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Tuesday 29 September 2015

How to Garden While "MIA" ?

I have been absent  ... missing ? ... invisible ? ... gone ? ... on Mars ?  ..... out of action.
August was a total failure with a lack of communication between the garden and I.
I hung up the phone and refused to answer ... too hot ... too dry ... too MUCH !
Now September is almost over and I am scrambling to make it up to my beloved gardens ...
I have tried to sweet talk it ... throw chocolates (are you kidding ?) can't send it roses, how embarrassing would that be?
Picture how awful I have been to it in this photograph :
Orange Velvet growing like crazy, and me not training it as I should be, horizontally like the rest of my roses ... but last Friday I did try .... VERY hard to catch up  ... on one section of the sun strip.
The heat and droughty ? conditions seemed to make the roses grow like gangbusters ...
I had some beauties defy me and bloom fantastically ... almost thumbing their noses at me.

I have made a short list and stuck it on the fridge ... well two pages and I know there is more to add.
So far I have only been able to attack few major ones in the sun strip, fingers crossed it will grow the way I imagined it in my head.
Special thanks to Dawn at GardensPlus for getting those Scottish Fantasy day lilies to me.
You are a gem !

I learned that you can cut a major flower stalk off a thalictrum and it will put out another and bloom gorgeous stars of flowers all over again !

I learned that I had these pretty purple asters STILL ! after thinking I ripped all of them out (by mistake!!)  ... stop the shrieking ! .. oops ... that was me ... ugh !

That my dark (cimicifuga)  bugbane twins survived me not getting water to them as often as I should have ... bless their little hearts

That this newly renovated (dug up, cleaned up, replanted in a logical fashion I so hope!) is a GOOD thing ... and will look amazing next garden season ... and yes ... I have so much more to do it makes me shake in my garden shoes thinking about it.
There is a lot you can NOT see under the sea of black mulch !

More BIG sedums to dig up and split ... and the amazing hyssop to do the same thing to, if the bees would just leave it alone for a little while ... they have been so kind and harmed me even in the middle of so much action going on ... bless their tiny hearts too !

My Garden PA has been their life line too ... he has watered when I simply could not ...
He is my go to man when I am kneeling and can't jump up like a spring (again who am I kidding ?) to hand me things that I need ... like the pruners way down the path or that damn trowel I keep hiding on myself.

In between all of this .. I took pictures of the moon ... and our giant spider guarding the deck door.
I wanted to do a special affects shot with the moon and the spider ... this is the best I could do at the time ... I know ... small minds are amused by small things ?

The best thing that has happened lately has been some rain ... not a lot .. but better than nothing !
Another good thing is supposed to be cooler temperatures, starting tomorrow ...
So I am starting again tomorrow!

I couldn't resist this picture .. Ms. Spider has been an amazing creature to watch.
She had to redo her web(a number of times) after some of us have walked into by mistake ...
Believe me , no one wants to do THAT on purpose !

One last picture of the moon ... Saturday night when it was supposed to "howl"
I hate that you can have only one object in focus for a shot like this but there it is and I do love it!
So  ... that was me in a nutshell ... so much more work to do ... pictures and posts will have to wait.
I do love to blog about how I put my garden to bed though ... so that will be the theme of whatever I can get on "paper" !

16 comments:

RobinL said...

I'm tired just thinking about the work you are trying to accomplish there! I've been very neglectful of my garden this year, but with good reason. You see, I'm scheduled to get a new knee at the end of October! Next year, is my battle cry for everything these days. Now you, get back out there and get busy! LOL

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Wonderful to hear from you Joy. You have been busy. Your garden looks great despite the droughty conditions. My poor cigmafugia didn't even bloom this year it was so dry. It did send up a stalk but it just couldn't push out the buds and blooms. :( Hopefully it will survive to bloom another year. Talk about weeds. When nothing else grows weeds will. Enough griping. Your photos are superb. I think the spider on the web should be your halloween photo. Wonderful to see droplets of rain on the web too. Enjoy this cooler damp weather. I know I will.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

P.S. I love your header photo. I think you are brave to put your "to do" list on the fridge. I keep mine hidden in my garden journal. What would we do without our garden helpers?? Not as much for sure.

