Rose Garden Revised for Upcoming Rain

Double Delight Rose

Readers may remember what I was going to do, before the storm.

Since the storm could have rolled in early, I began the work as soon as Sassy had her morning walk. 

Most roses are similar at this stage. They have mulch but pesky grass and maple trees growing up into the rose area. That grass will choke a rose when left to its evil devices.

I really enjoy the exercise and the results from a little work. I have an H shaped bench which lets me sit near the rose but not on the ground. I use extra long scissors to snip at away at the grass and trees trying to take over, using the sun and extra water for dominance.

I carry sharp rose shears to prune dead wood and trim extra branches away. This is something that newcomers shy away from doing. But if I have two buds, one of them weak, the strong one will finish better by having the tiny one removed. The same is true of spent roses, which signal more growth in the branches and roots when trimmed away. 

My experiment with egg carton material was not too impressive (lots of buckling) so I used paper and cardboard on the bottom or perimeter when areas needed to be shaded more. I pour cypress mulch generously around the bush and create an area where very little can grow. 

The worst patch of orchard grass was not weed-whacked, so I used electric clippers to mow that patch down (for instant fertilizer and revenge). I added thick cardboard where it was growing, some paper to fill in, and a bag of wood mulch around it.

Every rose needed some attention, and I also saw some hopeless cases nearby. The roses gone wild will be dug up before winter to make room for more daffodils. The crew's eyes bulged when they learned how many bulbs would arrive. I am sharing with the crew and Ranger Bob. Once in the ground, the bulbs will bloom early each spring, grow somewhat, and rebloom. 

Giant Aliums have a giant price. I buy smaller ones.

I only wanted to order daffodils but I saw some purple tulips and rainbow iris, much earlier. To round off two orders, I also got two giant aliums. These floral garlics are easy to grow and everyone likes them. "What exactly are they?"

When I was done the garden had lost its Wuhan Flu overgrown hair look, and I am sure several roses perked up - simply from the pruning. 

The Easy Does It orange roses look tired now, but I will give them new cardboard and a pile of mulch and peat humus to digest over the fall and winter. 

China, The High Speed Trainwreck

"Right on time!"

No, this photo is not a WELS metaphor, though that would work too. 

China seemed so powerful and wealthy until their subsidies from the US began slowing down and the rain began speeding up.

Everyone seems to be catching onto the criminal regime that runs the People's Republic of China.

One reader appreciated the coverage of the Three Gorges Dam on the verge of collapsing. Since the fifth flood event passing through, nothing has appeared in the press - except one report.

 Here is the link I thought I lost.

Call it my imagination, but I think silence about the world's biggest engineering debacle is more unsettling than daily coverage. "The crisis is over" would best be proved by live video, current photographs, and daily news, even if they are only PR smoochy stories about the great dam.

A few people think the dam has a fatal flaw, a place deep in the structure causing cavitation from water and debris passing through. As you may recall from my earlier posts, the dam was poorly designed and badly built with inferior concrete, inferior rebar, and one little detail. They were in a rush to get started, so they did not go down to bedrock and pin the entire structure to a solid base. No problem? Please consult your Physics 101 textbook about water pressure 600 feet deep.

1. They pollute their own construction concrete with clay and manure. Buildings routinely crumble, and they are called tofu structures.
2. They could not make that enormous dam accomplish everything at once, so the structure turned into a white elephant - trying to provide transportation, flood control, water, etc. 
3. Just like WELS, critics of the blunders were jailed, so the greedy could live high on the proceeds.

Mud turbulence on the surface of the dam lake suggests that something is very wrong in the depths. Worse, bubbles rising up seem to indicate that the water is acting like a soda, releasing trapped air. That could mean damage letting water through. High pressure water, sand, mud, and debris roaring through would enlarge that opening. 

There are some signs they are trying to strengthen the dam.

Gulf Weather Maps Suggest Days of Rain

Heirloom

I start every day reading science fiction - the weather report. No matter what the forecast is, the results are far different. The gulf storms gathering now suggest that some of the action will have to move north, because of the crowded southern skies.

IBM's weather site suggests three days of rain for us, starting later today. That reminds me of sure fire investments of the past. "Can't miss!" However, I will act on the prediction and renew some roses.

I have one area of tall, thick grass of some type. The grassy weeds like to take over rose bushes and extinguish them. Weed killers are no good, because they are most effective against flowers. 

"Hello darkness, my old friend.

You've come to kill some grass again."

Yes, sun-blocking is the answer. I will cut the blades near the rose, lay down some paper for additional protection, surround the rose with cardboard, and cover the cardboard with cypress mulch. The grass turns into compost, and the area looks attractive again.

Ranger Bob spotted a blooming Heirloom rose, and called it Veterans Honor. I said, "No, the Veterans Honor rose is in a vase for one of our members. This is Heirloom, even more fragrant and a little purplish." (I misnamed it Sunday, but tis better to misname a rose than to have no roses at all.)

Nothing compares to Veterans Honor