The Dark Season

 

Today we disconnected, emptied, and put away the hoses. We collected the various garden art and secured it in the shed, and put Rob's gravity lounger in the garage.

Yesterday we were both quite depressed, and spent some time talking about how it feels to be surrounded by people who actively want to vote for someone so dumb and mean-spirited. 

But Rob's stage 4 cancer diagnosis this past spring put life in a different perspective for me. We've made it through 6 cycles of chemo, and are just beginning to move toward a more normal life again. The doctor's prognosis hasn't changed from the beginning: 3 to 12 years. Even though his blood work looks good, they simply can't predict how the remaining cancer cells will evolve. 

You are alive until you die, and I want to make sure we take advantage of that time doing the things he wants to do. Physically, it's a new and different normal for him, and sometimes he gets depressed about this. But I think the more we can be out in nature, exploring, the more he will be able to put the cancer in the background to enjoy his time. 

So we'll snuggle in for the dark season and celebrate the holidays, and then look forward to a new growing season and new places to enjoy.

Last of the Bulbs 2024

The Brecks bulb order arrived a few days ago. Some for me, and some for Emma's garden.

Today I put the crocus in a semicircle around the pink monarda in the third raised bed. I did use cayenne pepper when I planted these, since they are shallow (3") and small.

The honey lily turns out to get 3 to 4 feet tall, so that went in the back of the NW triangle garden.

Then I took a break :-) But the weather was so nice, I went back out. I dug up the great daffodils from the abandoned garden where Emma had marked them for me, and put most of them along the curve of the northeast garden, with a few extras near the entrance walk to the porch. 

Then I had two sets of daffodils from the Breck's order. 

The Original Poet's Daffodil (5 bulbs) went in front of the big pot by the mudroom porch. These are white with orange tipped cups.

The Golden Dawn daffodils I dug into the dragon head garden, around some other perennials that should help to hide the foliage after they bloom. They're near the carex, the plant with the very soft whitish foliage (whose name escapes me at the moment), and the dianthus. These are the same that I have already in the NW triangle bed with multiple flowers per stem.

Planting Bulbs and More

 

I got a set of bulbs from Longfield Gardens: 5 of an orange and dark red Asian lily, 5 of a white allium (Mt. Everest), 6 of the Purple Sensation allium, and about 25 of the little iris. 

I planted one white and three purple alliums to the left of the big pot off the mudroom porch. That is the location where I removed the extremely tall pink and white Asian lilies. Before I planted the bulbs, I added a bunch of compost, and moved the short garden phlox to the area. Then the alliums went in behind it. 

I put the Asian lilies in the NW area around the dragon head. So behind the hoary vervain there, and left of the clematis. I did slice and dig up one of the species tulip bulbs in that area unfortunately, but those are mostly farther to the left. 

I scattered the remaining allium bulbs in the dragon head bed, around other perennials that will hide the foliage of the allium as it dies back. Then the last set of bulbs, the little iris, went around the base of the clethra, where we'll be able to see them from the kitchen window in early spring.

The photo at the top is of the dragon bed, with all the pavers and bird scare tape trying to stop the wild turkeys. I added more scary tape today because it does seem to make a difference, even if it looks ridiculous. (Rob is in the background, cleaning his bike.)

Turkeys, Grrr.

 

The wild turkeys have spent a lot of time digging up the young plants I put in. It has been incredibly frustrating. I have covered most of the ground around the plants with pavers and boards, and finally put up bird-scare ribbon. I actually don't know if the ribbon is working because I haven't seen any turkeys in the yard since I put it up. Replanting and raking out all the mulch was getting very tiring. 

My order of agastache was canceled, along with one of the two groundcover sedums. I did receive one of the groundcover sedums, although I haven't put it in the ground yet. I'm still waiting on Tyler to finish the decking --I really am beginning to wonder if he's going to do the job. 

I did move some of the solidago fireworks from the east bed to the area in front of the hollyhocks and prairie dropseed grass. I also added one to the dragon bed, along the back. 

I am really looking forward to seeing this new bed next summer.

We also had a fiery skipper in the yard for the first time (unfortunately being killed by an ambush bug) --I think they're more common south of here. That's the photo above.

