Today In The Garden, I...... (continued)

We had over 200 posts over in the first version, so here is a fresh start.

We began here:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/988652/

This message was edited Jun 5, 2009 3:25 PM

So, today I had a number of things that needed to go out into the ground asap, and I hoped it would hold off on the next rain storm and let me plant: dill, money plant, some Yvonne's salvia languishing in its WS jug, two kinds Aesclepias, two kinds peppers (extras from container space) and one cucumber (also extra from container space.)

I did get it all in, which involved un-earthing two long boards that were rotting away about three or four inches under the lasagna layers, but were not rotted enough to stay, so out they went, found an *earthworm* on one, YAY and YIPPEEEEE it is only the *second* one I have seen here but it tells me I am doin stuff right.

Got about half the stuff planted when it started to rain serious down. I got totally soaked but finished anyway, it is not that cold, but it was not real comfy either. Still, it felt like the right thing to do, to finish. By the time I had put stuff away, sort of minimally, it was really pouring down and I was shivering so I jumped in a hot shower.

When I got out, of course the rain had let up, and also, the poor UPS man had delivered the live plants (High Country Garden had a 40 percent off sale recently, I could not resist a few things!) and there they were, or the box of them, leaning against the door.

They are all fine, BTW, watered and set out in safe places, heck if the rain lets up before dark they may go in the ground today! but probably not.

They are one lemon thyme, two of some kind of asian mint plant, one ice plant (I relented) and something called a chocolate flower, all xeric perennials that should spread, chosen for a problem spot I have been eyeballing.

Meanwhile, the one low spot that is at the end of the French drain is a lake, but fortunately I have remembered not to plant anything there and this is a good reminder! I t hink I may try to put rocks and dirt and build it up some.....

some other day..........

Chocolate flowers smell heavenly in the morning! Here's one growing next to catmint, nepata. It has been muggy and overcast here all day but no rain. Aphid weather. I hand watered a few plants in pots this morning. Took some pictures.

Yes, that looks like the same flower, there is one bloom on the plant that arrived today.

After I posted the above it poured down again and that lake in my low spot became a river! and ran all the way back and along one side, and actually all under the compost and everything! Yow! But it seems nothing I have planted was damaged, though one veronica probably got more of a deep drench than it ever expected, and the two peppers, babies!, definitely came close to drowning before it began to recede.

But it is so rare for there to be this much precip this late in the season I kind of think this is a one time event -- hahaha my personal 100 year flood, hahaha -- and I know the path and no need to plant there anyway...... but it was a bit freaky. I think the compost will be fine too, as long as this does not recur......

I did not know there was such a thing as aphid weather. They like that, huh?

In my weird opinion they like humid, cloudy weather. I don't know if facts support that or not. It seems to me that many bugs like this kind of weather. If it would actually rain hard the aphids wouldn't like it, though, because they'd get washed off. It is unusual for us to have damp, warm weather in June.

Well maybe your weird opinion is based on lots of empirical observation, Roybird, I suspect it is. ;-)

I am fortunate enough not to have had that much opportunity to observe aphid preferences; either that, or I have just not thought to pay that much attention. Probably the latter.

Continued spreading gopher repellent in my veggie beds which right now contain irises. It is made of caster oil and seems to be driving them out of the areas where I have applied it. Each day you apply it to an area then water for 20 minutes. Gopher activity seems to be reduced, maybe non-existant, in the areas where I spread the gopher repellent. My question is, what will this do to my veggies when I return them to the area? Hopefully the caster oil decomposes quickly.

At the rate I am planting veggies, it won't matter what is in the soil. Spent most of the day with DH who is about to start the process of having his cataracts removed. He is very excited. He will now have near perfect vision for the first time in his life.

But that didn't leave much time for gardening.

Its my opinion (weird or not) that the weather is weird for this time of year too.

♪♪ Dahlias moooooan, are you listenin
In the laaane snow is glistenin
It's a funky weird sight
Things were sheeted for the night
Gaaaardenin in a wiiiiinter wonder laaaaaaand ♪♪

Ouch. I may be doing the same thing tonight...

I hope note Mulch. Me and some of the dahlias are going to work on the fall bulb orders today to pass the time. I'm more concerned that the robins seem to think the light for the walkout is gonna be a fabby nest spot rather than the light by the back stoop. The walkout is the crazy ole cat's door so we will have to extra vigilent when the baby's fledge although I still hope they change their minds.

I once had house finches nesting in my dryer vent -- until the dryer protested. It stopped and I had to call a repairman to ream out the dryer vent.

WELL the plot thickens. The pair that nest on the backdoor light are a different pair than the pair that are building on the walkout light. The feisty females are fighting over nesting materials while the guys are hanging out together on the fence. May the best babe win! I don't think they will nest that close to each other although there are worms and baths enough for 2 fams ^_^ I think the female from the new pair is a fledge from last year's nest cuz she flies down and hops right over to me everytime I go out. Naturally the crazy ole cat is restricted to the house til this is all sorted out.

How cool for you if not crazy ole cat! Robins do get rather tame. Mine don't come to me, but the sure don't avoid me very carefully. They hop around my garden happily without regard to me. They do this in the vacant lot though because Raja barks from time to time and they don't trust her.

The papa robins teach the babies to follow me around when I weed to get worms every year so maybe they think I own and operate the worm store. They bob up and down on the phone lines when they want me to water when they are older and better at grabbing worms. Well the nest start at the walk out has been knocked down now. The others are re-using the nest from last year and it's still there.

Neat about your robins, Dahlia.

