Turning Corners

Another heat advisory has been issued for today. I'm off from work. The plan is to stay inside and finish the trim in the kitchen and get another project underway, painting the hallway. A few hours work and it will all be done except for the countertops. Robert is coming Tuesday to help build the forms. This morning, I picked 4 squash from the potager.

Laying in bed, looking out the window, I noticed how full the Rose Garden in the backyard had gotten. Agastache, Four O'clocks, Coreopsis Full Moon, and other plants have really filled in this year. The miscanthus will be moved this fall to the meadow garden. I have a grass plan.



Near the street, the Monarda citriodora is huge again. I've got several of these plants scattered along the driveway. The bees love them. Their flowers remind me of henbit, if henbit grew to 4' tall.





I plant close. I pack the plants in when they're small. They compete for space and light. Some flop, others stand tall. I like when the combinations work. My goal is to have blooms. I think I succeeded.



Daisy flavored blooms with pink and purple bee balm.



Echinacea grows into the agastache.



It's 77 degrees. The high today will be in the upper 90s. No rain in the forecast.

When I get started...

I never know when to quit. I weeded a large portion of the slope out front this morning. It took several hours of working on the hill with my feet straddling tiny plants I didn't want to crush. I left a part of it the way it was. Too many cosmos seedlings and rudbeckia to remove the weeds without damaging the plants.





I scattered seeds from Sweet William dianthus and my three columbines. The loose dirt should help with germination and growth. More weeds will sprout as soon as it rains. I did find a bunch of plants I had forgotten about.

Lavender, grown from cuttings over the winter.



Lantana from cuttings.



Divided bee balm. I don't remember which one I took this from. It could be the red. It might be the pink. There's supposed to be a purplish color out there somewhere too.



From all the seeds sown, only one of the annual monarda citriodora made it. I probably weeded out a few today that were just getting started. I'll have lots more next year as these reseed heavily.



I moved on to the red dogwood next. It's been dying for a couple years. I really hate to cut down a dogwood, especially one this old, but it needed to go before it fell into the street. This year, only half of it leafed out. The other half has been falling into the yard and street whenever the wind kicks up. There were very few blooms.



The stump shows the center has already been eaten away. Carpenter ants scattered when the chainsaw passed through the center of the tree.



Now, if I could just do something about those things on the neighbor's property. Next time I see the mowers, I'll ask them who pays their bill. I'm going to need to get permission before hacking those back.



From the street, the house seems more inviting for now. Along the top of the slope, I've planted gardenias that I rooted from Carla's shrubs last year. I think six survived the month without rain. Another two were planted this morning along the stone retaining wall that borders the property. Two dogwood seedlings were planted between them. I consider it penance.



It's 82 degrees and muggy. The clouds haven't disappeared like we were promised. Instead, the chance of rain has been extended through midnight. I had hoped to spend some time today at a pool in Charlotte.

Steamy Sunday

Another 1/2" of rain fell Saturday afternoon just as I was putting away the lawnmower. An hour later, the sun was out again.

The ditch lilies are still going strong by the front walk.



So are the rudbeckia in the perennial bed.



The first Four O'clock bloomed last night.



Monarda citriodora.



Black & Blue Salvia is blooming.



Three pink azaleas are way behind schedule.



The squash is right on time.



It's 72 degrees. The temperature is already starting to rise. By mid-afternoon, we'll be in the 90s.

Seed production and collection.

In my yard, everything is open pollinated. The bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies spread pollen from flower to flower. There's no telling what mix you might get from year to year. This is most evident in the black eyed susans. Early spring bloomers have started releasing their seed pods. Some have already been scattered around the yard. Some will be collected for trading. Most will be returned to the soil just before it rains for next year's plants.

Sweet Williams. I'm sending most of these to the backyard, especially the pink and white crape myrtle bed which needs some early color.



Columbines have already produced a lot of seed. Sown fresh, they will germinate this year and probably bloom next spring. I'm filling mostly shady spots with these plants.



Peonies. I've never grown peonies from seed, but I know it's possible. I might wintersow them, in summer.



Red Hot Pokers. There are a LOT of seeds on these two plants. I'll probably collect them instead of scattering them. People love these plants that start out looking like fine blades of grass. It takes 2 years for blooms from seed. Year three is where mine are now.



Poppies. I'll scatter them as soon as they are ripe. They'll germinate when it's time.



Mountain bluet seeds are hard to collect. These seedlings are beneath the current plants. Once they get a little size to them, I'll move them around this fall to areas that still need spring color. The parent plants need to be cut back soon.



Dusty Miller has just started to bloom. Planted in the fall of 2009, these plants have gotten huge. The blooms float about 2 feet above the soil. If I remember, the seeds are like dust.



Grown from scattered seeds, the annual Monarda citriodora is one of my favorites. After it blooms, it can be cut back for a repeat bloom. I did this twice last summer. The seeds are collected by shaking the spent blooms over a container.



Speaking to Cameron at Defining Your Home Garden, I've decided to scatter seeds as soon as they ripen. This seems the most natural method as it's what happens when there's no gardener present. Nature takes care of enough seeds to create a new crop each year. I'll save a few seeds just in case. You never know what could happen over the winter.

It's currently 81 degrees and pouring rain. Heavy thunderstorms are about to move through the area. The rain is expected to last a few hours.