My Garden Diary

Did some corrective pruning of the two Podocarpus trees flanking the brick walkway in front. The tree on the west side of the walkway — which grows vigorously — only needed some of the longer side branches headed and the "hangers" removed. The tree on the east side needed more drastic work. It never was vigorous, and the leader was quite puny. I headed the leader to about 2 feet above a vigorous, limber side branch, which I then tied upright to the stub of the leader to make a new leader. When that side branch becomes firmly vertical, I will remove the remainder of the old leader. I then fed this tree with ammonium sulfate to try to boost its growth. (I didn't touch the third Podocarpus, on the west side of the garage. It needs to recover from the butchering it got from the painters (15 Dec 04).)

While feeding the tree, I also gave the Ficus benjamina on the front porch a couple of pinches of ammonium sulfate.

Now that the eugenia are resprouting from their renovation pruning (20 Mar), I did a little touch-up pruning.

Fed the roses with ammonium sulfate.

Some of the house plants in the breakfast room greenhouse window show signs of pests. The Sprenger asparagus (A. densiflorus 'Sprengeri') has mealy bugs. The schefflera (S. arboricola(?)) has scale. I fed all the house plants — even the pothos (Epipremnum pinnatum) hanging the skylight in Evelyn's bathroom — with a fertilizer that contains a systemic insecticide.

Yesterday, I scattered some mothballs on the lawn where some animal has been relieving itself (19—Apr). It didn't work. Today, there were fresh droppings right on top of the mothballs. I finally made contact with the lawn service. The lawn will be mowed next Tuesday. I hope they don't get any nasty surprises. (I did warn the service's owner that a cleanup might be needed first.)

At their monthly meeting last night, the Oak Park Gardeners had a guest speaker discussing orchids. For many years, I had a Phalaenopsis in the greenhouse window that bloomed repeatedly; but then it died. There will be a local orchid club show in June. I might go and buy a plant or two.

Removed the abandoned hummingbird nest (12 Apr) from the Ficus benjamina on my front porch. I also did some minor trimming of the Ficus and swept the bird droppings off the porch.

Sprayed fungicide on the roses. Over half the foliage on 'Paradise' in front is severely infected with rust, while all the roses in back show signs of mildew.

Mowed the weeds in the parkway in front.

Did some minor trimming of the myrtles (Myrtus communis 'Compacta') in back. While they can be sheared into formal shapes and even topiary, I am only interested in keeping them compact. I prefer the informal billows and textures of an English garden over the formal planes and geometry of a French garden.

Hung shade cloth over the greenhouse window. This breakfast room window is on the north side of the house, but the house is not square on the compass. Thus, during the months that Cleopatra roams the backyard, sun shines directly on the plants in the window unless I protect them with shade cloth.

Adjusted the ties for the 'Fourth of July' climbing rose. I want the two longest canes to form a V with one cane growing towards my neighbor's house and one towards mine. The latter cane was not cooperating, so I now have additional twine pulling it in the right direction.

Stirred the compost pile. I thought I might be able to sift it soon, but the leaves are still too recognizable. It just hasn't "worked" long enough.

Fed the Liquidambar and Eucalyptus ficifolia trees with a mix of ammonium sulfate, iron sulfate, and a generous amount of gypsum. Both trees are sensitive to poorly draining soil (thus the gypsum) and readily show symptoms of chlorosis (thus the acidic mix).

Also fed the potted herbs with just a pinch of ammonium sulfate each.

Raked the decomposed granite (DG) walkways in back, cleaning up the residue from trimming the edges of the lawn and the fallout from The Tree. I also swept the patio. With a shovel, I picked up some DG that had eroded from the walkways onto the patio and returned it to some low spots on the walkways.

Sprayed patches of weeds with Roundup.

Trimmed the lawn away from the patio and from the gardenia and daylilies growing near the patio.

The hummingbird nest is being reused. The current residents are not the same as before (6 Apr). Their bills curve differently. This momma laid some eggs.