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

Hope you are doing o.k.?
It was not the best Summer here either.
I got to work on the project I have been wanting to do since last Spring. Almost done. I am almost done and I am looking forward to FALL? What is that?(-: I swear this past year has been an on going Summer.)-: Take care!!!!

khaki said...

As usual I enjoyed your post. The spider web photo is beautiful as were the Rose and Aster photos. Where does the time go????

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh you poor thing. It has been one heck of a summer of nothing getting done for a lot of us around here. The weather I will blame it on that:) I think your garden looks great but all I have in mine left is four gigantic Dinosaur Kale plants and things I long ago forgot the names of:) so what do I know? I LOVE LOVE your moon and spider shots they are incredible. Maybe fall will be nicer and gentler on us. HUGS B

Barry said...

The garden is our most forgiving friend Joy - keep repeating this mantra when you feel as though you have been neglectful! I will say your Cimacifuga must like you more than mine does me - mine was burned to a crisp along the side of the house...... the ones between the houses were pristine... bad me!

Is it wrong to admit that while I had every intention of dividing and putting the beds to sleep for the winter that I simply cannot do it yet! Its just too soon. I have Thanksgiving weekend to myself so think I will attempt it then! My thinking is when I cut the garden back it needs to snow! Speaking of which, looks like it will feel like -2 here tonight!

Your garden looks great, belying that list you've created. Don't be too hard on yourself!

Nadezda said...

Oh, Joy, you have a long list 'to do'. I divided sedums as well and planted them in different shady spots.I love your photos on the moon, did you see its eclipse? I didn't because of very cloudy and rainy night ..:(( Yes, I think about new garden season too, new plans, new plants.

NanaDiana said...

Well, I see you have been a busy lady and away from blogging yourself. It is good to be back here, visiting you and catching up in general. I think what I see there looks amazing...especially to one whose gardens have been ripped asunder for the sake of "landscaping for show to sell"....which we have not put on hold for at least a year.

Have a wonderful weekend and don't overdo! xo Diana

outlawgardener said...

It's amazing how resilient plants are! I'm glad that someone was watering them so that I didn't have to file a report with the ASPCP (Association for the prevention of cruelty to plants.) Of course, I'd have to report myself as well. Beautiful shots of the moon and spider!

Casa Mariposa said...

I love that you wrote everything down. I do that, too. It's the only way I remember what I need to do. The trumpet creeper that my bugbane is planted under lost a lot of its leaves this summer so they fried a bit in too much sun. Yours are beauties!

Jennifer said...

Very funny post Joy! We have had some very unpleasant gardening weather in the past few months, didn't we? The heat was killer! I was sooo glad when the temperatures finally dropped. Like you, I have a long to-do list. I just hope the weather cooperates long enough for me to get it all done.
Great moon shots by the way!

Rose said...

You take the most stunning photos of the moon, Joy! And I love the spiderwebs--perfect for October! I've pretty much been MIA in the garden the last month or so, too. It's finally cooled off here, but I've also been dealing with my Mom's health issues, so garden time has become much more limited. I've made a list of all the things that need to get done, but I'm also prioritizing it, because I know I will never get it all done. Except for the tulips and other bulbs that must be planted this fall, most of it could wait till spring--and probably will:) Here's hoping we have a lovely fall with a late frost so we can both get caught up!

Linda said...

Your photos are gorgeous! I think it is good to keep a journal, too. :)

Barbarapc said...

It was one of those summers that didn't go according to plan - fortunately it looks like both you and your garden have worked it out. Sedums are looking great - newly renovated garden coming along and will be GORGEOUS next year - and Cimmees may not be gigantic, but mine look like old herbs I've kept in the back of my cupboard for 3 years....crispeee city! I had great plans for bulbs - you know those things you plant in the fall, but I'm just done. I'm thinking like you, I'll do notes and take pictures and make plans for next year....and when the leaves change in a few weeks, I think I'll just call it a wrap! xo/B.

Pat said...

Loving all your pics. It's like you live in paradise...one wow after another.