More Planting

With some additional rain in the forecast for today, I needed to get the 10 plants I had on hand in the ground yesterday. It was a nice cool morning for it, but the digging was really hard! Most of these plants went into the outer edge of the Dragon bed, where I pulled up landscaping fabric this spring. The dirt here is still so awful! I added quite a bit of compost with each plant.

Because I double-ordered hoary vervain, I put these two plants in the area behind the dragon head where I had removed some of the Baby Joe pye weed. That was easy digging, because I'd dug it up previously, and it has been mulched for several years. 

All the rest was like digging in dry cement, even after that 3/4" of rain. I actually dragged the hose around and watered the holes I dug for everything else, before putting the compost down and the plants in.

Behind and to the west of the baptisia, I put in the two amsonia plants. Behind and to the east of the baptisia I added the two obedient plants. 

The two heart-leaved asters went a few feet east of the armillary compass. 

Finally, after resting, I got the black cohash and goat's beard planted to the west of the hydrangea.

It has rained all day today, but it's only added up to 1/2". The next few days are sunny again, so I'll have to run the soaker hoses in a day or so. And I do still have Blue Fortune agastache, and two groundcover sedums arriving in mid-October. Plus the bulbs :-)

 

Adding and Editing

Apparently I ordered a lot of plants over the last two months 😆

It has been miserably hot and dry over the last weeks and months. It finally rained last night, and we got just under 3/4 inches. It's enough so that I won't need to water today, but I will again tomorrow.

During the cooler mornings of the past week, I did a lot planting and watering.  

1. Spotted bee balm and blue sage went into the SE corner of the wood shed, with the iris and lambs ear. 
2. Baby Joe pyeweed was transplanted from the back of the dragon head to just behind the dianthus. I left some behind the dragon head, but it doesn't seem happy in that spot --buds don't really bloom. There is red monarda back there which I'm sure will colonize the area.
3. Three aromatic asters and three hoary vervain were planted around the armillary compass, alternately. The vervain is more upright, and blooms in summer. Asters tend to be more airy, and bloom in fall. I'm hoping the combination will work well.

Yesterday I received two black cohash, three obedient plant, and three heart-leaved aster. The black cohash will go near the hydrangea, as they are woodland plants, with tall flower spikes. The aster and obedient plant need more sun, and will be added to the dragon head bed.

Early Fall Editing

This coming week, Tyler is going to redo the deck walk and landing pad to and around the water spigot on the SW corner of the house. I've been working on some stuff in order to get plants out of his way, and just doing some normal fall editing.

This morning was a great morning in the garden. We're in one of our more and more common "flash droughts", so many mornings are cool and not humid, and the mosquitoes have disappeared for now. While I get tired of the watering, I'm grateful for the lack of mosquitoes.

I needed to move some Autumn Joy sedum so it won't get stomped on during the decking project. So I put the hose there on a dribble in order to soften the ground. It was two nice clumps, which would have needed separating soon anyway, so win-win. They are now in pots with some compost to keep till I can replant them in the same area. 

I also have some oriental lily bulbs in that west bed, in front of the prairie dropseed grass and hollyhock. I dug out the shorter ones (again, after soaking the ground). They're so dang deep, it's hard to do with a trowel. These are the yellow set. I removed the oregano in the raised bed, added some compost and planted the bulbs in that location.

I also removed the purple coneflower from the northernmost raised bed, since we've agreed that it would be nice for that bed to have only shorter plants so we can see to the other two beds. I got that transplanted to the back of the dragon bed, where the soil was literally as hard as cement from the lack of water. I do use a soaker hose in that bed, but it goes just along the current plants, so other areas are dry, dry, dry!

I dug out the rest of the iris around the AC unit. Some of them I've put in a pot with some moist compost so I can replant them when Tyler is finished. A few others I've planted around where the mock orange shrub roots are. I used roundup in that area earlier to try to kill back the tree seedlings and the remaining mock orange. It seems to be working, but we still can't mow there because of the stumps. I figure maybe I can just make that an iris bed --it gets more sun since that limb was removed from the silver maple, and the soil is very sandy, so well-drained. Rob has talked about burning out those stumps, and if he gets to that it's fine, but if not then we'll have some iris there.

I still need to cut back the aster that's by the southernmost raised bed before Tyler starts, and I'd like to cut back the dead branches in the mock orange area.

