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| Ranger Bob got two Rio Samba roses from my rainbow clearance sale, and they are both growing well. |
I put the lawn crew on weed-eating today, because the lack of rain has stalled grass growth - except in the garden.
What to do? Lush, thick grass around a choice rose presents a problem. Uprooting will not work, and I detest herbicides. Instead I fetched pieces of cardboard from the recycling barrel and placed them around the rose bush. I used my ultra-long scissors to trim some of the grass away from the canes.
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| Would you do a little work for a Veterans Honor rose? |
The key to stopping the grassy weeds is to block the sun.
- The first layer is cut grass, which turns into nitrogen rich mulch.
- The second layer is cardboard trimmed to fit closely around the canes. I used the scissors to make a notch. Newspapers will work but they are a nuisance stored and flighty in the garden.
- The third layer is wood mulch piled on generously, to hold the cardboard in place and keep moisture in the rose's growing area. Every square foot of the property has been mulched with newspaper, cardboard, and wood, with the except of rare, grassy places.
Although weed growth is rampant in a drought, with watering the garden and sunny days, there is no reason to despair. My Butterfly Garden grows plants and weeds like magic, with a 10 year history of plans gone wrong. What I like grows in a sunny area with a deep base of composted weeds, hay bales (please do not write or phone about that), newspapers, cardboard, and mulch.
The Butterfly Garden is jumping with good plants:
- Joe Pye
- Yarrow
- Butterfly Weed
- Comfrey
We whacked the weeds. Three of the plants are large and flowering, so they eliminate the weeds by being aggressive in their growth. Butterfly Weed needs some help.
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| The Julia Childs rose set me back $10, but has not leafed out at all. I have babied it with rainwater like no other. However, the three Heirloom roses have already bloomed and represent $30 in cost and $120 in retail cost. |
