Sassy and I had a long walk today, at her insistence. I let her take the lead since I have shortened her walk on hot, humid mornings. Today we enjoyed the cool from the brief rain yesterday. Sassy went down a favorite street, headed toward the fire station and smiled. That means a plan. We crossed Joye Street and headed past the fire station toward Almost Eden Gardens and Nursery - her goal.
I thought we were late to see Opie the dog and his Chief of Staff, Almost Eden himself. But there they were, watering the plants. Sassy and Opie friended each other again and carried out a mini-tag game. Opie howled softly to encourage me to pet him. He put his little muzzle in the air, "Ow-wooo." That is the first dog I have seen to howl for petting.
We are actually south of Almost Eden, but there is no South of Eden movie. I never saw East of Eden but remembered the movie title.
This time we talked about social media, Crepe Myrtles, KnockOut roses, and birds. He told me about how much Goldfinches love Crepe Myrtle seed. We looked over and saw a Mockingbird harvesting some seeds from the Crepe Myrtles.
We are both dealing with Bermuda grass invasions, plus all the other weeds. Rain has been pretty good, with plenty of sun in-between, so weeds are enjoying the benefits.
KnockOut roses seem vulnerable to a disease that is different from the feared Rosette disease. I looked all over the Net for answers to KnockOuts looking great and suddenly dying. I dug two out recently, after a good spring bloom. What looked like frost damage was simply the first sign of die-off. Almost Eden gave me some brief Yoda-like insights. "Once that starts, it's over."
And he was correct. I pruned those two KO roses until they were completely KOed. The rest of them burst into new growth and bloom after a 50% prune.
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| Great Expectations Hosta. |
Meanwhile - Hosta Garden Preparation
We now have the Hosta garden carpeted with cardboard - and some pine needles on the sunniest row with the Blueberries. Blueberries are more productive with acidic soil and that will not hurt the Hostas.
Two rows of Hostas took off right away, with plenty of rain and some soaker hose contributions.
I said NO! to wood mulch in the backyard. We are using whatever falls from trees, so we will be rewarded with free mulch in another month or so. The neighbors are so kind to put their leaves in green, recycling bags.
Mrs. I is still talking about me stopping in Midland to grab bags that seemed to be full of leaves, tossing them in the trunk, with LI and my wife cringing in the car. Is it more noble to buy something similar from Lowe's, Walmart? I think not.
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| Blue Hawaii - one of 8,000 cultivars. |