Garden Update August 2008

Wild Goldenrod

After all the heavy rain of spring we have fully entered the usual “drytime”. This is very stressful for most plants, but the grasses of the plains just go dormant and bide their time. That is probably what made this area a prairie. Other than that the weather has been quite cool for this time of year. I’m not complaining- I hate it when it is too hot.

However, I completely wasted these beautiful days upgrading programs on the computer- such a shame! But schooltime is coming and I won’t have free time for those tasks.

I began renovation on another part of the garden. Cut out large portions of the growth from the rootstock of the weeping crabapple- it finally has its good form again, but so sparse looking! And the nesting mourning dove was not happy- and I don’t blame her. She was well protected by not only the sprout growth of the tree, but a Maacki honeysuckle that had seeded itself (and is now gone), and bushy raspberry branches which were also removed. Poor bird and her nest now all exposed. I cut away what was left of the purple sand cherry which had succumbed to horrible weather conditions two years ago. then got to work on the weeds. The hostas, peony, and Hansa rose are all still there, now with hopes of more than mere survival. This was one of my favorite new areas oh so many years ago, and I hope to rework it with a little winter fireside planning – but first that preparation! And that is what I’ve been up to this past week in the garden.

It is time to trim back the coreopsis, rue, hosta stalks, and remove many of the Shirley poppy plants that are done. The lavender was trimmed back this past week, and the Princess spireas shaped up.

I also had to prune away the pyracantha which was two seasons overdue. The berries all were ruined anyway… something turned them brown, some bacterial blight or something. My husband complained- and relayed the electric company’s complaint- about the overgrowth of the spiny firethorn bush, so I had to get the loppers out there. It turns out I uncovered another birds nest, this time with a group of silent and barely feathered little babies. They minded their manners well and kept quiet in the presence of strangers… but I peeked in and saw them. I left that branched area, but they are very exposed to the elements now. I always feel sorry to disturb birds in that way, but I didn’t see the nest until it was too late- I had already cut through the branches that were sheltering the nest overhead.

The pyracantha bush always cuts me up so badly. I was wearing short which didn’t help, either. I did find the new pruning loppers handy, though. They are very awkward in many circumstances, since they are the type with gears, and don’t open wide at the blade. Once they have a branch in their grip, however, it is easy work to prune even hefty size branches circumferences. Which is why I bought them.

If a girl doesn’t have brawn, she better have brain.