of maple tree roots. If I amend the soil there, the tree will eat it all up and ask for more. The tree is old and gracious. The fall coloring is beautiful to look at from my window. True, I have to rake leaves and pull maple tree seedlings out of my flower bed. The tree stays, beautiful sentinel.
Vegetable report: I feel rich when I harvest something to eat. Parsley came up where I did not plant it. Where I planted parsley, is no parsley this year. I cut parsley in its new location. If it likes it there, it can stay there. Chives have been cut, sorted for grass and other things I don't want . The Chives are in the freezer. Peaches, as previously reported, were small, but good tasting. We ate peaches through the season and froze the extras. No pears on the pear tree. It was just planted. My neighbor has a pear tree, necessary for cross pollination of my pear tree. I hope he doesn't cut his down. Four tomato plants yielded all the tomatoes I can eat. There is nothing like a vine ripened tomatoe, picked from the garden and eaten out of hand, warm from the sun. Such flavor. Strawberry plants and rhubarb were so-so this year. The weather was not kind to these small plants. and...I forgot to water them. They are there, but smaller than last year. My fault. My sour cherry tree is on Melba Street. Both the cherry tree and the peach tree had to be sprayed for fungus this year. The humidity was awful. Even the trees didn't like it. Still, I got enough cherries for several pies. I try hard to avoid using chemicals, but sometimes there is no other option. New plants: blueberries on Melba Street. Two reasons for blueberries: To get blueberries and to give some visual privacy . The bushes can grow to eye level. If I sell this house, I will loose my cherry tree and blueberry bushes. Shall I plant replacements now at the current address? Hmmmm. Time to come in and have a cup of tea.