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| Clethra - they cost as little as a rose, last long and grow well, attract butterflies, and exude Cinnabon fragrance. |
From high atop my perch on the front porch - several inches above the Rose Garden - I look for trouble. I am often surprised by the wonders of Creation, weak roses growing a perfect bloom.
I also look - not very hard - for weeds. We have some days of rain ahead, which I tried to ensure by watering the rose garden. It is a good time to strike out a few weeds. One was growing parallel with one of the long-term roses.
Mrs. Ichabod said, "Roses are on sale. QVC. $64 for 8, free shipping." That started the Rose Garden, and some continue to bloom.
The way I took out the weed was to snip each bit of growth at the soil level, then trim the rose a little. Weeds hate to be cut and roses love it, so the pruning shears are doubly useful - almost as if this was all planned at Creation.
That weed was adding to the soil and still is. I could do more weeding but a lot of the flowers grow together if they are long lasting. The Bee Balms and Joe Pye are so healthy and tall that Mrs. Gardener came over for a tour - and left with a quadruple Veterans Honor rose.
The best Joe Pye is going to bloom at 8 feet tall, and the Bee Balms are waist and shoulder high. Now I have groups of plants crowding others.
Mrs. Gardener observed, "You need to lay down a pathway with paving stones." I said, "That has become a necessity. They grow up so fast."
Fortunately, the hardware stores want to unload equipment and extras in the beat-down heat-stroke weather of July in Arkansas. I pounce on things I might use and will use. I bought a concrete bird bath for a few dollars. A kiddie pool is $3 at the right time, later when the autumn winds eliminate the urge to splash around.
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| Norma Boeckler created this Photofunia of a cat trying to touch the bird in a Norma Boeckler painting. I always have a cardinal couple in our yard, feeding and bathing. |