Although the pink clover in front is spreading, the lawn still looks barren. The pink clover will not be an effective cover for several months yet. In the meantime, I seeded marigolds in the larger part of the area. First, I raked the leaf mulch aside, making a wide stripe across the lawn. I then divided a small batch of my favorite 50-50 mix of peat moss and sand in thirds, mixing the seeds of a different variety of marigold into each third. I carefully placed the mix on the stripe in three bands, with the tallest variety of marigold in back and a miniature variety in front. After lightly sprinkling the area with water, I carefully returned the leaf mulch and watered again.

Trimmed the Cuphea in the teardrop bed some more (4 Apr). Then I fed the bed with an off-brand lawn food.

Finished trimming the lawn along the walkways. I also trimmed where daylilies grow out of the lawn. Afterwards, I fed the daylilies, heavenly bamboo, and society garlic, using the same fertilizer I used on the teardrop bed.

Fed the Camellia sasanqua in the east and rose beds (except for one in the rose bed that is partially buried by the slide from My Hill). I used a commercial azalea and camellia food. I also gave the dwarf citrus a little snack of ammonium sulfate.

Yesterday, I bought a six-pack of perennial Dianthus to plant in the circular and east beds. But by the time I finished feeding the citrus, I was exhausted. I'll have to plant these later this week.

Trimmed the Australian tea tree (Leptospermum laevigatum), removing some of the very lowest branches and some down-hanging growth. It will never really look like a tree, but I want it to grow more upright.

Also trimmed the Cuphea hyssopifolia growing around the tea tree in the teardrop bed. I was much more judicious in this, trying to avoid killing the plants, as happened when I sheared the Cuphea in the rose bed last summer (9 Jul 04).

Trimmed more of the back lawn along the walkways. I almost finished where the heavenly bamboo alternates with society garlic. Before I was exhausted, I also weeded around the potted herbs.

The baby hummingbirds (6 Mar) grew up and flew away. The nest at the top of my potted Ficus benjamina is now empty. I'll remove it next week, when I'm sure it has been abandoned.

Trimmed more of the back lawn along the walkways. Now I've reached where the heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica) alternates with society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea). As soon as I finish trimming around those plants and the nearby daylilies, I'll call the lawn service for my semi-annual mowing.

Gave my neighbor from across the street a brief tour of the back yard. I picked a few lemons for him. There are several clusters of full-sized, ripe lemons on this dwarf tree.

Continued trimming the back lawn along the walkways.

There are six 'Powis Castle' Artemisia in back, which I cut back late last fall. Three are now regrowing nicely. Two are regrowing on one side but — after starting to regrow — are now declining on the other side. One is completely declining, looking quite wilted. I cut away the bad sides of the two "half-and-half" Artemisias, but I can't do anything with the one that is completely wilted. I also took new cuttings from the three that are doing well, just in case I have to replace one or more of the others.

Continued trimming the back lawn along the walkways.

Started trimming the back lawn along the pathways. In the process, I also weeded a section of pathway. After My Hill is repaired, I'll have to top the pathways with fresh decomposed granite to replace what the rain storms washed away.

Counted more than 20 ripe lemons on my little dwarf lemon tree.

Fed the miniature roses growing together in a large pot on the patio.

Finished pruning the eugenia along the east edge of the front yard. The first one I did (10 Mar) already has new buds swelling.

Fed the front yard except for the pink clover, which I fed earlier (8 Mar). Since more rain is expected, I didn't bother to rinse the fertilizer into the soil.

Pruned one more eugenia, to fill the garden waste bin. There are two more remaining to be pruned.

Adjusted the sprinkler heads in the rose bed in back to spray only away from the mud from My Hill. Then I set the clock to include that circuit. This way, I can keep the plants at the back of the back yard alive until My Hill is repaired.

• peat moss, to provide long-term improvement in the soil's tilth
• gypsum (calcium sulfate), to break up the adobe clay, promote root growth, and speed the movement of nutrients to the rose roots
• ammonium sulfate, to promote vigorous growth
• superphosphate, to promote blooming
• iron sulfate, to make the leaves green
• Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate), to promote the formation of new canes
• soil sulfur, to acidify the soil (beyond what the sulfates will do)
• zinc sulfate, to promote bud growth

I dug this mix into the soil in two quarter-arcs, one on each side of a rose bush. Because the soil is so heavy, I quit after doing four bushes. I should be able to finish before the end of the week.

