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| Knock-Out roses look better than this. This looks like the hue was turned up to nuclear on Photoshop. |
We had several good projects this weekend. Our grandson helped me prune the roses, and I cut a bunch for the Sunday altar. Some of the hybrid teas were perfect for the vase. The fast-blooming yellow roses were already on a downhill slide, but I could not prune them yet. They are a burst of yellow and fragrance near the door.
I prune the Knock-Outs often and Alex pruned more on Saturday, so I had some great reds for the arrangement.
Trimming the roses is always effective. They respond with more growth and more roses.
The Lyle Lovett crepe myrtle is fuzzy with flower buds already. Two burst out immediately after the severe trim a week ago. Now the entire top of the bush is ready to bloom with compound buds. Lower branches, once bare, are sprouting some new foliage. As my mother often said about her home haircuts - "It will grow out."
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| Alex |
I brought a tomato in for Mrs. I - still warm from the 95 degree weather, but even warmer from sitting in the sun on the south side of the house.
Our helper covered the rest of the vegetable garden in newspaper and mulch. Although the work is not hard, it does take time, newspapers, and trips to Lowe's, for all the square footage planned for the spring. Both backyard gardens will be deeper into the yard.
The rose garden expansion will mean holes and roses first, newspapers and mulch second. That is a lot more fun - and rewarded with roses in 30 days or so.
Little Ichabod walked out in the back and said, "This is a big backyard." When the trees were hanging down to eye level, most of the yard was difficult to navigate and completely shaded. Now the yard is balanced with sunlight and shade and much larger in its usefulness. I would have written off the back section before, except for composting. Now I am ready to grow some screening plants and try pumpkins along the ground. I can extend the Elevated Soaker Hose (Trademark G. Jackson) around the entire perimeter of the fence, which will give me an enormous vertical garden ( vertical being one of the recent fads) and ease in watering.
We often waste space because we have so much. When the area is relatively small or the ambitions big, the plans change.
