Fast Food and the White Bed.

The white bed is no more. It didn't work out the way I had hoped this year. Only a few struggling annual vincas remained.



The Queen Anne's Lace, host to some caterpillars for a couple weeks, had stopped blooming. I pulled them this morning after a thorough search for critters. I transplanted a few volunteer Rose of Sharon. And I planted two Burning Bush shrubs that were marked down yesterday. Everything got a good dose of water. It doesn't look much different from a distance...



I moved all the shastas into the shrub island. They'll pout for a few days until they get settled in. I'll be adding more flowers going into next year around the edges. There will be more wintersowing, after all.



I planted Blue Girl behind the cosmos in what will someday be a glorious rose garden.



WOW! This Confederate Rose has really taken off. The cosmos were hiding it from the side I normally see. It's over 3' tall. It's probably not going to bloom this year.



After lunch, I moved into the kitchen. Robert is coming Wednesday afternoon to help with some of the work. The upper cabinets needed to come out. I'll pick up the parts I need tomorrow to cap the sink supply lines. All the plumbing will be replaced in the coming week, I hope.



After.



It's 82 degrees and clouding. Rain is in the forecast for the next three days (30% or more chance). I hope we get it. I bet it rains all day Thursday while Robert and I are trying to get the cabinets moved upstairs.

Random bits

It drizzled most of the day yesterday. More rain in the forecast for today. It's 70 degrees and cloudy. The mosquitoes think they own the whole yard. We got less than 1/16" total precipitation. The soil is still dry in many parts of the yard.



I really like this variegated lantana. It finally started performing a week ago. Guess it does like the heat. I'll take cuttings this fall in case it doesn't return next spring.



Purple Althea.



White Althea. I need to remember to tag these. I plan to move the white ones to the white bed this fall.



I'm very disappointed with the white bed. It's not what I had envisioned at all. Very dry, hot, and needs constant attention. That'll change next year.



Gomphocarpus, aka Hairy Balls, is budding. I might get a few seeds. I think it's too late though.



The lavender crepe myrtle is budding too. I didn't expect blooms this year after moving it just a month or so ago.



Red Texas Star hibiscus is about a week away from blooming too. These were wintersown. I moved them into the shrub island in the back yard. They get more sun here.



What am I going to do with 16 Carolina Cherry Laurel seedlings? These things get up to 30' tall. Anyone want some? They make a great privacy hedge blocking out small skyscrapers.



Butterfly bushes, white crepe myrtles, figs, sweetshrub, and Confederate Rose. All were wintersown or grown from cuttings (figs). I'm giving away most of these to people around here. I can't use them. I'll take more fig cuttings this winter for next year's plant sale. The forsythia will be planted around the edge of the backyard this fall. I just need to clear out more of the periwinkle first.



Got plans for today. We'll see if I manage to get it all done.

Another Sunday

The hardest decision I had to make today was whether to lay there when the alarm went off, or get up, shower, coffee, and head to work. I really didn't want to get up this morning. It's already 89 degrees. The forecast is for 96 today. Hottest day of the year, if we reach that.

The perennial bed is starting to look ragged and very overgrown. I just can't bring myself to pull plants yet even though I know some really ought to come out. I'm waiting for the seed, yeah, that's the ticket.



The white hibiscus has a red center and did not come true.



The Coreopsis "Full Moon" will continue until frost if I keep it deadheaded. In full sun, several plants are trying to set seed. This one in the shade is hanging on.



My poor brugmansias. The show is nearly over. They wilt like this every day until the sun passes over the house. Around 3pm, they're back in the shade and perk up quickly.



Watering is on the agenda this evening when I get home from work. I need to spend some time constructively staring (and swatting mosquitoes) in the white bed. I'm not happy with it at all. Not even the daturas are blooming well with the little rain we've gotten since June.

The moonless garden.

It's about where I thought it would be the first year.









Datura and white four o'clocks in the perennial bed. The fragrance is nice.

The White Bed is filling in

The Datura that bloomed last night is in the white bed. I planted it in the back corner where I had originally thought I would install a deck or patio for an outdoor seating area. This winter, I'll be moving most of the plants here to a better location. I may leave some, but the white theme will be discontinued here. The new location is the lowest point in the yard, near the magnolia tree. It receives more morning sun and late evening sun. It's also where I plan to build my firepit from leftover stone and bricks. I've got to get busy on that this fall.

The white bed looking East.


Store bought petunias line the edge.


Nicotiana and asiatic lilies.


Loads of datura inhabit this space. There are more nicotiana and castor beans along the wall and fence. White gerber daisies aren't really white. Shastas will bloom next year. Scabiosa is just starting to bloom. A daisy gardenia is at the corner of the house. Ginger lilies will provide summer scent and compete with the datura and brugmansia for attention.

It's 70 degrees and overcast. Rain is likely this afternoon, and I'm not going to complain. I watered the entire perennial bed yesterday for the first time all year. Reseeders from Carrie were planted throughout.

Panoramas

I've been playing around with two pieces of software to create panoramas from several pictures taken from the same spot. One is Hugin. It's got a lot of neat features and is way too difficult for me. Instead, I prefer AutoStitch simply for it's user friendly design. You open your pictures, stitch, and done.

This one I did myself in Photoshop. Took me almost an hour to get it just right and even then, some of the shadows are kind of wonky. Hope no one on dialup is trying to view this page. These pictures are really big.



This one was done almost two weeks ago using Hugin.



I took more photos this morning, 8 in all. AutoStitch put these together in about 30 seconds.



What a difference 4 months makes. Even 2 weeks shows huge growth in the tomato patch and potager.

I'll try to do more of these as the seasons progress. Wish I had known about these programs when I started taking my Sunday photos.

The perennial bed today. Notice the missing support on the trellis? It's not perfect by any means.



The white bed.

The moon garden

When I bought the house, the moon garden was a tangled mess of boxwoods, azaleas, and ivy. Last fall, it looked like this as I worked to tear out everything and start from scratch.



I took some photos of this area yesterday to record all the changes in every part of the yard. Most of the plants were moved from other parts of the yard, wintersown, or direct sown. A few cuttings and a few purchased six packs of annuals finished it off.











Scented and white flowering plants are mixed with purple/red/black foliage. At first I hated this area of the yard. It always felt "dead". Adding white plants really helped make it feel more alive. Can't wait for my castor beans to get some real growth on them. I've also planted a few cotton plants back here.

Updates

The wintersown petunias are blooming today. They were sown in February in the hoophouse and potted into single cups in March. They went in and out of the basement during really cold spells. They're quite nice. Collected from a light pink trailing petunia, they came out a different color. I'm happy with it.





I got the cucumber trellis up yesterday and a teepee for the running peas. I also added a cheap water sprinkler for later once I've planted all my beans, corn, squash, and cukes.



The rear beds - all white.







The "hot" cherry tomato bed with red spider zinnias, sunflowers, and red bee balm. I need some orange for this bed.



A direct sown bed of marigolds, cosmos, and zinnias has lots of sprouts. I hope it attracts bees and pollinators for my garden.



Another iris has opened.



The weigeila is in full bloom.



Something is giving me fits with the peonies. Several have dead stalks.



The lavender crape myrtle is leafing out. Nothing yet on the root cuttings I made this winter.



The front beds are slowly getting planted. Hot, dry, and very poor soil makes these hard to plant. Lantana and grasses for now.





The Golden Jubilee Hyssop loved the pinching I did last week.



Visitors.



And finally, Sunday's picture.