So, I get home yesterday evening and Dash greets me at the door. He’s happy-go-lucky, trembling-with-joy, all-sorts-of-enthusiastic fur-kid exuberance. Then I step into the backyard and beheld the carnage in S1. All my tulips were uprooted and a puppy-sized hole lay at the feet of my myrtle. And the Heuchera Obsidian? Obliterated from the face of the earth. I’m understandably upset…so I placed an irate call with the DH and reminded him how many times I requested that the rampaging-garden destroyers be crated while we’re away at work. The tulips are back in their settings…but the tulip show is done for this year. And maybe it’s for the best that the heuchera is gone…I worry that the exposed location would challenge any shade lover at the moment.
Tag: crape myrtle
Winter cleanup and filling holes
With the mild weather this past Sunday, DH and I did some pruning and clearing of the front yards. DH took some shears and proceeded to prune the dead branches off our two myrtles. He also removed the unsightly canna leaves that frost had killed. I pulled and uprooted grass that had infiltrated and overwhelmed both front yard beds, and I’m happy to see that I will be transplanting some nandina and salvia volunteers to the rear yard this year. The fringeflower bushes next to the front door have doubled in height since they first arrived and are in desperate need of shearing, which will happen hopefully in early spring. I wonder if my mango calla lilies survived the winter and will put a showing this year? The muscari sprouts promise to bring some color the front yard when spring arrives. And while the Crimson Pirate daylily leaves have finally succumbed to the cold, I have no doubt they will return with warm weather. Now if only I can get hubby to apply some serious weed killer to the lawn.
I also hopped over to Home Depot to purchase 10 bags of topsoil to fill some holes dug up in the yard. I suspect Dash has attempted to burrow underneath the crepe myrtle in the side yard, exposing the root ball. It was a surprisingly huge hole, and I’m saddened to think of the irises that were lost. I’m also upset to find the remains of my zebra iris, Doe Z Doe, scattered in the side yard. The nandinas I planted and replanted in the middle back bed showed signs of damage (one was completely chewed/ripped apart). And if it weren’t for the planter loops I erected, I suppose the new salvia I planted may have perished. Did any of the zebras survive? I’m almost heartbroken thinking about it. Such is the plight of the gardener who shares their yards with dogs.
But the daffodils are pushing up through the ground and it looks like it will be a lovely show early in the year.
Prepping the garden for winter
I ventured out in the garden this weekend to do some cleaning. The rabbit damage was quite extensive and I regret the loss of the bulbs that suffered this harsh summer only to end up as dinner. But it’s a great motivator to look at garden catalogs and imagine what will be growing in our beds next year.
Since the cold weather is at our doorstep, I’ll be weeding and mulching for much of the week. I already trimmed our red oaks in the back. Much of the dessicated lily stalks came out of the ground with a slight tug…no need for clippers! Covering up holes in the beds as I go, I discovered that I have a selection of what I believe are perennial/biennial dianthus or china pinks that have greened back up and are budding despite the approaching winter. They must be the only plants flourishing in the rear beds right now. They are surviving as little hammocks of green in beds of dirt.
I also regret that I neglected the San Antonio salvia greggii and planted them in the burning heat. Their charred remains and the remnants of a purple salvia greggii are testaments of the terrible drought we had this year. I’m not even sure that the Hot Lips salvia in the rear beds will survive…they are struggling to put out new growth. Speaking of drought, we’re still at stage 3 water restrictions, which means watering once a week on Thursdays.
On the side bed, one of the artemisias is gone, and the white salvia that I planted didn’t survive repeated dog trampling. The tiny spiraea I ordered from an Ebay shop also finally gave up the ghost. However, Dad sent over a new shipment of rosemary and white salvia. I’ve already filled the holes with the remaining nandina and rosemary plants. Breck’s shipment of replacement iris bulbs will be replanted in the same spot for another shot next year. The happiest thing about the side bed are that the salvia are thriving, especially the Hot Lips specimen nearest the house wall.
The front beds look great, except for an invasion of grass and weeds that popped thru the light mulching. I’ve begun trimming back the gangly limbs from the fringeflowers. The colors are looking spectacular on the nandinas and fringeflowers, bursting into color for the fall. I haven’t yet attacked the canna colony, they are still blooming feverishly. The only casualty to report is that one of the petite myrtles perished, so it appears we are down to three petite white crapes. The red salvia greggiis are blooming like champs; I’ve begun to take cuttings to grow for the rear beds next year.
Dog days and wascally wabbits!
This severe drought has taken an immense toll on the garden. Summer scorched what little grass remains in the backyard. The salvia microphylla planted in the rear garden islands stand naked, having dropped most of their leaves. The white salvia plantings in the side yard got trampled on by some foster pups and perished in the heat. At least one purple salvia still stands erect, its sibling a few feet away lies low but valiantly blooming. The Natchez myrtle is thriving off its green suckers but I intend to prune it down to see if it can be stimulated into growth for next year.
The most annoying (and disheartening) discovery I made was the theft and destruction of my lily garden by some hungry hares. Several holes and uprooted lily stems gave evidence of the buffet. I found a few stray bulblets and quickly buried them. The last butterfly bush was ejected from its corner, left to wilt in the sun. Gaping holes stare at me from the wrecked landscape. Oddly, the pests ravaged the east side of the lily garden; the west side remains largely intact host to a few dried out lily stalks.
The front yard is my only consolation now. While the weather singed the tops off the transplanted nandina, the rest continue to flourish. The canna colony continues to flower, and the red salvia are constantly aflame…some bald patches on the lawn, and weeds occasionally interrupting the landscape. For the most part, the front yard fared better than the rear yard. Pictured is the second canna lily gracing us with its scarlet freckled face and yellow trim ruffles.
July heat
Fourth of July came and went without much incident. Most of my firebug-happy neighbors refrained from setting off fireworks during the dangerous drought conditions. Because of water restrictions ramped up to severe, the myrtles are showing leaf-tip burn this week. Most of their flowers have wilted, leaving them looking rather ghastly. The Peppermint Lace is looking the worst of all, since its flowers have turned the shrub into a brown ball of ugliness.
One Canna lily decided to grace our front yard with its first blazing orange bloom, which I failed to capture in a photo. The two Cannas that we planted in the front yard transformed into a colony of plants. So far only one of the main plants has sprouted a bloom stalk. I eagerly await the second bloom to see what color it might be.
In the side yard, the first Reinesse dwarf lily displayed two open blooms this morning. The Hot Lips Salvia planted nearby is brightly adorned with crimson and white flowers. Purple salvias seem to be blooming strongly as well. I’ve also decided to let the poor Natchez in the side yard sucker out. Two of its three trunks have failed to sustain any green, which may mean that they will get hacked off this fall, or the whole tree may need to be moved.
Evidence of yellowing and browning is rampant in the lily beds. The first few plants have already browned completely, waiting to be cut down. I’m wondering if I’ll be moving the bulbs or just wait until they all die back and dig up the bulbs in the fall. Probably fall….