Trimmed the star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), which had a sudden spurt of spring growth. I mostly headed long shoots to make the plants more compact, especially on the south side of the trellis I made.

While raking the lawn in back, I noticed how much better it's growing than at this time last year. I think this is because I had it mowed last October and was then able to rake away the fallen leaves.

Dropped gypsum around the six 'Powis Castle' Artemisia in back. Someone suggested that the soil was just too wet for them, which is why some are wilting (possible root rot).

Fed the back. I use an off-brand lawn food that maximizes the amount of nitrogen per dollar. This feeding included the east, teardrop, circular, and west beds. I skipped the rose bed because I don't want to encourage new growth before the bed is impacted by repairs to My Hill. I also skipped the camellia bed, which gets fed after all camellias and azaleas have finished blooming. Similarly, while feeding the circular bed, I avoided feeding the azaleas there. I did not feed the lawn, which will be fed next month after it's mowed; but I did feed the shrubs and perennials that are growing in the lawn.

Pruned two more eugenia in front. Also trimmed some of the ivy growing around the Liquidambar styraciflua.

Tested the sprinklers in front. Unlike those in back (10 Mar), none needed any repairs or adjustments.

Planted the 'George Taber' azalea that I bought last week. Digging out the dead stump of the azalea it replaced was quite a chore, with large roots from all directions. The stump itself held onto a significant amount of soil, which I replaced with peat moss and a little sand (both stirred well into the native soil). I also stirred a large handful of bone meal into the hole before setting the new plant.

With the heat and low humidity, the soil is beginning to dry. I turned on the clock for the automatic sprinklers for the first time since December. However, I set the circuit for the rose bed in back to "off" because it would otherwise water the bottom of My Hill and the dirt that slid into the rose bed; these must all dry before My Hill can be repaired.

As usual when I start the automatic sprinklers after an extended shut-off, I tested the circuits in back. One popup head did not popup until I gave it a tug; when I shut that circuit off, that same head did not retract. I started to adjust it, but the whole thing came apart in my hand. Fortunately, I was able to reassemble the head; and it now works fine. I saved several dollars and a trip to the hardware store.

Started pruning the eugenia (Syzygium paniculatum) along the east edge of my front yard. This is a major renovation, similar to the severe pruning I did to the Pittosporum tobira last year (10 May 04). With pulling weeds and cutting the ivy on my mailbox (8 Mar), I only did two of the eugenia shrubs before the garden waste bin was full.

Renovated the ivy on my mailbox. Last year, I often trimmed the ivy away from the door, off the curb and driveway, and closer to the post, calling it a "haircut" (e.g., 30 Nov 04). If that was a haircut, this time I scalped it bald! I do this every few years in the early spring. Within a few weeks, new growth will again hide the mailbox.

The rains expected last week were not enough to rinse the gypsum into the soil (25 Feb), so I had to hose down the beds in back. (I did the front last Tuesday.)

Raked and swept a lot of fallen fluff from The Tree. Most went into the garden trash bin, but I used some as a mulch around my camellias.

A couple of weeks ago, I ordered a 1 gallon 'George Taber' azalea from a local nursery to fill in a hole where one had died in the camellia bed. I picked it up the past week, along with a purple-leafed sage (Salvia officinalis), a 1 gallon bay (Laurus nobilis), and a French lavender (Lavandula dentata). The sage replaces a potted herb in back, which I had for several years but which died this winter. Today, I potted the sage and bay. I hope to plant the azalea later this week. The lavender will replace the Spanish lavender (L. stoecchas) that I have in front after the latter finishes blooming; the Spanish lavender is declining and looks quite ratty.

I'm concerned about some of the 'Powis Castle' Artemisia in back. Two of the plants seem to be wilting after putting out new growth.