Memorial Maintenence Marathon: Part 3

This (very early) morning started with a huge bang as the first set of seasonal thunderstorms rumbled through the area. After comforting one of our four-legged garden helpers, I tried to get some more sleep. No such luck as yet another storm came through. And another. We decided to spend the morning inside and complete all those house chores I like to forget about if I can be outside in the garden.

After lunch out with a friend we returned home and surveyed the lot. The high winds and torrential downpours really battered some of the plants. The peonies, lambs ear, snow peas, spiderwort, and valerium had either been waterlogged or blown completely over. After trying to shake some water off the spiderwort in hopes of making it stand upright again, I gave up. It was probably going to rain again. It did.

I'm kind of kicking myself because I learned last year the spiderwort tends to collapse outward. But it did so because it was much larger and the weight of the blossoms pulled the stalks away from the center of the plant. I guess now I know as soon as it fills out, I should wrangle it with a pantyhose girdle. Same thing goes with the lamb's ear. Those flower stalks should have been staked by now. Argh. Next year the peonies will get cages so that should solve the waterlogged blooms bending the plant stalk over. The valerium was collateral damage as it was standing too close to the spiderwort. At least I remembered to effectively rope back the already massive jupiter's beard.

I'm not sure what to do with the snow peas as they were climbing their fence in their 4'x4' bed. According to the June 28, 1942 edition of the Sunday Morning Star, peas and pole beans can be given extra reinforcement by twiggy branches. This newspaper mentioning war bonds and victory gardens suggests to "give the plants known to need staking attention early in their career." So, for next spring, when the afore mentioned plants awake from their winter naps, I'll be waiting with bamboo stake, twine and pantyhose.

Memorial Maintenence Marathon: Part 2

Today I was out of bed at 7am so I could get some pre-heat wave work done in the garden. Progress was made until we had to leave at 10am. When we returned home around noon, the weather was unbearably hot and humid (for Zone 5). Siesta time! Unfortunately, I was shutdown until around 5pm. Laundry has to get done sometime I guess.

Nevertheless, here's what was accomplished today:

• all yellowed spring bulb foliage cleaned up in south bed
• lupine deadheaded
• irises deadheaded
• arborvitae bound up to hide winter damage
• all roses fed
• front and side beds weeded
• remainder of vegetable plants put into ground
• two dahlias potted
• hollyhock thinned
• a lot of ground ivy ripped out

This morning when I awoke, I had a surprise for me in the garden. The black and white poppy I'd planted last year had bloomed. Like the white bleeding heart, this is the first season it's bloomed on our lot. I'd been watching the pod-like shell the flower was in grow larger and larger. Sometime between last night and this morning, the pod literally popped in half and the flower unfurled. It's absolutely lovely. I'll name the poppy Audrey II.