flowers — Page 106

Saviors: Reading and Gardening

July 11, 2019 at 9:25 am by Claudia

This is a kind of sedum that I planted in the memorial garden. (I can’t remember the name.) I’m always surprised when it blooms. Bonus points: it spreads.

I mowed a lot yesterday and then I spent even more time outdoors pruning things in the big garden bed, trying to get at those white flies. I was happy because I love being outdoors and working on the property, but I’m paying the price today as my allergies are especially troublesome. Every time I check the weather I see this: “The pollen count today is high.”

I know. In fact, I knew that without checking the weather app.

So for today, I’m going to stay inside except for watering the porch plants and shooting water at the white flies. This afternoon we’re supposed to get thunderstorms, so hopefully, they will take over the role of ‘water cannon.’

I’m reading my next Kate Atkinson, When Will There Be Good News? Dang, I like her writing style! An absolute pleasure to read. There are two more in the series to read, as well – whoops! – make that three, as a new Jackson Brodie mystery has just been published.

Next month: the new Louise Penny, A Better Man, comes out on August 27th. Huzzah! On the same day, the newest in the “The Girl Who…” series, The Girl Who Lived Twice, will be published. Originally written by the late Steig Larsson, they are now being written by David Lagercrantz, and I have to say – he’s doing a bang-up job of it.

Deborah Crombie’s newest, A Bitter Feast, is being published on October 8th. And Michael Connelly’s newest Harry Bosch, The Night Fire, is being published on October 22nd.

All of the above authors are favorites of mine.

I like the idea of all sorts of books written by authors I love lined up, ready and waiting for me. It’s like a secret stash of good things to come.

And reading saves me in these times. Truly. I don’t know what I’d do without it.

Gardening, too.

Happy Thursday.

Flowers and Pests

July 10, 2019 at 10:04 am by Claudia

My coneflowers are coming into bloom. Between the coneflowers I actually planted and the ones that have self-seeded, I have maybe 60 (?) plants. Rick was asking me about them the other day and I told him they spread rather nicely. But what I should have said was that they self-seeded. I need to tell him to leave the seed heads up after their bloom and through the winter. That’s to ensure self-seeding and also to provide food for the birds.

This group of coneflowers is entirely self-seeded. They’re growing out of the rocky border of the flower bed. This group of coneflowers is bigger than ever this year.

June and July are the peak months for the garden. After that, everything starts to wind down. So I’m trying to stay in the moment and enjoy everything that’s blooming around me – even if the temps are in the nineties. After I finish this post, I’ll be running around watering everything. Then it will be time to mow the front yard.

All of the hosta plants are beginning to flower. I must admit, I always think this flowering happens later in the summer than it actually does and I go through a little panic thinking that summer is almost over. When will I learn?

I’m currently battling an outbreak of white flies in the garden. I’ve never seen them this bad. I’m going to put it down to the wet spring, but actually, I have no idea if that’s true. I’ve done a lot of research in the past 24 hours and for the moment, I’m going outside about 3 times a day to spray all the infestations with water. I have an organic, no chemicals garden, so I don’t want to use anything that would be harmful. I know there are sticky traps and I’m thinking about them, but I don’t want to harm any beneficial bugs and I would. I know dragonflies are one of their predators and I noticed them hanging around that area the other day, which now makes sense. The flies seem to be concentrated on the milkweed and the stems of the coneflowers.

After spraying them this morning, Don said “Who’s winning?” I answered that it was currently a draw.

Hey, it gives me something to do.

Happy Wednesday.

Flowers, Gardening & Reading

July 9, 2019 at 10:54 am by Claudia

Why do I buy just one hollyhock? I see photos on Instagram in which there are many planted in a row and wouldn’t that be lovely? I know the answer of course. I’m on a strict budget and I can’t afford to buy several of anything.

I’ve always had to wrestle with that, which I’m sure is the case with most of you. The garden beds are all perennials – except for the seeds I plant every year – and building up a perennial garden takes time and patience. We’ll have been in this house 14 years in August and it took at least seven of those years to build up the big garden bed. I’ve added other beds over the years, but only when I could afford the time and the money to do it right.

This year, after a couple of years of a little more money available than usual, we’re back to a tight budget, but we did allot a certain amount of money for mulch, topsoil, potting soil, seeds and plants for the pots on the porch.

We get so much pleasure from the porch and the gardens.

We mowed the back forty and the corral yesterday. Don also mowed the path into our woods. It’s pretty hot out there, so we were tuckered out afterwards. But it really needed it as it’s the one part of the property we feel we can neglect for a few weeks – but only a few weeks – as we’re the only ones who see it.

We took a walk this morning and I’ve already watered all the seedlings and the porch plants. It’s going to be a hot one. Looking at the weather for the next two weeks, it looks like we’re going to be hovering around 90 degrees every day.

Thanks so much for all your comments yesterday. I know that we all enjoy seeing what others are reading. I finished One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson this morning and I’m going to start When Will There Be Good News? by the same author later today. I’m reading them in order, save for the very first, Case Histories, which I don’t have on hand. I’ll find it soon. I really admire Atkinson’s ability to juggle several characters and weave every story together at the end of the mystery. More than any author I have read, she is a master of multiple points of view.

Happy Tuesday.

Saviors: Reading and Gardening

Flowers and Pests

Flowers, Gardening & Reading

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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