reckoning

There's a lot to re-evaluate as I start working in the garden again. I found out which plants can't survive the winter without extra mulch and care. I've lost my potted figs, chocolate mint, green onions, tarragon, some stinking hellebores, the hyssop, winter savory and probably more that I can't remember now. Or have forgotten their names. 

I was surprised to find that both rosemary plants are still alive- doing better when I ignored them. My shady sideyard has been overwhelmed by the joe pye weed and black-and-blue salvia (which pleases me). The salvia crowded out the lamb's ears and gladiolas. Somehow I don't mind loosing some glads- I'm not as fond of them anymore- but I do miss the lamb's ears. Mabye I will try to move them to a different spot, because I love seeing the blue salvia thrive. I even saw two hummingbirds fighting over the space this week! 

I find I'm not too keen on the yellow salvia under my trees anymore, or the sensitive fern that looks terrible half the year, or the 'autumn joy' sedums that the deer munch on so they don't look great and have very few blooms. My lilac appears to be suffering, some branches have died, and my lavender is much reduced in size, but I cut out a lot of dead stems and hope it will grow back.

Today I pulled out a ton of mock strawberry in and around some garden beds, and straightened out one whole brick row of edging, on bed 4. I thought I was lining the bricks up straight enough, but then when I got to the end the last brick wouldn't meet the corner one square. So I took them all off again and ran a string line from one end to the other. Redid it- much straighter! Packed the clay soil in tight underneath and hopefully I won't have to re-do this one for several years (the clay gets pretty solid). I'm pleased because this bed has always had a crooked edge where the stump of an old tree never came out. I finally broke up and removed most of that. Then planted some calamint (nepitella) along the edge- which I'd pulled up when trimming in the front bed. Stems had rooted where they trailed on the ground. Easy to move and put in more areas. Such a bright, sharp scent.

The lovage there at the end wasn't doing too great but a few weeks ago I cut out yellowing foliage, weeded around it, mulched and watered. It's perking up a little bit.

In bed 1, I yanked out all the mock strawberry but left half a dozen of this plant that's growing there as volunteer (or weed) also. I've always left a few of these around the yard, they seem to get eaten more by the insects - so I view it as a decoy or trap plant. I still don't know what it is!

I was also pleased to see that the little broken stone "mowing strip" I dug in along the outside base of bed 1, is mostly still in place! There were some weeds in the cracks but once I pulled those up, it was far easier to make this a clean edge when mowing. Encourages me to continue with that project (I have a lot of rocks stacked on my bench intended for this). There are more edging bricks to straighten too (as visible on the left).

Here's the few herbs I have: parsley, thyme and chives. All bought as starts from the nursery months ago, I didn't do anything from seed this year. With my cat Eliza in the window.

She was meowing at me.

I had basil and mint also, but they died. I forget to water sometimes, still. I've removed and dumped the soil from the planter boxes that hung on my deck railings. One was badly cracked and spilled- I'd fixed it with duct tape years ago but it wasn't holding and looked awful. Another was warped, and all four the plastic really faded and discolored. Not sure yet if I will replace those or use them somewhere else. 

It's a lot of work but I'm trying to just do a little bit at a time. Mostly focused on rebuilding and fixing structures in the garden, improving the soil again (when I pulled off the bricks, nice to see the soil was still dark and healthy-looking under the dried crusty top inches), and getting rid of weeds. Have to figure out a fencing solution too, or the rabbits will just eat everything I grow. Oddly, I have not seen many squirrels in my yard this year. We do have red-tailed hawks, an owl and foxes that come through regularly, I wonder if they have just reduced the numbers. Or if they don't have as many nuts to bury, or if they aren't interested in digging in my garden because the soil got so hard and compacted without me working and amending it.

first freeze

was last night. I spent the last two days raking leaves and picking up more pin oak acorns out of the grass. Put some leaf litter/grass clippings mulch around and over some of my plants just as it was getting dark yesterday- the new rosemary, sweetspire, hyssop (which also got cut back to two inches), wild geraniums, lemon balm and tarragon, etc. 

