The Best Thing You Can Put In Your Garden

Somewhere along the way I once read "The best thing you can put in your garden is you." Any good gardener knows the biggest part of gardening is being in the garden. Picking weeds, looking for bugs, dead-heading, whatever. Fortunately, I've put a lot of me in the garden in the last few weeks. I've got a ton summer cuttings started in the front yard, the butterfly and shed gardens are picking up and I planted a little itty-bitty veggie garden in the corner garden where I finally gave up on some of my gingers growing this year. This concept applies with a blog, too. I haven't put too much of myself here lately. Who wants to be stuck behind computer when there is a garden to garden? I did take pictures in the last few weeks of some of the best blooms. Hope this will hold you over until I get some legitimate update posts done. Enjoy!

I think this daylily was called 'purple grape'. I call it yummy!

African Iris

African Iris

Daylily - 'Clara'

One of the reasons I LOVE coleus is its diversity. On the right is one from the Aurora series. There was no name in the nursery for the one on the left, so it is now know by me as 'Big-honkin' Coleus.

Crinum Scabrum

Crinum Scabrum

Red Canna

Yellow Walking Iris

Hidden Ginger

'Black and Blue' Salvia and 'Happy Returns' Daylily

Irises

The African Irises in the front garden are putting on quite the show.

In other parts of my yard, I think I'm going to give up on growing gingers this year.

Recent Flowers

Yep I'm still here! I'm still gardening too. I've just been a bit, err, pre-occupied. Oh well. Here is what has been blooming in the garden:

The cannas have been doing very well this year, despite the leaf-rollers.

The front garden has done especially well. It attracts multitudes of butterflies, and reportedly a few hummingbirds as well, although I haven't seen them yet.

This is an iris from the front garden.

The Globba Ginger managed to avoid the squirrels and blooming nicely - yay!!

September is when the weather cools in this area and the garden and the gardeners start to perk up. I've got some big projects planned soon!

Shock and Awe

So I went out today expecting total death and destruction of all my plants from 4 days of freezing temperatures. Especially since I did just about nothing to protect any of my plants. What did I find instead?

BLOOMS!

What the . . ? Even the ginger is blooming.

After a bit of hunting, I found some coleus that took a beating, but is still ticking.

I Just Need Some Pretty Flowers Today . . .

If you are having one of those days, here you are: Flowers from the garden over the last week:

Irises in the front garden.

The Peruvian Daffodil turned out to be a double.

Peruvian Sheild (Peru must have lots of cool plants . . .)

My Hidden Ginger was really hidden. I passed by it three times.

Canna 'Tropicanna'

Update of the Front Garden

Well, I'm due for some updates. I hate to show the garden right now, as it is less than stellar. But I'd like a reminder next year if March that it does eventually get better.

The iris is pretty though.

This is What Happiness Looks Like

Several weeks ago, my front garden was seriously depressing me. This morning I woke up to this, and all was well again:

Doesn't that just scream spring? If you are interested, the story of how I "procured" these irises is here and here. So for the first time in a few weeks, I spent the day gardening.

First I dug up the plants I wanted to keep, then pulled the weeds and loosened the dirt.

Next comes newpaper to cut down on the weeds. Watering them keeps them in place.

Cow manure goes on next, then mulch. My daughter was highly amused when I told her what manure was. What does it smell like? Poop. It is. It's cow poo. Yuck! Do plants like cow poo? Yep, they think it is a hot fudge sundae!! Ewwwww.
Here it is, all done. I put the vinca back in, and added some white impatien cuttings. In the middle I'll put in a Split Leaf Philodendron some time in the upcoming weeks. Now, most gardeners who know what they are doing will tell you to put the manure under the newspaper, near the roots, and this probably good advice. I put it on top because, under no circumstances should my husband see newspaper in the garden. This upsets him. So manure helps cover the newspaper and cuts down on how much mulch I need to buy. I did the same thing in the butterfly garden and when I was planting lily bulbs, I noticed the soil was light and fluffy. And there was a total worm convention going on! So I must not be doing it too wrong.

New Plant in Front Yard Garden Bed

So. . . how do you my new white irises?

I understand they thrive on neglect.

A Garden Fairy

Do you know how some people can't see a stray or abused dog with out stopping the car and adopting it on the spot? I think I might be like that with plants. I see neglected plants and it hurts me a little. Usually, I resist the urge to clear out random neglected beds out of sheer laziness, but I've been known to pull a few weeds during a break at work. This one got to me though. This bed is located outside my daughter's daycare center, so I've been parking next to it for years. It doesn't look like much, but I happen to know there are beautiful white irises in there, irises that bloom and flourish with no fuss or work. What? You don’t see any irises? Trust me, they are there. I’m pretty sure the ladies that run the daycare don’t know they are in there either.
Of course, this last season, it did not bloom much. It is no wonder. The plants desperately needed to be divided and the weeds are choking them out. So, today I broke down and started weeding. Out of the goodness my own heart – I swear. It was simply for the benefit of these beautiful irises, irises that desperately needed to be divided. Honest.
So after some ant bites, a blister on my finger, and long battle with a hideous weed with very sharp thorns, this the result:
Actually it was pretty fun. I didn’t get every weed, and I only divided two of the largest clumps, but I think I made a pretty big difference. I didn’t tell the daycare I was doing this. By telling them I thought it might obligate me in some way. I also thought they might think I was totally insane. I mean, who goes around weeding random beds? Let them think they’ve been hit by a garden fairy.

Did I mention that those irises needed dividing?