Journal Notes...Extreme Heat, Rose Maintenance, Pruning, & Screening

They say our July is most people's December.  The reason being is that the weather is so hostile, you can't go outside.  After Cody helped me over the weekend, I was very sore Monday, so took it easy.  It had thankfully rained and I felt I got a jump on things.  However, I started getting aggravated with myself by Thursday because I felt I was being lazy and no progress had been done.  Cody is returning on Saturday to continue, but I had done some things that needed to be done.  Yesterday, I realized why.  The heat.  Today's heat index will be 105!  So I had cut myself some slack and opted to work a couple of hours in the morning and no more than 15 mins at any one time.  Next year, any project (it will be the Peacock, must be completed by June.)

Sorry, what a great shot of Memphis Music...I love this rose

The roses were in bad need of maintenance.  I was so distracted by taking care of their surroundings that I had been neglecting them.  I had not fed them in weeks so I fed them a bit of Miracle Gro and watered heavily.  I, also, go rid of weeds, bad canes, and diseased leaves and a very LIGHT pruning.  With the summer so hot, and deep pruning would cause a lot of growth and needs the water to back it up.  Without the irrigation system in place, I didn't want to get ahead of myself.  I will say with them being so grouped.  It takes me about 20 mins a section which is about 85 roses total.

I wonder if the holes are not large enough to allow water through.

You can't see well, but these are black canes that I had cut off, when I planted these bare roots.

Meanwhile at the museum, Stormy Weather needed to be repegged.  My goodness she has grown huge.  I would gather the top of the sign is about 7 feet conservatively.  She was approximately 2 feet when I started taking care of her and that is pushing it.

I take zip ties and try to make the canes as horizontal as possible on the fencing.  She had tons of rose hips that I had to prune off.

She makes and incredibly beautiful fragrant, rose.  I want one of these.

I, also, take care of miniatures and a lace top hydrangea.  I cut the tops off, but only the tops.  It's in a hot spot and I don't water them but once a week.  Even though the miniatures...are well, small....I cut off the spent roses because I saw hips...go figure.

The camellia we moved isn't showing signs of new growth but I think it's still alive.  I have discovered camellias are slow to recover....Next to them are two hydras I donated.

The butterfly garden is getting weedy.  I, now, see why Nell suggested a path...I do manage to get in their without hurting too many seedlings.

Lots of baby trees, but also, lantana are starting to bloom.

Nell, named this vine.  Similar to morning glory but isn't the same.

Lantana?

The good thing about having a pool near a garden is the bugs it kills.  You can't see this well, but if you saw the bugs in here, you would be scared.  Some bugs I have never seen before.  One that I believe I see and pretty sure it is , is a Japanese beetle..  I thought I read that grubs are the larvae of these beetles.  If so, I wonder if I should get grub killer.  I see grubs, everytime I dig a hole.  Starting to like armadillos now.

This picture does not do this flower justice.  This is pinata, it's incredibly vibrant.

My bougainvillea is leafing back up...but I think it has too much water.  I had a hibiscus who is near death who was in this pot.  I cleaned it out, drilled more holes and put fresh dirt.  It's faring better but looks drenched.  Will put a water meter on it and check it.

After I pruned, the roses looked a bit "sticky"  During the extreme heat of summer, it's not uncommon for my roses to lose their leaves.

Got rid of diseased leaves like this one with black spot, and cut off spent blooms.

Sometimes the canes I cut, I wonder if they are alive.  If it's in question I cut them down a bit.

I used a Miracle Gro sprayer.  Since I am unsure of how much it delivers, I usually only give it a "shot, and then douse with water.  I discovered if you angle the sprayer down too much all the water is completely blue, so I just gave a light feeding and gave a deep water drench.

I have learned to pick up the canes I cut (the hard way).  If you don't pick them up and you weed, you will get hurt fast.

The front beds were grossly overwhelmed by weeds.  This pittosporum was getting attacked by weeds and a vine that has little red star shaped flowers.

The hydras as well.  They start getting black spot if you don't allow them circulation, and the blooms needed removing.  I am much more aggressive in pruning hydrangeas as you are about to see.  They LOVE it and get very bushy...however, these have an irrigation system on them to promote new growth.  On Wednesday, I fed EVERYTHING....that is an all day event.

Well, I managed to get the majority of the weeds out...the heat was unbearable.

The hydras I think like the new hair cut and will go crazy as a result.

This is my wheelbarrow...look at all this foliage.  I left the Mexican Heather volunteers near the Encore's.  They are starting to bloom again.

Much better but still full of blooms.

Now, I have to do the other side.

The Memphis Music has yellow leaves at the bottom.  I read somewhere that yellow leaves at the bottom could be a sign of mineral deficiency.  Not sure...they got fed.

This looks like a hydrangea massacre.  Look at all the spent blooms I cut off...and the plants are still loaded.

They go crazy after pruning, I try not cutting old wood though.