A few days earlier I had spread the compost on all the garden beds- it was just barely enough. I didn't have any left over to feed the ferns, hostas or other yard perennials. Now I'll have to spend this afternoon cutting down the plants killed by frost, that just look icky- the coleus and celosia, the black tatters of leaves on monarda and joe pye stems. Other things that just look dried up, I'll leave be until spring. 

Pictures from compost spreading day, just because it looked so rich. Momentarily- as soon as this was done, I put leaf/grass mulch over the copmost layer. I could tell the soil had been neglected past two seasons- removing some weeds before spreading the compost, found the soil was hard, dry and somewhat compacted. Maybe that's why I haven't seen squirrels digging in the garden so much this year. I thought it was because the hawks and owls passing through our yard more often had taken some of them- but maybe also because the soil just wasn't as soft and inviting, when I hadn't been mulching and feeding it. Well, now it got that treatment again.

another angle- still just as empty.

There are some things still here, though- rue looks great, as if re-flourishing since its little trim

Borage coming up in bed one also has lovely bluish hue, robust leaves

Nicotiana in a few scattered spots

This tall one next to the dill has been blooming like crazy

other side

The dill is over my head again! I would cut the umbrels for more dried seed, but they're still green yet

Here's a smaller dill alone in bed three. 

A few small leeks in bed ten. I'd like to eat them, but want them to grow bigger first.

I cut some bug-riddled leaves out of the lovage, and that looks better now 

My new rosemary looks rather pale. I trimmed it a bit more (using for tea), the leaves look all faintly speckled as if from aphid bites . . . 

The blue sage still has tons of color, though quite a few flower stems are gone to seed now

I found a few bees on them- I think affected by the cold, because they were moving very slowly

but that allowed me to get quite close

I also brought in a lot of potted plants against the cold, and put the young beautyberries in the mini greenhouse to overwinter (never got around to planting them). More pics soon.

Why do I tend to forget how much I love gardening, until I'm out there again? Tidying things up, seeing the richness of the turned compost, digging my fingers through the soil, leaning against the sun-warmed bricks of the bed edges, just feel so content and happy in what I'm doing. It's good work.

planted stuff

I put my new rosemary in the ground. In the corner of the garden. By the rue- so you can see it's really still quite small, considering the final size it might get- but four or five times larger than any rosemary plant I've had in the past!

I trimmed those droopy tips a bit too, to reduce the transplant shock.

Also planted out- on the backyard slope that I want eventually to have no grass- the shining sumac. So small from the house I can't even see it!

The iris are likewise nearly invisible-

And the two shrubby St. John's wort. Near the other ones. Now I suppose that my larger St. John's wort (the first one I planted) might also be a 'shrubby' one, and the one with very small leaves, another variety? I didn't realize before there's different types, though I ought to have guessed.

And indoors, I took all the crypt balansae out of the vase and planted them into the aquarium. They're down the center. Hard to get on camera though. Here's a side shot

and one with the fish in it. He's not quite as bright as before. Maybe the excitement of loosing his tankmates has evaporated. Or he doesn't like the change in weather (colder now). He still brightens up when I feed him a worm or fly, but then darts away from the camera, of course.

plant swap!

I made this bench on the front porch (some of the legs a bit wonky, it's not nearly as sturdy as I'd like, but it does the job of holding up whatever I need to set down for a moment)

and here it is with plants ready to go to the swap. I took two rue, four pots of echinacea, the mini geranium, some coleus, three potted catnip, and some aloe vera babies. But nobody wanted the catnip, I had to bring it home again. And I'd had it identified wrong all this time- I thought I was growing catmint, but it's catnip- no wonder it seemed too tall, and the flowers not-quite-right. I was corrected at the swap.

and what I brought home! Here's some, plus more pics below of individual detail- the one lower front left is buttonweed. Not even sure I'll plant that one now, having discovered it's considered a difficult-to-control lawn weed . . . 

The rest I'm pretty happy about. I got slender mountain mint-

'Shrubby' St. john's wort- Hypericum prolificum-

Elephantopus carolinianus or Elephant's foot (referring to the root) makes small purple flowers, in the aster family. Seemed interesting!

