Our Extended Summer - And Butterfly Bushes

Butterflies greet the planting of their favorite bushes.
They also need other plants for their life cycle.

We have 80 degree days predicted in the next week. Meanwhile temperature easily reach 70, and the leaves are only starting to fall.

The butterfly bushes arrived two weeks early, so I did not have to plant them amid snow and ice. They were surprisingly small for a plant with so much potential (12 feet in height). Sassy ran outside to supervise, but that conflicted with her desire for an evening walk. She gave me the Bad Daddy speech as I was digging, no matter what I promised.

Satisfied that her evening walk was sealed with promises and oaths, Sassy went back in to wait.

Each filled hole already had a bag of mushroom compost in it, so digging some out was easy. I just had to scoop soil around the rootball and prop up the plant as I mixed clay and mushroom compost around it. Newspaper and cypress mulch topped the effort, and I watered thoroughly.

Butterfly weed is a good addition to the garden.

I want the roots to form well, so I will add Epsom Salts when I water next. I do not have to mix it in the soil because it dissolves immediately in water. Magnesium and suphate from the Epsom Salts will benefit the plant and cost almost nothing to apply.

Mulch will benefit the plant by providing organic matter for the soil creatures and cover for their work in the sunshine. Tunneling and mixing is good for plants, whether new or old, so the activity will encourage growth while preserving moisture.

When the work was done, Mrs. Ichabod had me stand near each one. They are difficult to see from the house. She said, "I have trouble imagining them 12 feet tall." That is the problem with most people when they plant trees and bushes. They pack a group of them together, and the plants grow like conjoined twins, branches entangled into each other. Many examples can be found on our walks, not to mention two trees planted about four feet apart.

The area along the back fence will have a dense planting of giant sunflowers. They will screen the view until the bushes reach their height.

Sassy got her evening stroll, and Mrs. Gardener got a big surprise. Her husband had eyeballed our mulch trail up and down the shared fence. I initially thought about vining plants there, but I considered his love for neatness along the fence.

I told Mrs. Gardener, who came outside, "Roses are going to grow along the fence." She lit up and said, "Then I can reach over and cut one?"

"That is the idea." Or - that became the idea. I will need a larger variety to make that easy for her to do. She was really excited about the idea, and Mrs. Ichabod is just as happy about dressing up the fence with roses. The initial path of mulch is to provide a weed free zone next to the fence. Our helper and I will dig holes into the lawn parallel to the fence and mulch around them to compost the lawn.

This winter the rose catalogs and magazines will arrive. My wife and I will order bare root roses early to get the ones we want. If space allows, we will snap up some leftover bargains at the end. Jackson and Perkins will likely have a few $50 tree roses for $10. Some old roses are available for $8. Since the going rate for the promoted ones is $30, fractions of that price are welcome.

Winter is the easiest and least expensive time for a gardener. No work needs to be done. Nothing needs to be ordered at first. Everything in the coming year will grow perfectly.

Butterflies puddle in mud or manure, easy to arrange with the elevated soaker hose.