The lazy, hazy days of summer are certainly here!
It is too darn hot to be in the garden much this week and my to-do list is growing by the minute. Things like…
- Pick leaves on those roses that have decided that August is a good time to say yes to more blackspot.
- Divide and move perennials.
- Deadhead spent blooms
- Look for sales at garden centers (easy one!)
- Water, water, water
- Sketch out new areas and sketch tweaks to existing areas.
I bought this graph composition book for $1 a couple of weeks ago in the “back to school” aisle and it has been perfect to make these kinds of notes and sketches. Don’t you love a new composition book of any kind this time of year? And, new pencils and binders and all the school things!!
“Back to School” is difficult this year and that is heartbreaking to me as I have the very best memories of back to school times for myself and my children. Let’s all stop right now and take a minute to pray for the children, parents, and teachers and all that they are dealing with during this most difficult season.
BOKAY DAYS
Bokay Days go to a whole new level! Last week when Mr. G saw me packing up various vessels for bokay transport, he went out in his shop and made me this beautiful carrier. He looked at the sizes of vases (spaghetti sauce and jam jars 😉) I usually use and made this beautiful carrier to fit them. It worked perfectly! I have already used my new carrier several times! Mr. G is the very best!
THE VERY BAD AND THE HELPFUL
This week I found something in my garden that no rose lover wants to see … RRD (Rose Rosette Disease). I had noticed this rose was beginning to struggle. Then boom, there it was!
I have been growing roses for more than 30 years and have seen plenty of Rose Rosette other places, I have been fortunate to see very little of this in my garden. RRD is caused by a virus (yes another virus you have to hear about) and a tiny mite that carries it to the roses. I am in my garden every day and spotted it at a very very early stage. I dug the rose out and destroyed it.
At the present time, RRD has no cure but there is fabulous research going on and new ways of managing the problem while we search for a cure (sound familiar??). On August 22 at 2 pm there is a premiere of a new project Paul Zimmerman is working on with a team of RRD experts from around the country. You can go HERE to sign up to receive a reminder for the video. The premiere will include live chat with the panel of experts so you can get your questions answered.
Today I chatted with Paul Zimmerman about the project on Rose Chat and that podcast conversation will be released Sunday evening HERE. While you are waiting for that episode to be released you can catch up on the other recent episodes!
I never want to lose a plant to pests or disease, however, I have a long list of other beautiful roses I want to try in my garden and I am on to picking one of those!
Japanese Beetles are still attacking my Quietness roses and a few of my Zinnias but they are few and far between. I will be glad to see them go. If you are new here and want to know more about my experience with Japanese Beetles, read on HERE.
BLOOM THYME
I hear cooler weather is coming next week and I am surely looking forward to it!
Friends, thanks for stopping by. I hope you are doing well and do take care! Let’s embrace the season and maybe have some ice cream…
You have certainly made my day with reading your blog and seeing all of those lovely bokays. And your Mr. G is a swell fellow and very talented. That would be a very nice gift for someone special if he wanted to make some more of those carriers. And, last but not least, your adorable grandsons. They are really growing! A great photo! Have you ordered your Gratitude Journal(s) yet? They are not that expensive on Amazon. I also love composition books. The schools in my area are going Virtual Online Learning for the first nine weeks of the upcoming school year. Afterwards, a reassessment. We have really had a lot of rain lately, and we needed it, too. Today I am very grateful to have electricity as we had a total blackout in our neighborhood and surrounding area last night that I believe was caused by so much heavy rainfall. No thunderstorms, just almost too much rain at one time, possibly causing flooding in Norfolk, VA, and Virginia Beach, VA, as it always does. The intense heat has subsided, and I can tell that the growing season is slowly coming to an end. This summer was one of the hottest ones on record. I can vouch for that! Flowers always make us feel better.
I look forward to your column every week. I admire your gardens immensely. I garden in North Louisiana, so we grow under different conditions, but a lot of the same roses. Really fine blog. Don’t ever stop!
Wonderful, ingenious carrier made by Mr. G!
Phlox is exquisite! I just met this phlox two years ago when it grew from self sown seed in one of our landscapes. I was so pleased with it in white, because it is such a perfect white. Yet, yours is such an appealingly bright purplish color.
Love this newsletter. Such great information. I need all the gardening tips out there and your newsletter is so timely with great information.
All the photos of your beautiful garden are wonderful and inspiring.
Thank you!
PS Love your grandsons!!!
Thank you for your great comments. We all need all the help we can get and it’s more fun to have others to share with! 🌱🌹🌸🌺🌿🌻
And I love your grandsons!!!
Have you ever done a blog post on cutting roses for bokays? I mean exactly where on the stem to cut. It seems like all the buds cluster together and if you cut the first of them to bloom, the other buds go with it and even if they open in the vase they don’t look as good as if they had been left on the shrub. So I am always in a quandary.
I am in a quandary about that too. I often do have to cut the clusters and even though it is hard to do, I think it does give the bokay a more natural look. You are right those tiny buds do not have the chance to be their best selves! Good to hear from you. Take care!