Mad at myself for not screening, I started to put some down.  There are hydrangeas behind the rose bed.  I won't get an opportunity to mulch until next week.  I wonder if the black screen will overheat what I have.  I did water and have been water well..the new plants that are down.

More ugly bugs.

Screening the path behind the pool

Hmm...My path isn't straight.  Perhaps that is what Cody and I will work on tomorrow.

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Journal..Concreting plinths, Digging holes, and Tornado Clouds

This post I realized kinda of showed a day in my life, lately.  Very foggy dawn.

I underestimated how grass is needed and is the backdrop of a garden.  When it is as deadlooking as it is, it really takes away from it.

Rye grass had finally died and the drought kinda of stopped new grass from growing, so watering it.

Mr. Lincoln's flower buds were limp even though the rose to appeared and felt as though it had water.  It was fine in the morning but the heat, humidity and UV makes it horrible.  When I water it it perks up?  Why does it do this?  Sometimes I wonder if the heat makes the water in the roots hot?  I will need to look this up.  My hydras do this too but they perk up in the evening.  Roses typically do not.

My wonderful husband is finishing the stone plinth of the sundial.  Many of my garden ornaments are expensive so I usually insist they be unmovable.  This one is essentially concreted into the ground and at the correct time, no less.  He is smoothing out the rocks underneath the plinth.

Adding water to concrete

He mixes the concrete in the tractor's bucket and then plaster's it onto the plinth. (I think he is so handsome :) )

Anyway, I will not have the rocky look it once had but it will have a smoothe look.  He said let vines grow on it.  I said, "No worries, they will"

Replaced JFK rose.  I did a faux pas by putting the rose in the same hole the old one was.  BUT I did notice something.  This was one of those bare root roses that were in the peat pot.  I noticed I left it in the peat pot when I planted it.  Note to self....don't leave in the peat pot.  I did the same with the Queen Elizabeth roses, and they fared well.....so, moral of the story...don't leave plants in peat pots when planting.  I did cut the edges to the base but apparently not good enough.

The roses are struggling that aren't screen.  They get watered farely often but the heat is incredible.  The weeds are not helping because I do notice that once screen they do better.

 I have decided that the deadline for the backyard project will be August 1.  If you haven't followed this blog, I have been working on this since New Year's Day.  I have planted literally hundreds of plants and I probably have over 100 to go.  July 1 is my deadline to have things in the ground.  If you want to see how much work this all took, I have a pictorial page Building a Large Rose Garden Pictorial

Last fall, I was very burnt out and felt I would never plant another plant again.  But I knew spring fever would get the best of me and it did.  Many times I have thought, "Oh God, what was I thinking!"  In any event, at a certain juncture, I am just digging holes.  It's not that I am lazy or don't know any better, but if I waited for things to be optimal, the plants would die.  The reason I purchased so many is because a nursery closed and I got plants for pennies on the dollar.  The plants would have retailed in the tens of thousands but my plant purchases averaged about a dollar a plant.  The roses (about 80) were purchased with gift cards won from work.  The reason why I am saying all this because I have started digging holes.  I have no choice.  Many will die but most will live.  And one day HOPEFULLY the garden will be beautiful and I will be smarter.

I have tons of ornamentals that need to be planted.  Mostly camellias.  So at the back end of the rose garden, I opted to plant them for several reason.  Wind blockage, frame the garden, winter interest.

Also, at the back of the "future" guard dog pen.

I used the auger that I used to regret purchasing but decided that it was a wise investment.  My husband has to use it, however.  He dug 20 holes for me.

I planted an ailing hibiscus, gardenia, two mystery roses, calla lilies, azaleas, sky pencils, tulip trees and camellias.

 While planting these plants I heard a small plane above, like a Cessna?  I heard it's engines stall out twice!  Then I saw this plane do flips.  Whoever was in that plane ( I thought) was an idiot.  I don't know much about planes but if my engine shut down twice! in mid air, I'd be inclined to land it.  While looking at the plane, I noticed this cloud.  Great! I thought.  I don't know what will get me first, a tornado or a falling airplane.  Forgive my ignorance, if I am being severe, but I refuse to believe that stalling planes is a good thing.

I have learned that if a cloud is tall and shaped like an anvil, this is a potential tornado cloud.  If it has a base (called a Wall Cloud) that is what causes tornadoes.  None occurred.  Sure would love rain though.  I make sure that our safe room is ready to occupy when I see these.

Plinth complete

Need to finishing screening and irrigating.

Mom did not know what kind of rose this was, only that it is a climber and makes small yellow roses.  It is woody but I have learned that can be normal as her mystery roses she gave me this spring were also woody and are faring very well.

This hibiscus was in a pot the did not have enough holes and thus was dying.  It's still alive but I will have to either dig it back up in the fall or let it die during the winter.

I had intended to screen before planting but they need to go in the ground.  Many plants are suffering being in the pots as long as they have.  But I am smart enough to know I will screen them.

Done.

I, also, have been redecorating the interior of the home which is conversely dark (Mom calls the term gloomy) but I consider it the colors rich and classic.  This is my new tapestry in the library.