English Primrose

Yesterday I cleaned up the border along the patio and planted red, white and blue English Primroses. This is my first try with primroses but they were inexpensive at $1.29 at HD so I bought 8. The day before I had purchased tiny Tete-a-Tete daffodils in bloom from Armstrong. I placed these among the primroses and elsewhere in the garden. Other bulbs are beginning to peek from the ground which sure helps when the roses are pruned back and leafless.

I was frustrated with Armstrong. After attending their rose pruning class a year ago I went back to replenish the recommended mix to use on my pruned roses. I have the SolPoMag but needed to replace the Alfalfa Meal and Iron--they were out of iron and couldn't tell me when they will get more in. I tried two other stores with no luck. Is there a shortage?

Winter care

This morning I began pruning the roses. I did perhaps half in the backyard roses will finish all of them in the next two weekends. Also time to do some other garden work for winter. The weather is beautiful this weekend and should be through next weekend as well.

Spotted a big grasshopper but couldn't get at it to eliminate it. I read that poisons won't kill them so I have to use a shovel. Icky but they'll eat everything.

Potting Bench

The weather was beautiful over Thanksgiving weekend so I sanded and painted the potting bench. I want to protect it from the heat and sun and a little rain this winter. It's good to get that project out of the way.

There are still a few roses in bloom but the garden is becoming a bit ragged this late in the year. I always like pruning the roses to give the garden a new start.

Wind storm

We had a bad wind storm yesterday. In the early morning Mr. W and I went out to rescue our 3 iceberg rose trees before one of the trunks snapped. We cut off most of the branches to eliminate the sail effect and used velcro tape to rewrapp the trunks to the stakes. We saw that the Double Delight rose tree was not being blown around even though it is in the center of the garden and not protected by a wall. It has a metal stake instead of wood so Mr. W went out and bought metal stakes for the other rose trees.

After the storm the garden looks OK, no real damage is evident.

Last rose

Today I planted a Disneyland rose. Mr. W and I were at a home improvement store to purchase mulch and I saw a pretty deep pink rose with touches of yellow deep in the petals. When I saw the name I couldn't resist. It really ought to be the last rose added to the garden unless something else dies.

Roses

Here's a photo of the Moondance rose in bloom.

Today I fertilized the roses on the east side of the garden and the Spellbound roses in front with Bayer. I'll need another day for the rose garden but it may have to wait until after Easter. I spent a few days this week weeding the garden and mulching. Also planted six mail order replacement lavender that arrived this week. I moved two this morning that did not look well in hopes of saving them. I tried one in a pot and the other in a dryer place in the garden. It will be interesting to see if any survive and if the company replaces them for a 3rd time (or is it the 4th?).

Finally Spring

A really good gardening day weather and time-wise. I spread weed & feed on the front lawn and sprinkled cayenne pepper in the front rose planter. The four Spellbound roses seem to be doing well there despite the cat that digs around them and leaves little gifts. The cayenne seems to deter the cat somewhat but there is still digging going on. Buds are forming on the Spellbound roses so I am looking forward to blooms soon.

The new Moondance rose and the Bella Roma are in bloom in the rose garden. Something has eaten one of the Bella's buds and I hate to spray that bush. The hummingbird made her nest there last year. I have seen two hummers in the garden recently, a male and female but no sign of a nest. The Double Delight tree rose had one mostly white bloom and now is putting out a lot of buds. The iceberg tree roses should be covered in flowers in two weeks, just in time for Easter. One Veterans Honor near the back of the garden has buds but not the one in the rose garden. I did some weeding and separated some of the daffodils that are multiplying. I moved the freesia from the front to the backyard where they should suit other plantings and fall over the sidewalk and not the driveway. Perhaps I'll plant more daffodils in the front along the drive. Finally I need to move a lavender that is too close to a sprinkler in the front yard. I think I'll look for a rose or one of those pink flowering shrubs I see all over town to put there.