My rainbarrels were empty so I filled the second one with city water, to evaporate out the chlorine. Both barrels overflowed last night, and the backyard had standing water before the rain began today. We had morning rain and will enjoy evening rain most of the night.
Our newlywed friend came over to see the roses after their college graduation. She loved Falling in Love Rose, so I offered to send it home with her. Instead, she took a vase of roses. I distributed three vases today before I ran out of red roses from the only one KnockOut Rose bush. Rain kept me from doing much more today in cutting roses.
While we were talking, the trumpet vines arrived. To be more precise, three sticks came in an empty box large enough for a small Christmas tree. I found loose dirt inside. The nursery suggested soaking two hours first before planting. Given the vitality of trumpet vines, that was worth a try, so I floated all three in a rain barrel.
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| Falling in Love Rose is fragrant but was rather petite the first year of growth. |
Long ago I read that vines sent up trees fail because they are planted too close to the tree, in rooty shallow soil, too far from a good bed of soil. For two trees, I did exactly that, planted in a pocket of good soil, Earthworms rose up and wiggled away. I made the newspaper section with the hole in the middle to serve as a bib to protect against weeds. The newspaper draping the vine also distinguishes the forlorn stick from everything else in the yard.
Readers are wondering what happened to the third vine. I have Passion Flowers (two vines) going up one tiny tree, and honeysuckle vine already flowering and going up the dead tree.
I took the failsafe option and put the third trumpet vine along the fence on Mrs. Wright's side. The soil is rich with earthworms and the fellowship of other plants. The sunlight is close to perfect, and the Jackson Aerial Aqueduct showers water and bird dung on the plants below.
On Mrs. Wright's side and mine, the trumpet vine volunteers can be mowed away or exploited - depending.
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| Rototilling is a good way to work the abs while destroying the soil and slaughtering the earthworms. Mulching will accomplish far more at a lower cost. |
Unsolicited Endorsement
I spoke to a butcher yesterday who asked about my gardens. I buy five pounds of suet at a time from him. He has great roses and a beautiful lawn. He said, "I don't do anything. I just let the Good Lord do it for me. My neighbors have lawn services and terrible lawns. God does a better job, don't you think?"
Meanwhile, our newspaper suggested that flowers near trees should get extra doses of fertilizer, because the tree roots will seek out the water and fertilizer put on the cultivated area.
Needless to say, if the fertilizer makes things worse, more commercial applications will be suggested.
