Chores

I appreciate the misunderstanding I have with nature over my perennial border.  I think it is a flower  garden she thinks it is a meadow lacking grass and tries to correct the error. Sara Stein

Crepe Myrtle

The picture above is the second blooming for my crepe myrtle.  I had a hard time convincing Carrel those little balls were not blooms but seed pods and I did not want them to spout under my tree.  He is one more hard headed man.  If we cut them off at the same time they will bloom back together.  I cut the bottom off, but  Carrel was three or four days cutting the top off.  Finally I told him I knew about these thing please cut the seed pods off.  I was thinking damn it  just do it hard head in my  mind.  I am hoping to get a third blooming.

Carrel dead heading roses.  Another thing I have a hard time convincing  him to do is not cutting the stem of the roses all the same height.  If you cut some short and some longer they will look better.  So I go behind him and cut them the way I want them, no need to argue.   Most of these roses will not put on new growth except at a five leaf branch.  The  VaVoom is different it puts out on either the three branch or the five, and the current rose does not have to be cut off for them to make a new bud, so they have really grown tall.  I did go out and cut one on the outside stem \down to less than three feet.

VaVoom

I will cut the  the VaVoom in different heights and we will see if I am right.  It has been so hot until the roses have been really small.  The VaVoom has not suffered as much as some of the others.  I am glad the city has not told  us to cut down on using the water.  I have fifteen  beds in my yards and Carrel has three long beds in his.  All but four beds have soaker hoses in them.  That saves time and water.  We hand water the five.

Baptisia

Rudbecia and Hi Neighbor

Weeds!!!  In some flower beds I have put down my newspaper because I have finished these beds.  However some of my beds are not finished  and I may not be  finish next year.  I read other gardening blogs to get ideas.  I look at books go to computer sites, still I can not decide what to plant.  This area is quite hot so I plant for zone ten as much as I can.  I pulled up grass Monday, it was cloudy, but hot.  I have two beds that are very grassy.  I pull up grass until my hair was  wet and stiff.  Another chore was to cut back the  Baptisia around the the small flower behind the bench.  It has never bloomed the tag said cut it back and it would bloom again in the fall if not Baptisia will be gone.  The tag said it would grow to three feet tall, wrong it runs about four feet. Charlotte thought it was weeds.  On the computer it impressed me.  It is best to ask other gardeners what to plant but there are none to ask close by here.  I also dead headed the  Rudbeckia  Gold Strum, I do not want this plant to go to seed, it sends out roots and has almost taken over the end of this bed.  The Gold Strum is the hardest of the Rudbeckia I have found.  The others have white mildew, Carrel sprays them but it does no good.  The picture to the right is Rudbeckia  with Hi Neighbor.

Passion Flower

 I hope you have enjoyed this post on jobs done, when you have flower garden the work is never completely down.  Thank you for watching my garden grow and bloom, and I hope you have one of your own.  Happy gardening to you from Carrel and I, Juanita.

American Beauty

Pink Phlox

Goldstum and Phlox

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                               This is what Carrel likes to do most of al.l