After all, it's a project, too, isn't it? The more than adequate rainfall this year has made up for the lack of warmth earlier in the season. Most of the perennials look fabulous! I think my daisy is 4-5 feet across. And many of the annuals are doing well, too, although not all.
This lovely thing is a Falling Star, a new plant at the Friends sale.
When we had the roof done last month, one of the workers (probably from Mexico, certainly from someplace generally much warmer than here) suggested we might want to replace our forlorn little tomato plant. At the time, I couldn't argue with him. It was short, scrawny and kind of yellowish. Well, not any more. The much warmer weather of the last few weeks has made the thing increase in size by about 10 times and it sure isn't any shade of yellow now! Of course, it's a cherry tomato, which the guy may not have known, and they never come anywhere near the size of a regular tomato plant! We've only had one tiny tomato off it so far - Joe tells me it was very tomato-ey. We have lots of raspberry canes, but not many berries. Maybe they're the kind that grow on old growth? We chopped them back pretty hard last year. We really just want to replace them - the berries aren't all that great. A project for next year?
The native garden is coming along quite nicely, with a few exceptions. I've tried twice to plant wild columbines and harebells. Two of the former are wonderful,
but that's only an average of 1 in 3! One other is OK, and of the three I put in this year, a squirrel got one and two others came up and then just died. Same as last year. No ideas. The harebell - also replaced from last year - is barely doing anything. Grrr. I don't know if I'm going to go for any more bare root plants.
Those are the ones I seem to have the most trouble with. And, much as I like the low prices at the Friends Plant sale, the small perennials those prices get just don't have enough root to get themselves started very well. I'll have to bite the bullet and pay the bigger bucks for the larger plants. Sigh.
I lost a phlox plant I've had for years. No ideas why on that either, but got a couple more to replace it. Now that the horrible heat wave is over (please let that be the worst for this summer...), I should be able to stand being outside long enough to plant a few things! Dewpoints in the 80s and temps in the mid 90s - worse than Dubai one day and that just isn't right! A heat index of 117?? An experience I can go a long time without repeating. We're just not used to it here and it's darn hard on our bodies. I can't imagine how outside workers did it.
We have to get a load of mulch down - and soon - on the new gardens so the weeds don't take over. We have one new area to plant we weren't planning on. On the back side of the shed, Mike had to take up sod to put down around our stepping stones. We had figured we'd fill it in with ferms and/or hostas, but probably next year. If anyone has any to spare now, please
let me know. I'm not fussy on what kind! Finally got better pictures of the new garden on the south side of the shed.
Isn't that daylily something? It's called bodacious returns, and it must be 5-6" across.
I think purple fountain grass is fabulous,
and wish it were a perennial around here.
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