I don't know if these little buggers exist in other areas of the country, but we here in the Northeast are plagued by the Lily Leaf Beetle. Small and red, easily mistaken for ladybugs at a distance, these pests literally devour Asiatic and Oriental lilies, laying waste to entire displays. The lilies end up looking as if someone set them on fire and then had a change of heart. I have so many gorgeous lilies, and now half of them are in tatters. Asiatic lilies seem to fare the worst, followed by the Orientals. Thankfully, the magnificent tall trumpet lilies seem immune to the beetles. It's really maddening; you see your lilies opening up one day, and by the next they're a sorry mess - petals chewed within an inch of their lives, leaves (what's left of them!) covered with beetle exhaust and the whole plant generally looking like hell. What should be a stunningly beautiful time of year in the garden becomes a wasteland......
Honestly, some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints........
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
And Furthermore.......
A couple of other items of interest today, in the seemingly endless saga of "Weird Stuff Happening in the Garden This Year":
- I cut my first sweet peas this week. I've never had any until after the Fourth of July before.
- I saw my first Japanese beetles this week. Again, never seen them until July before.
- The tawny daylilies of the roadside have been in bloom for over a week now. Ditto, never before July.
It's going to be a long, green summer......
- I cut my first sweet peas this week. I've never had any until after the Fourth of July before.
- I saw my first Japanese beetles this week. Again, never seen them until July before.
- The tawny daylilies of the roadside have been in bloom for over a week now. Ditto, never before July.
It's going to be a long, green summer......
Pushing the Envelope
While working on the Big Dig (which is now, mercifully, finished), I made a couple of discoveries that amazed and delighted me. It also convinced me once again of the value in pushing the envelope in terms of plant material. The first thing was finding that the phygelius 'Cherry Ripe' that I planted in two spots "front of house", as they say in the restaurant trade, had not only survived but thrived. This South African native is only supposed to be hardy to zone 7, and while its location here is full south and full sun, we still have serious winters here in western NY. My other nudge to the envelope flap turned out to be a complete surprise. I had purchased a blue tweedia at my favorite unusual plants nursery last year, and put it in the same area as the phygelius. Much to my astonishment, I have a small plant about 6" high and quite healthy (hopefully the uprooting and potting won't do it in). The real surprise here is that tweedia hails from Brazil and Uruguay, and is only hardy to zone 10. I am zone 5 - I don't care what the zone map claims - and that shouldn't have lived to germinate. Amazing.
I've pulled this off a couple times in the past as well. For instance, several years back I planted a calla lily at the back of my house, which is mainly shade and faces north, with no protection from the nasty winds we get in winter. That fall, I got busy with other things and neglected to dig the bulb up. Imagine my surprise when the silly thing came up and bloomed not once, but 3 years in a row! It was fun to beat the system, as it were, and I think everyone should try it at least once.........just because you can.
I've pulled this off a couple times in the past as well. For instance, several years back I planted a calla lily at the back of my house, which is mainly shade and faces north, with no protection from the nasty winds we get in winter. That fall, I got busy with other things and neglected to dig the bulb up. Imagine my surprise when the silly thing came up and bloomed not once, but 3 years in a row! It was fun to beat the system, as it were, and I think everyone should try it at least once.........just because you can.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Still More Madness
As I've noted before, this year has been one for the gardening record books. More evidence that the garden has gone mad:
- I noticed one day last week that I have a Phlox paniculata in bloom - one that typically doesn't show up until the end of July at the earliest.
- I cut my first sweet peas yesterday. I have never had sweet peas blooming before about July 10.
- The red hot pokers (Kniphofia) have come, and are nearly gone. Again, typically never showing up until early July.
- The tawny daylilies by the roadsides are already in full bloom. Ditto.
- Hostas are fully budded out and in some cases, in bloom. Usually appearing mid to late July.
The list just goes on and on. Not to sound like anyone's great-grandmother, but I have never seen the like.,,,,
- I noticed one day last week that I have a Phlox paniculata in bloom - one that typically doesn't show up until the end of July at the earliest.
- I cut my first sweet peas yesterday. I have never had sweet peas blooming before about July 10.
- The red hot pokers (Kniphofia) have come, and are nearly gone. Again, typically never showing up until early July.
- The tawny daylilies by the roadsides are already in full bloom. Ditto.
- Hostas are fully budded out and in some cases, in bloom. Usually appearing mid to late July.