A sedum that looks different from the ones I already have-

Virginia sweetspire

Also a small rosemary plant, two New England aster (yes, trying that again even though every time they disappear. I think get eaten) and a wild bergamot (monarda, or bee balm) why do plants have so many names for the same thing. And- shining sumac! I have wanted a sumac for many years, although I was hoping to eventually find a stahorn sumac, this will do for starters.

American beautyberry!! Very excited about this one.

and a good-sized rosemary that someone had obviously just pulled out of the ground, so maybe I'll have one that gets through the winter at last. It's as tall as my hip.

Plus a few little houseplants- two little succulents, Haworthia and a dwarf snake plant, plus this one with purplish tint that wasn't labeled- it looks like another begonia variety to me, but I'm probably wrong on that.

and three bags of iris bulbs- 'Black Gamecock' Louisiana Iris, 'Pallida' and 'Victoria Falls' both a tall bearded iris. I've never grown iris before but I have a damp area I think they'd do well in.

time to joyfully plant stuff

remembered plants

Some pics from last year, that reflect this year. I lost one of my pink geraniums (it died) but the two looked so similar, I shrugged it off.

Never grew nasturtiums this year, so I look at this photo with nostalgia.

Right now my bay laurel (which comes indoors on the coldest nights) and basil (fading fast) look just like this. But what strikes me about this picture is the madagascar palm houseplant behind them on the other side of the window. Look how lovely the foliage! It's all dropped. The plant looks like a cactus stick now. It just barely started growing leaves back a week ago, but they're very small. I don't know if it's temperature not right for that plant in my house, or lack of direct sun.

I'm sad about my rosemary, too. It looked pretty good last year (this pic). Now thinner, needles anemic and yellowish. My first thought was: not enough sun, but I also suspect an insect pest might have gotten to it.

Sigh. Another plant I miss is the pretty, diminutive alyssum. I didn't grow any from seed this year- hoping a few might come up of their own accord in the front bed. Nope. Not a single one- or if they did, got choked out by the mock strawberry and sedums. This purple one was from the year before:

it's been a while

I kind of lost interest in keeping this blog going- I don't seem to have many readers, and nobody to talk about plants with. Didn't feel the need to track when things get started for the right timing to go in the ground and such (as reminders to myself) anymore. And then I had a setback, minor car accident, sprained ankle, on crutches for three weeks- so things got shoddy out there. Overgrown, neglected. 

However today I finally was able to go out again (my ankle strapped, I'm allowed to do "light walking" now) And there are things to note.

First, here's a picture from months ago. After our spring heat wave, it cooled off again and I actually got a decent amount of lettuce. We had fresh salads for weeks, plus I gave some away. The heads were beautiful thick green rosettes in the garden.

Where the lettuces came out, I planted the tomatoes. They had waited too long, some lower leaves were wilting so I pulled those off. And then remembering a tip from a gardener I read, removed more lower leaf petioles, planted the tomatoes deeply, burying half the stem. Watered on planting, then left them alone for ten days. This encourages stronger root system and what do you know, I think it worked. I have only been out to water once since (due to being laid up) and the rain has been enough- the tomaoto plants look fantastic. I tied them up once to some poles, they are sturdier than usual too. Either the deep planting and witholding water at the start helped, or the soil was richer than usual.

My turnips are also doing great. We've been eating them- made a new dish just last night. Turnips simmered until tender, mashed with onions and a bit of sugar, stirred w/eggs and baked in the oven. Surprisingly good. It's the first year I've actually had good turnips- not dry or tough. Even the bigger ones I pull are tender when I slice them up, almost buttery. And they're still not bothered by much, out in the garden!

Can't say the same for other things. I went out to cut greens for dinner and instead cut and heaped most of the entire bed of chard into the compost pile. It was all mottled pale sickly from leaf hoppers. (Why are such aggravating pests so darn cute? This year they're dark grayish purple with bright blue or red eyes). I could only keep the youngest unblemished leaves to cook with, but hope that a lot of the leaf hoppers got removed with the mass of chard foliage, smothered under leaf mulch and grass clippings in the hot compost pile!