Elderberry Plants

I had received the three elderberry plants from Prairie Moon Nursery (in 3" pots) a few days ago, and today I got them in the ground. They are planted along the chain-link fenced dog run that we use as storage. I caged them so the rabbits won't eat them.

This area gets morning sun, and the soil seemed really nice. There is also a seed stalk from the hollyhock plant that I'm hoping will give me some flowers in a year or so, as the shrubs grow. I also bought wild cucumber seeds to plant there this fall, and if they work they'll climb the fence. I may try some morning glory next spring too. I still need to mulch and fertilize tomorrow, but I ran out of steam this evening.

I also finally got the floppy brown-eyed Susan out of the ground. I soaked the ground and then was able to do it with just a trowel. It's so nice to have that done. I think I'm going to fill that space with a few new sedums (there is already an Autumn Joy there), and then add some groundcover sedums as well. It's a very hot spot with so much afternoon sun. There is prairie dropseed grass and the hollyhock behind, closer to the house. I need to improve the soil and put a layer of mulch on it for winter. 

I brought the fern in for the season --it's getting down to 48 tonight, and we have some predicted low 40s coming up. 

I also did some watering and fertilizing. There is more to do tomorrow.

Picked a beet!

I picked a beet today! Given how neglected they've been, I'm surprised to even get one. The nasturtiums have really taken over the Vego bed, and they look so pretty I don't want to pull them to plant beets. I think next spring I will plant beets around the edges of the raised beds. I need to try to work in some compost this fall, so they are ready. 

I also picked one of the poblano peppers yesterday, for Rob to use in his stuffed potato meal. I ate a bit of it, and it tasted good. I have 5 or 6 that look good right now. I'd really like to make stuffed peppers with them.

I'm still needing to water. We've only gotten 1" of rain in August so far. I really under-watered the hydrangea, but I think I've corrected that now. We've also had some nights down to 50F, and the Purple tomato fruits are looking weirdly blotchy. It's going to warm up again this weekend, and I'm hoping more tomatoes will ripen. Over all we've had a really cool August. It's been delightful weather.

I moved the hostas from the north bed and placed them at the base of the clethra. I hope they'll be okay there --they will definitely get some afternoon sun. But I suppose if they start to burn, I can move them again. 

I received and planted the blue baptisia (false indigo), fairly close to the dragon's head. And the new pink clematis came back! I'm very happy about that. I'll need to protect both clematis from earwigs in the spring, and give them more fertilizer. Actually, I think I need to give everything more fertilizer.

Early August Tasks (Very Dry)

 No photos today, just a note for some things I was doing on this day.

While we had a lot of rain in June, and early July had enough, since the middle of July it's been very dry. There have been isolated storms, but they've missed us.

I've been using the soaker hoses where I have them, but there are always places I don't.

So today I watered the hosta and geranium that I transferred to the East bed. The hosta are doing well, but the geranium has been fairly eaten. But it's a hardy plant, so I'm hoping it will rebound now that the earwig population should decline. 

I watered the few beets that germinated, with the nasturtium in the Vego garden.

I also watered the hydrangea and sweet William under the black walnut. I transferred a heucherella there a month ago because it was being so eaten, but it's being eaten just as much in this new location. I sprinkled some of the Captain Jack's Slug & Bug killer around those plants. 

That stuff seems to be helping where I've used it, and hopefully it is cutting down on the population that will start breeding this fall.

The pot with blue salvia and white allysum next to the mudroom porch is just spectacular right now. I've been giving some Miracle Grow flower boost fertilizer to the pots, and they appear to be responding.

I also did some deadheading --the very pretty and loose pink alliums had finished, so I cut those back. I removed a few more spent daylily stems as well and I harvested a few more tomatoes.

Then I made up some Round-up to take care of the crop of young dandelions that were coming up all over in the mulch. I really need to get the bench area thoroughly mulched next spring.

Odds and Ends

I spent some time yesterday and this morning pottering in the garden.

I'm really liking how this pot off the mudroom porch came out this year. The Rock and Blues salvia is really budded up, so it should show a lot more of the blue soon. I put an optical grass in the center front, but it's being swallowed by the alyssum.

 This pot is also looking nice, after sitting in a dormant state before I realized how much damage the ant colony had done. The plants are now growing.

