Late July Photos

For late July, the lawn and gardens are doing very well.  It's been extremely rainy, which is causing a lot of fungal issues in many lawns. So far, mine hasn't been harmed and I see no signs of any damage.

As always, click on any image to embiggen it.

Here's the standard lawn shot:



And the standard garden shot:



The roses are re blooming after a very energetic June blossom:



I have both Magellan and Dreamland red zinnia this year.  This looks like a Magellan.



The coleus are doing extraordinarily well this year in cooler temperatures and more rainfall. I always put them in too much sun, but they generally manage fairly well.



These are Cosmos sulphureus, Cosmic Red--mostly. As the generations pass, they're getting a bit taller and a bit more orange than red.  Some have retained their red hues, however.



And lastly, to nobody's surprise, the marigolds are doing beautifully.  They're reliable producers, year after year, under almost any conditions.

July Fourth Photos

I was busy yesterday afternoon, so I waited to take these photos until this morning.  But that's close enough for me to call these the traditional yearly images!  As always, click on any image to embiggen it.

The grass is doing extraordinarily well for early July.  We've had more than sufficient rain this year and fairly moderate temperatures.  Rain is expected again tomorrow and Friday.



The general garden image also looks good for early July.  While rainy, we're having more than enough sun to foster incredible growth.



I added thirteen large dahlia this year, the majority of those inexpensive ones on sale at Home Depot. This is a fairly inexpensive one that I got at my grocery store, "Jennifer's Wedding."  It's just beginning to open.



The ageratum looks particularly good this year.



Unusual for me, I bought a few coleus.  They're doing fantastically well and I find I like the mixed colors of the leaves.  I may add more in the future.



These are Cosmos sulphureus, small red or orange cosmos that bloom well all season long.  The parents were "Cosmic Red," but the daughters are getting a little bushier and a touch more orange.

Still More June Photos

Things are doing extraordinarily well for June, with the gardens accelerating right up to where they should be now that the constant rain has abated.  As always, click on any image to embiggen.

The lawn looks fantastic for late June.



And, as noted, the gardens are doing very well, too!



The very first of the dahlia, a Duet, is opening. It's extremely early for dahlia to be blooming, and the bush is young, so I expect the flower size to increase over time. The flowers, even at their current 3", are still very striking.



The rose bush is just finishing up its first bloom.  Since the Japanese beetles are going to be out and about shortly, this is as good as it'll look until August and its third bloom.  Once this finishes, I'll do a full shaping cut on the bush.



Even though it may be finishing up, the bush can still produce several hundred perfect roses:



Sometimes the Profusion zinnia surprise you.  This one is producing blossoms that are almost red:



The Vanilla Improved marigold are rapidly becoming a new favorite.  They look white in sunlight, pale yellow in overcast conditions, and almost yellow in moonlight or outdoor illumination.  They're also one of the few flowers you can see in moonlight.

More June Photos

It's been very, very hot and very, very sunny for the last several days, which is kicking the gardens along nicely but starting to cost quality on the lawn. Fortunately, rain is forecast for Friday, along with much cooler temperatures.

I'm not including the general garden shot here as I took these photos at right around 12 noon. The sun was too bright and too directly overhead for good general photographs.

The yellow Inca II marigolds are doing very well and like this weather quite a bit!



I bought a few Safari Red marigolds to round out.  They're doing extremely well:



Not to be outdone, what the Janie orange marigolds lack in multi-colors, they make up for by being very numerous and very bright.



I gave the Knockout Double Red rosebush a regeneration cut this spring, essentially shearing it back to the ground after twelve years.  It responded well and needs a shaping cut.  However, I'm not going to do that until after the first bloom finishes up.  That's going to be a while, it's loaded with buds.



A closeup of one the roses:

Photos for Early June

The weather here has finally brightened up considerably and we've had several days of sunnier weather and warmer temperatures.  That's starting to move things along a bit.

First, the standard lawn shot:



The garden has grown a little over the last week and a half:



So far, I like the "white" marigolds quite a bit.  They accent the surrounding reds very well, and they're one of the few flowers that's easily visible under moonlight and at deep twilight.



The red zinnia are what the white marigolds accent.  With the cold, wet weather, they're barely started.

Memorial Day Photos

The July Fourth photos are traditional, these are not, but they're still fun.  As always, click on any image for the larger version.

The lawn is doing OK, but the lack of sunlight has cost it some color.  It'll recover without any issues, and I'd rather have less sun and more rain than a drought!



The gardens have grown noticeably in two weeks, although the zinnia have been a bit of a battle.  They seem to have a fungus.



The Yellow Knockout Rose blossomed beautifully this year!



The ageratum are just getting started.  Year by year, they get a little taller as they revert to type, so at some point I'm going to have to jettison the ones I have and buy new seeds.



