Summertime and the living is easy! WHAT? Not for gardeners! It’s our time to roll up our sleeves and get busy.
But when Ella sings it … you feel it!
CURRENT JOB LIST:
With all the storms and rain the jobs are endless, so I have made a list to keep me on track!
- Deadhead Roses
- Plant 3 new roses (Bliss Parfuma (2) and Perfume Factory)
- Move roses that are competing for space. I believe several of these will be potted up and gifted.
- Divide the spring blooming Sweet William and share.
- Trim Topiaries
- Trim Boxwoods
- Weed
- Start foxglove seeds
- Start lavender cuttings
- Add to “Plotting and Planning” Inspiration Book
- MAKE BOKAYS
- Have fun!
PLOTTING AND PLANNING
Summertime is the second best time for plotting and planning. In my opinion, winter is the best time as you have more time and the sky’s the limit on what you can do. You are far removed from garden’s reality and your creative juices can go wild. 👩🎨🪴🌸🌹🎨👒🌻🌺
Summer plotting and planning is reality time … being in your garden to see what IS working and what IS NOT working leads to tweaks. Most likely you are visiting other gardens too and getting new ideas and plants! So very thankful that gardens are being opened again. I have two to visit next week and I am thrilled.
This week PLOTTING & PLANNING is moving to DIGGING. I have been digging up plants, moving plants, trimming plants and making lists of things to add and things to change. So F U N!! Don’t you just love this part!
You are probably thinking, “Is this the best time to divide and transplant?” That answer mostly likely should be “no”, but I garden with the theory that when you have time and tools – it’s the right time. But, don’t forget to keep the newbies and transplants watered.
GARDEN REPORT
WEEDS!
As I mentioned in a previous post this is the year of the weed! They threw a party while we were away and invited all their friends and family. We have had a huge amount of rain this week, so weeds are extra happy but the rain sure makes them easier to pull!! Don’t tell anyone, but I’m kinda getting attached to the wild strawberry.
Oh DEER!
Yes, DEER. We have never had deer in the summer before! It’s not just what they eat, to get to the objects of their desire, they are trampling other plants – a lot of them. 😫 The deer have ravished the herb garden and the hummingbird garden and peppered their presence throughout the garden. 😫 My delicate, beautiful Dreamland geraniums – smashed to smithereens.
Here are some things I now know about the deer diet that I never knew before…
- They love poppies – ate the tops of all of them all.
- They love yarrow – sheared all the blooms and I have a lot of yarrow. (Almost a Chelsea Chop – hope they do rally and flower.)
- They love parsley and are very good at eating just the tiny leaves and leaving the stems.
- They love roses but haven’t eaten as many as I thought they would. 😫🙏🏻 Maybe they are grossed out by the Japanese Beetles too.
- They love asters – strategically nipping all the little buds.
- They love tomato plants but so far have only eaten one. You know what that means, Mr. G is on the warpath and armed with DEER AWAY spray. Not good to come between Mr. G and his tomatoes. Hopefully they will move along soon! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
JAPANESE BEETLES
Yes, they are back and the spa treatment has begun. A nice soapy bath to send them to beetle heaven. So far I am seeing fewer than before. Hopefully, my drowning them before they make it to the ground is paying off. Or they are just going to come a bit later. Time will tell. To read my “comprehensive” article on Japanese Beetles … read on here.
BLOOM THYME
Here’s are the standouts for this week…
LONG WEEKEND AHEAD
This week we have had heat, storms and torrential rain but the weather outlook for our long weekend is perfect. Sunny and 75ish! We plan to soak it up. 😎 All meals and all activities are outside!
Wishing you a wonderful and safe holiday weekend and may God Bless you and our wonderful country.
I love those roses!
Pretty, pretty.
Although I garden organically, this April I applied Preen to all my gravel paths and voila! no more hands and knees weeding! I will apply again in July just before a rain. I read it is also OK in plant beds and borders…I think I used around one peony bed this spring and no pesky weeds there either.
Now that I am tech savvy, please visit my FB page and see all my spring videos…;-)
Pretty, pretty.
Although I garden sans herbicides/chemicles, this spring I applied Preen to all gravel paths and around one peony bed and voila! not pesky weeds that required hand and knee weeding…endlessly. I plan to apply again this month. Finally some relief.
Now that I use an iPhone, please visit my FB page and see my spring videos! Next best thing to being here. 😉
Is ‘Pink Pearl’ Lathyrus latifolius? If so, that would explain why it lacks fragrance. There is a variety known as such, but I have never actually seen it. Your ‘Pink Pearl’ happens to look like the common sort that are naturalized here, but not as garishly bright magenta pink. There is a red variety also. Until I saw those, I was not aware that anyone actually grew it intentionally. I only recently tagged some white specimens out in the forest so that I can relocate them into a landscape any my home garden later. It is good to know that I am not the only one growing them.
awww sorry about your plants being ravaged by the deer. I have deer but they are so busy eating the apples off the big apple tree they pretty much leave everything else alone. I have a dog too. as forthose ugly beetles I had the same problem with them inmass on my flowers and they ravaged my virginia creepers on the fence (and Ilove the when they turn redin the fall) and it would be a mostly boney mess with little color in the fall, but since I have had chickens I have had little problems with them. they eat them at the larvae stage in the ground. I hope you can destroy them before they destroy your beautiful garden.
Hope you have had a Happy July 4th! We certainly did with gorgeous weather, and there are still fireworks going off in my neighborhood. The Japanese beetles are devouring my roses that I have lovingly tended to. I do not want to surrender to those blasted beetles, so I pick them off about three times a day. On a more positive note, my tomatoes are coming in, and I have been able to share some. And the bluebirds are back again with the female building a nest in one of my bluebird houses. We, too, have had a lot of rain, but we needed it. You are such an inspiration. Thank you for your blog as I always learn a lot from you.