The Historic District

Gothichome wrote: ↑Mon May 23, 2022 11:06 am ...I lost 5 of my tree lilies and the dahlia I planted last year never did sprout. Looking forward to plenty of flowers this year.

Dahlias need to be lifted in the fall and stored. It's a bit of a pain, but they're a rewarding plant to grow - well worth the effort. The one you got last year was a beautiful variety; it's too bad it was a dud or got eaten by critters. If you try again, you can make a little basket out of hardware cloth (so the voles can't get to it) and for extra safety, put a lid of chicken wire on top (so animals can't get to it from above). It will just grow through the chicken wire.

I like to plant zinnias every year. They're easy as can be - direct sow, big cheerful flowers that the pollinators love, and as long as you keep cutting them, they'll bloom all summer long. I favor the "cactus" type, with shaggy blooms.

After I removed the trash trees and the tangle of vegetation that had overwhelmed this property after a long period of neglect, the ornamental plants that had been struggling began to spring back to life. It took a couple of years, but a grassy little plant that I had left undisturbed for no other reason than it looked like it might "be something," this morning produced this big, showy bloom.



Some investigation resulted in the identification of this bulb as Zephranthes grandiflora, the pink rain lily. It has earned my respect for its toughness and a place of prominence in the garden.

Your gardens are still surprising you It would seem James. Think upper management is finally finished with her vision for this year so it’s just garden maintenance for the rest of the summer. I will probably start my first window this coming weekend. Time to enjoy the gardens.

Blueberries!

Just the start of the picking season James?

Yes. I was startled to learn that they could grow here because the best blueberries I've had were from Maine. As it turns out blueberries are native to eastern North America and the species in the north is Vaccinium corymbosum while the species in the south is Vaccinium ashei AKA "Rabbiteye blueberries." The flavor is just as delicious and indistinguishable from its Northern cousin.

Well it’s fast coming into mid summer, the spring flowers are a memory, the first flush of roses have finished, it’s time for my Lillie’s to take the spotlight.






My tree lilies this season are not as tall or robust as last season for some reason but many are now producing off shoots. Maybe using up some of their energy in the spring doing that rather than growing tall.

Ron

Lumberjacking, that what has gone on in our yard.
This tree came down the other day, it’s what I call a swamp willow, just a weed tree. It was very large and dying, not only that it was ugly and was intruding on our view.

My new view down the river, I can see all the way down to the bend now.


Only down side is we lose the shade, up side, lots more sun on the west side of Gothichome and spectacular sun sets.
Ron

Manalto wrote: ↑Tue Jun 14, 2022 12:34 pm Yes. I was startled to learn that they could grow here because the best blueberries I've had were from Maine. As it turns out blueberries are native to eastern North America and the species in the north is Vaccinium corymbosum while the species in the south is Vaccinium ashei AKA "Rabbiteye blueberries." The flavor is just as delicious and indistinguishable from its Northern cousin.

I talked to a blueberry grower one day several years ago, he said that blueberries grow in all 50 states, something I never knew before. We planted honeyberries this year as kind of a novelty. There are two guys in town that grow blueberries very well, they have both come by my place and helped me prune my bushes and offered fertilizing advice. This year it really paid off as I have picked a couple gallons of berries so far. I bird netted this this year which has made it so we get more than our fair share of berries. I noticed the birds never eat the gooseberries, black currants or the red currants we have. They do love the red raspberries and blueberries.

Dam Japanese beetles, no sooner do my roses open up they feast and have sex on it. A fresh flower in the morning, nothing but a middle left by the afternoon.