Good morning, and where does the time go? Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.
Denver recovered rapidly from the snow dump of a week ago: by Halloween evening the snow was gone from the southern exposures and the path was clear for massive numbers of trick-or-treaters to clomp up our front steps, ignore the doorbell and pound on the door.
For the past few days we've been hovering at near record highs at the airport: 77° on Thursday and 75° on Friday. In Denver proper we were several degrees warmer. Overnight lows have likewise been warm, not even descending to the 40s.
Today and tomorrow will be a touch cooler, but still lovely fall days — and the warmth earlier this week dried out the soil enough such that I'll be able to get at least some of the spring bulbs into the ground. I think I'll concentrate on those really pricey bulbs from Old House Gardens first.
The butt-ugly bush on the east side of the front porch has put out its berries. I have no idea what this thing is, beyond a bone of contention between the Mister and me.
He loves it because it spreads easily and thrives on neglect.
I hate it because it spreads easily and will take over if neglected. Plus it's ugly, dense, tangled and gets really leggy. And collects trash. I've gradually been pushing it back from the porch, giving me space to plant a dwarf Korean lilac bush — the lilac is a three years old now and finally starting to grow rapidly and soon (I hope) will overshadow the butt-ugly bush's ugliness with lilacian splendor.
Last week I promised an update on What I've Learned About Forcing Hyacinth, but stuff happens and time got away from me. For one thing, Arwen the Terrible has been at sixes and sevens with the time change. Sigh. I wish cats came with a re-set button. Arwen has her routine, and woe betide anyone who isn't doing what she thinks needs to be done at a certain time. Thus, although the alarm clock was reset, the Arwen purr-ball-get-up-and-give-me-gooshy-food alarm has still been going off an hour earlier. Ditto at the end of the day — she gets frantic when I haven't gone up to the bedroom to read at what, to her, is the "right" time. And, horrors of horrors, I've been getting home an hour late in Arwen time to re-fill her gooshy-food bowl. She's gradually acclimating, but she's been a most frantic, clingy pootie all week.
So you'll get your update next week.
On my normal Wednesday off it was too wet to actually plant bulbs, but I did do some of the cleanup which will allow me to plant bulbs this weekend. Along with cutting back spent foliage, I also took the opportunity of super-soft soil to pull out some excess plumbago. I have it planted at the base of a peony bush, and it's wonderful there, growing up through the peony's support ring and giving late-season color to what otherwise can be a dull spot. But plumbago's roots do spread wide, far and deep, so every few years I need to get it under control (at the same time separating the spring bulbs that also are planted in the area).
As soon as the morning has warmed enough, I'll head out, finish the front yard clean up then grab a drill and the bulb auger, start plugging bulbs in the ground and dreaming of spring.
That's what's happening here. What's going on in your gardens?