The list just goes on and on. Not to sound like anyone's great-grandmother, but I have never seen the like.,,,,
Friday, June 18, 2010
The Big Dig
Well, the Big Dig has officially started here at the homestead. We are having our front "porch" and sidewalk from the driveway redone, and the long and the short of it is that every single plant along both sides of the walk has to be dug up and stashed somewhere for the duration. The fun began by digging up the 3 rosebushes. The 'Angel Wings' rose, which I grew from seed, got potted and put in the back vegetable/cut flower garden. It's looking pretty peaky, so I'm hoping that the stress hasn't killed it already. It's not that I particularly admire the rose, but I did grow it from seed, and everyone who hears that is impressed as hell. For that reason, I'd kind of hate losing it. Time will tell, I guess. Next were the two hybrid teas, 'Fragrant Memory' and 'Gertrude Jekyll'. 'Gertrude' went by the garage, replacing 'Peace'. ('Peace' gave up the ghost this year; I suspect the voles spent the winter snacking on it and killed it.) 'Gertrude', I regret to say, is not looking well either. 'Fragrant Memory', on the other hand, is looking quite robust, and I think that will do just fine.
After the roses were dispatched, I started in on the peonies. Let me tell you, peonies that have been in the ground and undisturbed for nearly two decades have hellacious roots. I got about half of them out, and I was done in at that point. Unfortunately, since I'm doing this at the wrong time of the year, I just have to hope that I've got some good eyes on the divisions. I would be vastly annoyed if this turned out to be all for naught, and I lose all those peonies! Especially because they were passalongs from a very dear, now quite elderly (93) friend of mine. That would hurt.
No work will be done tomorrow, as the forecast is for a high of 90, with oppressive humidity and thunderstorms. Also because I have fibromyalgia, and I'm still hurting from yesterday's exertions. Work resumes on Sunday. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish up the peonies, and at least begin on the spiraeas. Once I get that done, the rest is a piece of cake. I just hope that the contractor isn't swamped, and will be here sometime in July or early August - and then I can put everything back again! What can I say.........it's a sickness!
After the roses were dispatched, I started in on the peonies. Let me tell you, peonies that have been in the ground and undisturbed for nearly two decades have hellacious roots. I got about half of them out, and I was done in at that point. Unfortunately, since I'm doing this at the wrong time of the year, I just have to hope that I've got some good eyes on the divisions. I would be vastly annoyed if this turned out to be all for naught, and I lose all those peonies! Especially because they were passalongs from a very dear, now quite elderly (93) friend of mine. That would hurt.
No work will be done tomorrow, as the forecast is for a high of 90, with oppressive humidity and thunderstorms. Also because I have fibromyalgia, and I'm still hurting from yesterday's exertions. Work resumes on Sunday. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish up the peonies, and at least begin on the spiraeas. Once I get that done, the rest is a piece of cake. I just hope that the contractor isn't swamped, and will be here sometime in July or early August - and then I can put everything back again! What can I say.........it's a sickness!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
"Peas" on Earth
Happy, happy, joy, joy!! My peas have begun to produce! I was out after dinner this evening cutting flowers, and I happened to glance over at the pea section - lo and behold, a dozen or so fat little green pods. I grabbed them all, came inside and began sampling. Is there anything in the vegetable world as sweet and luscious as the first garden peas? These were like tiny bites of candy, or eating sugar cubes. Delicious. Of course, it immediately occurred to me that I need to pick and segregate so that I can trial them and decide who makes the cut for next year, and who isn't worth bothering with. But that will be for next time. For the moment, I let greed take the helm. After all, I think I planted 8 or 9 different varieties, and the season's just beginning. Plenty of time and opportunity coming to be scientific about it all. Let there be peas on earth, and let them be in my mouth!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Outside Cleanup Aborted - Inside Cleanup Begins!
Well, it started out being a lovely day. After nearly 2" of rain yesterday, today was to have been sunny, mild and windless - ideal for the group of garden clubbers who came over to get some free plants. We dug all morning, then had lunch on the patio. And it WAS sunny, mild and windless. Until just about the time we finished eating and I looked over my shoulder and said, "Hey, it's not supposed to rain today - but those sure look like rain clouds". Sure enough, about half an hour later it got dark, windy and it poured for five minutes. Pure lake effect.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the phenomenon known as "lake effect", herewith a short primer. Basically, it's this - the cold air aloft moves over the warmer air of the Great Lakes (Ontario, in my case) and gives you boatloads of snow in winter and wave after wave of brief but intense rain showers at this time of year. So, having been driven indoors by the certainty that this would just be an endless feedback loop all afternoon, I turned my attention to the conservatory. This has been a total rat's nest for the last 2 months - dirty vases, empty pots, packets of seed everywhere. Now, I can look at a mess for a long period of time and it won't trouble me at all. But there comes a point in time where it's all suddenly a burr under my saddle and it has to be dealt with NOW. Tomorrow won't do. Next week won't do. Next.......well, you get the idea. I rolled up my sleeves and set to. By dinnertime, I had all the clutter off the floors, all the vases were washed and put away, and the first batch of pots was washed and set to dry. Phase One will be finished tomorrow. And then it's onto the Next Big Thing - back outdoors to begin the Big Dig. We've contracted to have our front porch and sidewalk replaced, and that means that I have to dig up every single thing along both sides of the front walk. All of it. By myself, unless I can rope in some unsuspecting friends......
