 |
| Norma A. Boeckler |
Six inches of rain brought Joe Pye into bloom and seed production. The largest one, at 7 feet, bent over with the weight of the rain. However, it is a a marvel of beneficial insect life - from butterflies to bees and wasps, lightning bugs, hover flies, and more.
The Mother of All Crepe Myrtles was completely pruned before the rain, so the buds are opening for the second show. Now it has a pink glow of bursting buds.
One doctor said his KnockOut roses are not blooming. I said, "Trim them back 30%." He said, "Someone did that and the roses did not grow back for a long time." I asked, "Did you mulch and water them?" He hung his head a bit, "No." I admonished him, "You have to dote on roses." He brightened, "You dote on them? I suppose I should too."
If he had pruned back his KnockOut roses before the rain, they would be in full bloom now, with 50 roses per bush, lots of color, plenty of roses for vases and then some. The challenge with doted-upon KnockOuts is keeping up with their production.
Readers who took notes remember that I added mulch and watered everything before the big rain. That meant six inches of rain went into the clay soil to linger, the mulch keeping the rain from evaporating too fast. Another benefit, besides holding down weeds and improving the soil, is keeping the soil cool. Plants do not like sun-baked soil around their base. Nothing is more pathetic than a lonesome rose growing out of sun-baked clay, going to seed from lack of pruning. One distant neighbor specialized in this - I am glad he put up a privacy fence to hide his gardening skills.
 |
| Tiny flowers invite tiny beneficial insects - and butterflies: Clethra. |
Garden Expansion
I have a lot of plants that can be divided and spread around in the fall, which means free expansion without cost:
- Hostas
- Wild Ginger Hidden Lily
- Joe Pye
- Cat Mint
- Mountain Mint
- Daisies.
I am sharing some plants with our dentist's mother, who had all hers stolen just before a big more. I may move some bushes into the rose garden too, depending on their root systems.
 |
| Chaste Tree is more of a woody shrub. Bees love it. Mrs. Gardener asked about it, because the flowers are long-lasting and very attractive to humans as well. |
Easy Plants To Grow
Once I branched out from roses, I found a lot of plants that really take off in the third year. The plants above are also easy to grow, and they contribute to the Balance of Creation in the yard.
Do you remember all those mentions of "The Balance of Nature" in the 1960s? Who is doing the balancing?
Some experiments should be done by any gardener, just to see how powerful the management of Creation is. Our latest is the senior Joe Pye Weed. We always have plenty of beneficial insects because of the varied flowering of plants and the selection to attract the helpers (Mountain Mint, Shasta Daisy, Pokeweed, Butterfly Bush, Chaste Tree). But the insects really go crazy on the Joe Pye blooms.
The right flower is the correct invitation for a particular beneficial insect. My Poison Hemlock was crawling with baby Ladybugs, very impressive - but not enough to keep it growing in the yard. That was the only time I saw Ladybugs in the infant stage, looking like little alligators. Chaste Tree is a magnet for bees.
 |
| Elderberry bushes grow very easily and spread. |