Yesterday I transplanted the clethra shrub from the north porch garden to the new dragon garden. This is the fourth year I've had this shrub, and it actually looks worse than last year. It is so hard to grow things in the north bed. 

I ordered some little blue stem grass plugs to try in there. Supposedly it stays shorter in very dry soil. I also ordered some spotted monarda, and I was thinking of putting it in there as well, but I do wonder if it will get too tall? It would need to be near the front to get enough sun.

I watered a couple of pots yesterday as well --specifically the two with the sweet potato vines. Those really suck up the water!

Today I put the north drip on in the north garden for 1.45 hours. I did some deadheading, brought in another two Early Girl tomatoes (had the last two for breakfast before going out!), and laid a strip of cardboard and mulch along the area in front of the mudroom deck. We tried to straighten that area the last time we had Hertzog's mulch the area, but even though Rob had killed the grass, the guys just followed the old edge. I sprayed some round-up, laid down some thick cardboard from a double-walled box, and put down three bags of mulch. I've got a bag in reserve in case the cardboard starts to show.

Interestingly, I could only get two bags of hardwood shredded, so the other two bags (I can only fit four in my car) are brown dyed mulch. I don't like it at all --it's not shredded, so much bigger chunks. I'll definitely try to avoid that in the future!

NW Corner Garden

 This garden area had a major edit about three years ago. For a long time there was a large area of dark pink New England asters in the back, and every year they would flop all over the place. And they were slowly expanding, taking over the bed. 

I removed the asters and a lot of Siberian iris. I moved some large dark blue bearded iris to the corner of the woodshed. That opened up a lot of space, and my first choice was a dwarf butterfly bush. It arrived barely rooted in to its pot, and even though I babied it through the summer (shading it and watering it well), it didn't return the next spring. It was probably for the best, because I think it was going to be too short for that back right space. 

That fall I added in a clematis (Hudson Blue), and lots of Asian lilies and daffodils. I also divided the orange/red daylily that I love because it had gotten too big. Unfortunately, one group of lilies are really too tall to be in the front area of the bed, so they'll need editing as well.

I'm really loving the thyme in front --there's creeping thyme and wooly thyme. The creeping thyme blooms purple in the spring. 

I moved some Stargazer lilies and another shorter oriental lily to the back. That summer was incredibly dry, and then the next summer (last summer) I was non-weight bearing for six weeks after my peroneal tendon ruptured, and the drought was even worse. That has slowed things down a bit.

I'm most disappointed with the clematis. I don't know if it gets enough sun. It came back well it's second year, but was eaten up by earwigs. The same thing happened this summer. The foliage doesn't look good, and there's at least one brown branch. I've given it quite a bit of organic fertilizer, although it has been a balanced one, so maybe I need something different. Weirdly, the nepeta (Cat's Pajamas) that I planted under it isn't really thriving either. I don't really get why. 

Things to do in this bed:

• Move the tall Asian lilies, either to the back of the bed, or to another bed.
• Add something shorter --perhaps dwarf Asian lilies to that spot.
  

Rebooting

I believe I'm going to reboot this blog, as a way to keep a personal record of changes in the garden.

The last several years have seen a few major changes, including the creation of a new garden area, new plant additions, and some major editing of existing beds. Last summer I had foot surgery, and it was the 2nd summer of a two-summer drought, so I have enjoyed being able to garden this summer, and while the weather was nice, we have both enjoyed sitting out under the maple trees and enjoying the blooms. This summer Rob was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer, so we are experiencing the journey of chemotherapy. It is very much not fun, but the garden does bring some solace.

So, July 14th might be an odd time to start this, but I think it will be helpful to be able to look back. 

Earlier in July, we had the mudroom porch replaced.  We widened it slightly, and had a larger deck area at the bottom put in. It's nice and solid, and we're happy with it.

We were actually thinking of adding a pergola, and we had that originally priced. When we got an estimate from the first guy, we asked to break the job up, so the pergola would be done next summer. After weeks of not hearing from him, we reached out to a guy who bills himself as a handyman (Reece's Handyman Services). After seeing some of his work posted on FB, we got a (much less expensive) estimate from him, and he built this later that same week. Eventually it will silver up to the same color as the boardwalks Rob created years ago.

Next up, some new and edited gardens :-)