For those of you who aren't familiar with the phenomenon known as "lake effect", herewith a short primer. Basically, it's this - the cold air aloft moves over the warmer air of the Great Lakes (Ontario, in my case) and gives you boatloads of snow in winter and wave after wave of brief but intense rain showers at this time of year. So, having been driven indoors by the certainty that this would just be an endless feedback loop all afternoon, I turned my attention to the conservatory. This has been a total rat's nest for the last 2 months - dirty vases, empty pots, packets of seed everywhere. Now, I can look at a mess for a long period of time and it won't trouble me at all. But there comes a point in time where it's all suddenly a burr under my saddle and it has to be dealt with NOW. Tomorrow won't do. Next week won't do. Next.......well, you get the idea. I rolled up my sleeves and set to. By dinnertime, I had all the clutter off the floors, all the vases were washed and put away, and the first batch of pots was washed and set to dry. Phase One will be finished tomorrow. And then it's onto the Next Big Thing - back outdoors to begin the Big Dig. We've contracted to have our front porch and sidewalk replaced, and that means that I have to dig up every single thing along both sides of the front walk. All of it. By myself, unless I can rope in some unsuspecting friends......
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Ode to the Waterbabies
One of the delights of June (albeit early this year, as we've discussed in previous posts) is the Oriental poppy. Actually, I love all poppies; Oriental, Iceland, Shirley, what have you - but the most striking are the Orientals. Big, sometimes gaudy, always striking, the show they put on at this time of year makes me forgive their utter lack of usefulness the rest of the season. Matter of fact, in the interval between the end of their blooming and the disappearance of their tatty foliage, they're downright ugly. For now, though, all is forgiven for my 'Waterbabies' are blooming their fool heads off.
'Waterbabies' is a strain that I purchased from White Flower Farm a good 10 years ago, and sadly they no longer carry it. They come in an astonishing array of shades: watermelon-colored, carnation pink, pale grape, a deep, almost wine color. They're totally unlike any other strain I can think of, and I wish to goodness they were still available! Six years ago, we had our patio and a pergola installed, and all the plants in the bed where the pergola was going had to be moved. Now, most gardening books and authorities will warn you that any attempt to transplant an Oriental poppy with its monstrous taproot will only create much wailing and gnashing of teeth, ending in the loss of said poppy, so it was with great trepidation that I dug the 'Waterbabies' up and potted them. I held my breath that whole summer, because of course the foliage wouldn't reappear until autumn. You can imagine my jubilation when I saw the new leaves start popping up in the pots, because by then they'd disappeared from the WWF catalog, so if I lost these, I was SOL. They then went back into the bed under the new pergola, and they've been thriving there ever since. I think this year I'll try to save some seed to start next winter, because nothing lasts forever, and June simply wouldn't be June without my "babies"!
'Waterbabies' is a strain that I purchased from White Flower Farm a good 10 years ago, and sadly they no longer carry it. They come in an astonishing array of shades: watermelon-colored, carnation pink, pale grape, a deep, almost wine color. They're totally unlike any other strain I can think of, and I wish to goodness they were still available! Six years ago, we had our patio and a pergola installed, and all the plants in the bed where the pergola was going had to be moved. Now, most gardening books and authorities will warn you that any attempt to transplant an Oriental poppy with its monstrous taproot will only create much wailing and gnashing of teeth, ending in the loss of said poppy, so it was with great trepidation that I dug the 'Waterbabies' up and potted them. I held my breath that whole summer, because of course the foliage wouldn't reappear until autumn. You can imagine my jubilation when I saw the new leaves start popping up in the pots, because by then they'd disappeared from the WWF catalog, so if I lost these, I was SOL. They then went back into the bed under the new pergola, and they've been thriving there ever since. I think this year I'll try to save some seed to start next winter, because nothing lasts forever, and June simply wouldn't be June without my "babies"!
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