Showing posts with label clematis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clematis. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Monday, June 30, 2008
history-June 2008
By early June I finally got some of the perennials into the new front garden: a few Penny Mac hydrangea, three Garden Sun climing roses, french lavender, sedum and a smattering of other things.
The grass was coming up on the driveway through the burlap John and I laid last month so I removed it and delighted in the first green to grace that area for a long long time.
In the back, the hydrangea along the fence were blooming--amazingly I had only killed 4 out of the 13 the fall before with the homemade baking soda concoction. So I replaced those with new Endless Summers and enjoyed the blue blooms that would probably only last for this season. I tried a sulfur mixture to acidify the soil but the year-old transplants came up pink this year anyway. John's dad suggested I bury copper wire or rusty nails to blue them, which I might try sometime.
I also planted several flats of pink impatiens by the back steps, which did well last season there in mostly shade.
In the one corner of the back that gets a smattering of sun I laid out plans for an herb garden backed with clematis, and I planted seven tomatoes, all started from seed by my neighbors and given to me last month, some bell peppers, a mystery pepper and a cucumber plant in the vegetable patch.
At the end of the month, the Shasta daisies were starting to bloom. On a nice morning I was clearing weeds from around some Kansas-grown hostas that I had transplanted from my Mom's yard when I was startled by a baby deer (who seemed just as startled by me). Deer are common garden guests in this part of the Hudson Highlands but I live in the middle of town on a small fenced lot near a busy road so I don't ever see them. It was unclear how long this little guy had been there or where he came from. He apparently had been separated from his mother and was clearly scared. As he tried several times unsuccessfully to jump the 4 foot fence in the rear and then ran in circles around the patio, I tried, just as unsuccessfully, to get a hold of animal rescue. But by the time I returned outside, he had disappeared. No dead body in the street, no clues about his point of exit. He was just gone.
The grass was coming up on the driveway through the burlap John and I laid last month so I removed it and delighted in the first green to grace that area for a long long time.
In the back, the hydrangea along the fence were blooming--amazingly I had only killed 4 out of the 13 the fall before with the homemade baking soda concoction. So I replaced those with new Endless Summers and enjoyed the blue blooms that would probably only last for this season. I tried a sulfur mixture to acidify the soil but the year-old transplants came up pink this year anyway. John's dad suggested I bury copper wire or rusty nails to blue them, which I might try sometime.
I also planted several flats of pink impatiens by the back steps, which did well last season there in mostly shade.
In the one corner of the back that gets a smattering of sun I laid out plans for an herb garden backed with clematis, and I planted seven tomatoes, all started from seed by my neighbors and given to me last month, some bell peppers, a mystery pepper and a cucumber plant in the vegetable patch.
At the end of the month, the Shasta daisies were starting to bloom. On a nice morning I was clearing weeds from around some Kansas-grown hostas that I had transplanted from my Mom's yard when I was startled by a baby deer (who seemed just as startled by me). Deer are common garden guests in this part of the Hudson Highlands but I live in the middle of town on a small fenced lot near a busy road so I don't ever see them. It was unclear how long this little guy had been there or where he came from. He apparently had been separated from his mother and was clearly scared. As he tried several times unsuccessfully to jump the 4 foot fence in the rear and then ran in circles around the patio, I tried, just as unsuccessfully, to get a hold of animal rescue. But by the time I returned outside, he had disappeared. No dead body in the street, no clues about his point of exit. He was just gone.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
history-July 2007
We moved in June a short way up the Hudson River to a walkable town on a hill. All things said and planned and reasoned, it was quite sad to see Brooklyn go. The promise of some true soil that didn't come in plastic bags and reside in pots on the fire escape offered some solace. 
Many weeks and three pairs of gloves later my hands are cut up and the weeds are still winning. But I uncovered many lost souls: sedum, snow-in-the-summer, and several opportunistic strands of sweet-autumn clematis. I planned to mostly let this garden breathe a bit, and to see what comes up this season. Started a compost pile, which brought with it an irrational amount of satisfaction. John had vetoed my vermicomposting hopes while we were in our apartment (with reasoned aversion to a tiny kitchen full of worms), so this was a dream finally realized I suppose. My folks rescued an old rusty push-mower from the garbage on a drive down to visit and it found a spot next to a boulder in one of the beds. There are a lot of rocks here. A lot. I tucked in some white impatiens in the interim. Debating what to do with several bleeding hearts. Pouring boiling water on the brick patio in increments to try to kill the crazy dandelions. The earth worms don't like that. I feel for them. They are my friends.
Many weeks and three pairs of gloves later my hands are cut up and the weeds are still winning. But I uncovered many lost souls: sedum, snow-in-the-summer, and several opportunistic strands of sweet-autumn clematis. I planned to mostly let this garden breathe a bit, and to see what comes up this season. Started a compost pile, which brought with it an irrational amount of satisfaction. John had vetoed my vermicomposting hopes while we were in our apartment (with reasoned aversion to a tiny kitchen full of worms), so this was a dream finally realized I suppose. My folks rescued an old rusty push-mower from the garbage on a drive down to visit and it found a spot next to a boulder in one of the beds. There are a lot of rocks here. A lot. I tucked in some white impatiens in the interim. Debating what to do with several bleeding hearts. Pouring boiling water on the brick patio in increments to try to kill the crazy dandelions. The earth worms don't like that. I feel for them. They are my friends.
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