I just took three heaters out to the hoophouse. It is 40 degrees and has lost 4 degrees in the last 2 hours, so I seriously doubt we will see the predicted high of 56. I do think the below freezing prediction will come to pass, maybe sooner than they think.

So I will be putting muck tubs upside down over my half barrel tubs I have planted, and rig a ladder and 2 x 4 contraption so I can tarp the raised bed by the porch. With wind, I cannot simply cover things, I have to cover them so the covering isn't beating the plants to death. Bet my ash trees lose their leaves, hard on them when that happens.

Well the h*a*i*l is now bouncing around out there. I wonder what planet I'm on? Here is last year's nest that one pair is thinking of reusing this year.

And here is the walkout light that the other pair wants to use where the nest start got knocked down. HELLO Robins! There are perfectly good 50 foot trees out there (snorkle)

Robins can be funny when building nests. We once had a novice pair trying their best to build a nest. Every so often one of them would add a twig and the whole thing would fall apart. After awhile they started screeching at each other louder and louder every time it fell apart.

Eventually they got so upset about it they abandoned the nesting site and built in another place, and they managed to get that one to stick together.

The first year we lived here a pair nested on the front porch light (WHAT is with the light thing???). It was all good until they incorporated a stinky plastic bag into it which hung down over the mail box. Psycho mailguy refused to deliver the mail of course. It's funny but the males are staying out of this so far.

Well, if you could build your home in a cold tree or on a nice toasty light, what do you think you would choose? Especially with weather like this?

They are smart Mulch. I think it's for h*a*i*l protection.

Sorry to hear about all the cold weather. Here, we are hangin' in the low to mid 70's and partly cloudy with some gusty winds from time to time. We are not actually getting much rain, however, just clouds. It has made garden visits less than stellar but isn't bad for playing with the new camera. It's like swimming in the ocean; takes me awhile to adjust. By the end of the summer I'll be a digital dolphin with it!

Roybird, my whole first summer with a dslr made me want to go back to my beloved Nikon 990s, but I made myself stay with it and am glad I did. You will have a blast with it.

DH came home and helped me rig buckets, ladder, and 2x4s to tarp the raised bed. He got a wheelbarrow load of rocks and we put the muck tubs in place with rocks on top as the wind is getting worse and also the tarp. Then he put the new propane tank in the hoophouse with the heater on it. We will fire it up when we get back from dinner at a friend's tonight.

Whatever lives, lives, and whatever freezes, freezes. May really wreak havoc with my favorite irises which are barely starting to bloom, but I can't help it. Wretched weather. I have seen traces of snow in the drizzle.

Mulch what a drag. I know, we have to take that attitude about "whatever lives, lives" but still it is an awful lot of work, sounds like. Hope any damage is minimal!

Dahlia, I guess it's live and learn for robins too, eh? Doves are the worst though, they build nests very badly and sloppily and often right where you have something going on like a garage door that you need to open and close, and then they hang out and breed forever and ever. Many nests-ful per season. I h ad a pair in NC try to build a nest on t he a/c unit in the bedroom window right by the street.

Doves *don't* learn, either, they just keep doing that. But I guess it works, there seem to be plenty of them around. ;-)

It is snowing and sticking and the thermometer is at 31 degrees. I think I better go turn on the second heater in the hoophouse.

Oooh. Sending warm waves your way ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think no smelly lilacs now on the Miss Kym :( Bummer about the iris but they will be back to visit next year ^_^ The wind often does more damage than the cold I find. So glad you had help to batten down the hatches Mulch. Mix of rain and sleet here. I'm cheering for one lone Texas Flame Tulip who refuses to drop his petals. I think the war of the robins may be over as the male is now helping to build on the walk out light although he looks at me like 'Geesh. Women with egg are a pain. I'd much rather be having a refreshing worm than building in the sleet."

Oh ick! Darn sleet and snow. Here it is unpleasantly windy, cloudy and drier than it was. I cut some roses for petals as the wind would've gotten them anyway. I'm drying rose petals for potpourri this year. My lavender is trying to bloom but just isn't getting the sun it likes.

I tried drying rose petals in the nuker to make a collage on a lattice once time. Worked like a charm. The drying I mean. The collage was a disaster. I am glue challenged. The rose petals looked pretty in my hair though ^_^

Usually the air is so dry here that plant materials dry very quickly. This year, not so much. I'm curious about the collage on a lattice. A big lattice?

Sorry for the cold weather many of you are having... it's actually quite chilly here today as well, but hopefully no below freezing temps! Hoping all your babies are okay!

I hope your plants make it Mulch! We had a chilly night a couple of days ago but it only got down to 41° so no midnight frost blanket run for us.

Today in the garden I dug up raspberry sprouts from our old raspberry bed and planted them in my MIL's garden. She has had little success with growing them so I hope these do better than the last batch. Incessant drying winds are not good for berry production.

Today in the Garden I... surveyed the wreckage. We had major hail today & this is the result in the veg garden.

... and in the flower garden.

... and my succulents in pots on the deck.

These hailstones were bigger when they fell, but at that time I was busy taking my husband to the ER - he broke his foot running around trying get the car covered up. I took the pictures when we got home several hours later.

Ouch lisabees. A trip to the ER just makes a bad day really bad.

Good grief, lisabees! That is big hail! Your veggies look like they will recover before long -- and actually shredded swiss chard is totally usable. On the other hand shredded irises are tragic -- you may not see any more until next year. That hail must have been huge if it was that size after several hours at the ER.
Your husband's foot is the worst damage of all, even if it wasn't directly caused by the hail.