[Cross-posted at My Left Wing]
Good morning, and may your toes wiggle freely in the sunshine! Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.
After off-and-on cool over the past few weeks, this week Denver exploded straight into summer-like weather. The lows have been in the mid-fifties, the highs have been in the upper 80's. And I've shed my socks in favor of Birkenstocks.
What has also exploded is the bearded iris. I've four different types blooming now, including this beauty. I've only one -- it's a repeat-bloom German bearded iris, and was about $5 for one tuber. I'm anxiously awaiting it's multiplying in that marvelous way bearded iris do.
And then there's the rugosa hansa rose bush. For a couple of weeks it has been sitting there, covered with tight buds, just hunkered down and waiting for the sun. Then boom! Within 2 days it was encased in opening blossoms, and the scent fills the front yard.
I cannot recommend this particular rose highly enough. It's extremely tough, tolerant of dry conditions, cold hardy and easy to care for. Give it a little fertilizer, whack it waaayyy back every couple of years, and keep it deadheaded, and it will give you richly scented blossoms all summer long.
I have been very busy this week. In the front yard, I planted several dahlias, and moved some perennials that were over-stepping some smaller plants. Like these -- mat daisies, and a low-growing pink. I used to have a huge mat of the pinks, but year by year they became overshadowed by a scabiosa and, with the addition of volunteered jupiter's beard and knautia macedonica, it was gasping for room.
My order of beneficial nematodes had been languishing in the refrigerator for a week before I was able to get them applied Tuesday evening. It can get tricky -- you need to have all areas to be treated thoroughly watered so the nematodes can get down into the soil, and apply at dusk, as sunlight will kill them. I bought 25 million this year, enough to treat the narcissus in both the front and back yards for narcissus fly, and to spray the patch of pitiful grass in the back yard.
My poor grass; I think it has sod webworm -- I get the telltale fly up of little moths when walking over the grass. In 2001 I had made a concerted effort to get a beautiful patch of lawn in the back yard, but now it's vulnerable after the ensuing years of drought and construction. I don't have a lot of grass, but I do like having a bit of emerald green for sitting, and so I can mow it and get that great smell of fresh-cut grass. So 2006 is marking another grass reclamation year. Beyond the nematodes, I over-seeded the grass that remains with Turf Alive III from Gardens Alive, then spread a good layer of peat moss over that. Now it's a matter of keeping it well-watered over the next couple of weeks and then, after the seed has established itself, applying a light application of fertilizer. I also spent considerable time with my Lee Valley water-powered weeder eliminating dandelions.
As I'm making no progress at all at getting my walkway installed, I revved up the Mantis rototiller (damned but it's nice to be able to start that thing!) and made a pass around the dug-out portion where it eventually will be. Looks a lot neater out there without the mass of weeds and stray clumps of grass growing there, and raked out evenly.
Up for this weekend is getting the last of the plants I started into the ground: four dahlias have yet to be planted, and corn seedlings, tomatoes and eggplant are ready to go. Then I need to re-pot the tomatoes that are going to others, and fill a couple more planters.
And tomorrow is the Garden Blogging Meetup and shopping trip to Paulino Gardens. You can find full information here. So far I've only had a couple of intrepid souls respond to the call -- I'd really like to meet more of you. You can recognize me as the short, thin woman with large amounts of brown curly hair.
After breakfast, and once we get to Paulino's, I'm planning on purchasing more annuals for planters and a couple more rock rose, such as those pictured -- it's a wonderful xeric groundcover.
So, what's going in in your garden?