A Good Morning.

It's been raining now for more than 36 hours. It's just a light drizzle mostly so there hasn't been much in the way of accumulation. It's in the low 70s and cloudy, of course. Tomorrow, we should see some sun.

In the "meadow", I tossed out lots of chaff from various collected seeds. The red clover I scattered a couple days ago is starting to germinate.



I started the morning by having a cup of coffee. Then I headed to the north side of the house. I dug out three of the Leyland Cypress trees I had planted last year. They'll get way too large for this area. I moved them to behind the future patio space. I want to block a few yard lights that shine into my bedroom windows.



When I move established plants, I use my Dad's method. He taught me how to plant tomatoes this way. Dig a hole. Fill it with water. Dig another hole. Fill it with water, repeat and refill all the holes with water at least twice. Even though we've had two days of rain, the soil is dry a couple inches down. I did the same thing when I planted the 16 Carolina cherry laurels along the wall. I staggered them a bit and didn't get a straight line. They'll need a good bit of pruning in a couple years to keep them in check, but they bloom in spring and provide food for birds. Plus, they're evergreen. Hopefully they'll block the nosy bitty and the duplex next door.



You can barely see them. I wintersowed the seeds last October.



Next, I worked on some of the things at the end of the driveway, including more $1 clearance plants. Most of this was planted in the perennial bed. I'm more interested in collecting seeds than what they look like this year.



I dug up three knockout roses from the shrub island. I planted them on the slope behind the tomato patch, just in front of my new blueberry bushes. I cut them back hard and will not be disappointed if they don't make it. Consider this my ode to freeway on-ramps.



I gathered 3 butterfly bushes from the edges of the woods, mainly those that had blooms I really liked, and put them where I had the roses. They got cut back hard too. Next spring, I'll cut them all back to the ground to regrow at the same rate.



Around the other side of the fig, I planted several Turn of the Century hibiscus cuttings that were rooted several months ago. A couple of white ones were tossed into the mix as well. I can't wait for next spring.



I planted out three rooted vitex cuttings too. A couple went into the crape myrtle bed where lots of tiny echinacea seedlings have popped up. Another went on the slope just down from the blueberries.



Yesterday, I cleaned the cloning machine and refilled it. It was back up to the right temperature this morning, so I made 7 cuttings of pineapple salvia. Over the winter, I'll turn those 7 cuttings into about 35 more. I have a plan.



I dumped the soil from the sweet potato vine planter by the basement door. Not a bad harvest. I'll dry and store these tubers to create new plants next year. The white ones are from the black plants. The red ones are from the green plants. It's the opposite of what I would expect.



Yesterday on my way back from the library, I collected a few seed pods from the datura I got my original seeds from. They're drying in the basement too.



And finally. Yes, finally...the laminate for the kitchen counters arrived. Kim called me yesterday to let me know I could pick it up as soon as they checked it in. I brought it home at lunch and laid it face down on the dining room floor. I know my cat, but more importantly, I don't want to ruin the surprise.



Wednesday and Thursday are my days off this week. I'm planning to work in the kitchen, mostly. The plan is to finish the beadboard and as much of the molding as possible. I'd like to be ready to install the laminate by the weekend. If the rain continues overnight, I'll probably plant a few more things from the end of the driveway. I really need to get the snowball viburnums in the ground this week if I expect them to survive the winter.

I almost forgot the white crape myrtle I planted too. It's very close to the fig, but I have an idea to move the fig in the spring. I think it would do better with more sun.

In case you haven't figured it out, the leg is doing fine these days. It's a little stiff in the mornings, and late at night if I've been on it for a while. I'd say it's at least 97%.

Chilly.

No wonder the dogwoods on Pee Dee Ave are turning red. The berries are ripe on a few. I see a maple in the backyard is beginning to turn yellow too. It's early.

9:55am - In the basement, 10 items were ready for potting up.





I have three rooted white hibiscus.



Five Turn of the Century Hibiscus, a snowball viburnum, and one giant white pussywillow completed the tray.



Jim's alstroemeria is growing in one pot.



And on the chimney, a new morning glory has bloomed. Don't know where it came from. Don't care. I like it.



Five shasta daisies were transplanted from the no longer white bed to the crape myrtle bed. I also scattered more seeds of verbena bonariensis and Echinacea tennesseensis.

It's 61 degrees. I didn't get bitten by a single mosquito.

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.

It's a dry heat.

No, we have humidity. The soil in most parts of my yard are very dry. In the backyard, the upper left side is the moon garden. Nothing is doing well here except the castor beans. It's too hot. The soil holds no moisture even with several inches of leaf mulch. Things wilt as soon as the sun touches them.

In the center, the potager is suffering too. The sunflowers have long been gone. A few cosmos have sprouted from seed dropped before the storm. I pulled all those plants. Hopefully the new ones will bloom, but it's dry there. Very dry.

At the back, the dead oak tree has given me a new set of issues. The soil here has always been hard packed. It was a dry shade. Now, the ground is baked for much of the day. Things will need to be moved this fall.

To the right, the gully stays a little moist. There are two storm water drains on the street that funnel all the rain from the road and other yards into my gully. During a heavy rain, there can be several inches of water here. It's a great place for a rain garden, but I'm thinking veggies. I just need to decide if fighting the critters for tomatoes is worth it.

There's a lot of work to do back here. There's too much stuff, too jumbled, no cohesive design. That's okay. I have all winter to work on that. When it's cooler, of course.

Blooming today, Miss Huff lantana, again.



A new rudbeckia has appeared. I like.



Verbena bonariensis - from Carrie.



A wintersown hardy hibiscus has a bud. It's white. I hope it's the same as the parent plant. There was no red center, just a solid white bloom.



Kongmansia has new leaves. I'd like to see just one bloom this year. I'm doubtful.



Finally, the datura seed pods are starting to crack. I need to collect lots of these. Several people have asked that I share them. I will be glad to. As the season progresses, there should be lots of seeds in the other pods. They're larger, at least.







It's 89 and mostly sunny. It's hot. It's humid. It's August.
___________

5:41pm - 88 and still sunny. I potted three Turn of the Century hibiscus cuttings from the cloner. One vitex was also ready. No idea what I'm going to do with 4 vitex cuttings, but I'm thinking I can trade them for something this fall. One of the TotC hibiscus cuttings will be traded for red daylilies. I'm not sure of the variety just yet. Other cuttings are still doing well. The other vitex have developed huge calluses, but no roots yet.