My beets are swarming with whitefly. I cleaned up the worst pale and dead foliage, doused them with soapy water, but need to go get some actual insecticide. In the next bed over, garlics have all fallen over, and scapes are reaching tall. But I don't think they're ready to pull yet. Not enough watering? Too much heat? 

I removed all the pea plants- saving some for next year's seed. Of the shelling peas, there was only enough for one meal. However, they were really good! Into those empty beds today I planted out the cowpeas (to grow up the trellis), bush beans (only two, the rest succumbed to heat and neglect while still in pots), two yellow summer squash, and a third of the amaranth 'calaloo' seedlings. The rest are still too small for transplanting. 

Then planted out on the sunny sideyard my few tithonias for the year. And I only have three cardinal climbers, which is sad. A few weeks ago my husband saw a hummingbird come by and scout around the deck. But my cardinal climbers weren't planted out, and I think the black and blue salvia isn't flowering yet either, so there was nothing here for it.

It is nice to still see the wrens, robins, sparrows, cardinals, blackbirds and grey catbirds busy around the yard and garden. And the skinks! They come upon the deck. I only have one cucumber plant that survived the period of neglect, it's in a deck pot. My carrots aren't doing too great in pots, they keep drying out if I am not able to get out and water. My sweet peas died. 

But I am glad that the rosemary and stevia survived the winter, and this year the fenugreek I planted is doing well. I have it by the sliding door to the deck and often bend to catch its scent when going in or out. Summer savory in the deck planters is doing great, and parsley- have been using both. Most of the herbs have come back well- thyme came through the winter indoors, sculpit and tarragon out in the garden have grown, I did plant one new sage because the old two didn't survive the transplant when I added broken rock to the perennial bed. And my green onions all failed. The older ones never regrew this year, I started a few new but they died.

I like the catmint (not same as catnip) in the garden, so this spring when I had to trim it back (sprawling all over into the space where collards grow) I stuck a bunch of cuttings into little water jars to try for new plants. I had over a dozen cuttings, but only three actually grew roots. The rest just got moldy. (I did change the water out, but probably not often enough). Those three got planted today too- two against the fence between the patch of joe pye weed and the row of shiso (which is looking nice). At least I think it's shiso. Maybe this year I'll get brave enough to try eating it. The third one I put also against the fence but in the back, between the yarrow (tall and floweirng now!) and my kinda sad camellia. 

It was nice to see a bright glitter of blue skittering around- the small brilliantly colored wasps that frequent my joe pye weed, and are predators of japanese beetles.

One of my jacob's ladder plants has grown so much, doubled in height! and it had the most beautiful sky-blue/violet flowers. But the other one is overshadowed by yellow salvia spreading out from under the skirts of hydrangea nearby. I thought it had died but found it getting smothered. Pulled out some of the salvia to give it room. I'm going to have to start thinning that stuff more.

That's my update.

winter spot

Most of the plants I've been overwintering by the basement sliding glass door have been doing well. I have not paid much attention to them this year, aside from weekly watering and once in a while misting the palms. In previous years I had moved the cardboard that blocks the draft on sunny days, and closed the curtains between plants and glass on the coldest nights. This year I had a taller sheet of cardboard and didn't shift anything at all.

Only lost one geranium, not a big deal. Here two geraniums, the cuban oregano between them, grown back from a severe trim when some stems got nipped by the cold (I brought it in too late back in the fall).

Citrus geranium doing really well- I'll just cut it back come spring and replant some of the stems.

Bay leaf is lovely, glows with health. I didn't cut any to dry for cooking this past season but will soon.

Arp rosemary looks pale to me, but definitely survived its first winter! Have used a few sprigs for tea to fend off colds in the past months.

My parlor palms might look sad, but they're actually doing much better. All the new green growth is since I repotted them with wood ash for potassium boost (um, a whole year ago). The older leaves are fading now and I'm hoping any new foliage remains green- there's new fronds unfurling on each.

Happiest is to see one of my fig trees breaking out spring leaves! Just yesterday. It feels time to start planting stuff, now (indoors).