Profusion zinnia (Flame, in this case) always do well around here.  This one is just getting going for the season, but it's already filling a quarter of the pot.

Excessive Heat

We just came through our first heat wave here, with temperatures reaching an unofficial 95° on Thursday.  I had just finished planting the gardens the week before.

Losses were reasonably heavy, about 35 plants out of 700 or so.  I ended up replacing those with things I purchased locally, mostly Durango and Safari marigolds and some coleus for both sunnier and shadier areas.

And those losses were after running cooldown watering in the afternoon for two to three minutes, plus watering more heavily an hour or so before sunset.  Unfortunately, it simply got too hot too fast.

Repel Garden Rabbits

I have families of rabbits living under my Thuja, with the consequence that it's open season on the gardens until they mature a bit (I plant flowers, not vegetables, but the damage is still very bad).

Over time, I've looked up and cooked up a homemade repellant that works fairly well. Here it is:

In a one quart sprayer (or multiply by four for a 1 gallon sprayer, and so on):

1 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp dish soap
1/4 tsp white Elmer's glue (optional but very helpful) (distasteful to rabbits, and helps the solution stick)
1 tsp Neem oil (optional but extremely helpful) (helps the solution stick and mildly distasteful to rabbits)

Spray plants lightly; no need to soak the leaves. 1.5 quarts covers 2,000 square feet of flower garden around here. Reapply after moderate or heavier rainfall, this should stick through light showers.

Soybean Meal Down

I fed the lawn right around the first of May but neglected to blog about it.  If you were waiting for me to announce the feeding, you're still in good time, though!  The window is very wide.

I applied 15 pounds per thousand square feet, and dropped the GrubEx at the same time.

I fed the gardens yesterday with 9 pound of Milorganite per thousand square feet and 12.5 pounds of soybean meal per thousand square feet.  Since I have 2,000 square feet of garden, it works out to half a bag of each.  I'll use the other half around the first of June.

May Photos

I've really been negligent about posting photos this year, so I made sure to take some late yesterday after I finished the gardens.

Here's the standard lawn photo.  The lawn recovered beautifully from last year's drought, with a little help and some judicious applications of urea.


The gardens are in but these are Day 1 photos.  They're always a bit sad looking until the plants establish and start to grow.  The light brown edge on the gardens is where I've killed the grass to re-establish the edge.  The light brown in the gardens is the soybean meal to feed the gardens!

Hardening Off

I set the plants out to harden off yesterday, a fairly long hardening off period comparatively speaking. The weather looks as though we won't freeze again this season, but I have a tendency not to trust that. I'll allow the flats to sit out until at least May 6th before planting.

Until then, the flats will gradually move out into the sun from the north wall.  Right now, only the marigolds are getting any appreciable sunlight as their hardening off period is essentially nil.

I did plant the pots, both front and back for a total of about 15, last night.  However, if the weather turns, I can pull those close to the house and cover them very easily.

The Last Flat

Or, Flat #12.  While the Moonsong marigolds are still being pokey, I can handle four flats in the office if I absolutely have to.

So I started the last flat.  This one is composed of some final Janie Primrose Yellow marigolds, some Harlequin dahlia, some Cosmic Red cosmos, and a scant few Strawberry Fields gomphrena.  That last is only 12 plants, a trial this year, and the only larger amaranth I've ever grown (I've grown celosia in the past, but those are much shorter).

The season, although spring, still feels a lot like late winter...but at least spring is well underway in the cellar!

Flat #11

Flats #9 and #10 are being a bit pokey about sprouting, with the Moonsong Deep Orange marigold being rather slow this year.  I do build time into the schedule to account for that, but not a full week.

So I now have three flats in the office as I added the Janie Primrose Yellow marigold to the mix late on Friday evening.  Even if everything is very slow, I can handle the fourth and last flat if I have to.

I also started 12 coleus--Giant Exhibition Marble.  But those are sitting on a ceramic tray on the windowsill as they're not particularly touchy.  They'll be slower in the colder air, but they'll sprout.

Flat #10...

I'm coming in to the finish line (as far as planting, anyway!) at just about the average pace.  The Inca II marigolds sprouted quickly, as expected,  and made room for the Moonsong Deep Orange marigolds and Janie Deep Orange marigolds.

At this point, the only things remaining are a flat of Janie Primrose marigolds and a flat of assorted late-sprouting things.

Flat #8...

The zinnias, as always, sprouted in just a few days and are already under the lights.

I started the Inca II Gold marigolds, and the Vanilla Improved marigold today.  Those are on the heater and should be sprouting very quickly as well.

Atypically for March, we're going under a blizzard warning for 18-24" of snow and very high winds tonight, so it's nice to have a bit of early spring under the lights downstairs.