My Garden Diary

Trimmed the dwarf ivy under the liquidambar tree (L. styraciflua) and on the mailbox.

This morning, I had an omelet for breakfast; it was seasoned with fresh basil and a little fresh dill from my garden. Dinner featured a boneless pork roast, cooked on our new gas barbecue and seasoned with fresh bay, sage, thyme, and rosemary from my garden.

Planted dill in a flower pot again (26 Mar).

Climbed My Hill to pull weeds above the brow-line (cross-hill) drainage ditch. Just getting to the top of My Hill was exhausting. Then I had to traverse the slope twice, once standing in the ditch to pull the lower weeds and then again above the ditch to get the weeds closer to the property-line fence. I don't plan to try that again soon.

Gave up trying to root a second pothos cutting (10 Mar). I took down the flower pot that hangs in the blue bathroom upstairs, cut some shoots, and trashed the rest of the plant. Using fresh potting mix, I potted the one rooted cutting and the newly cut shoots.

Also repotted the Schefflera in the breakfast room greenhouse window.

Finally completed the weeding of the east bed in back. Now I will have to start over again with the parkway in front (26 Feb). Also, new weeds (again mostly pimpernel) are starting in the east bed adjacent to the camellia bed, where I originally started weeding the east bed.

Finished thinning the fruit on the peach tree. Seeds (e.g., peach pits) contain protien and oils, both of which require more resources from a plant than do carbohydrates (e.g., the edible flesh of a peach). Thinning has no effect on the size of the pits in the remaining peaches. Producing fewer pits, however, generally allows the tree to produce larger peaches. In the end, I may actually get more edible fruit by thinning.

Planted seeds of low-growing marigolds part-way along the edges of the brick walkway in front.

Broadcast gypsum over the entire front yard and the west, rose, and part of the east beds in back. This should reduce the stickiness of the clay soil in my garden, making it easier to pull weeds and for water to soak into the ground. I used up all the gypsum I had — about 70 pounds — so I'll have to buy more to finish the back yard.

Put up four cuttings of the dwarf eugenia (Syzygium paniculatum) from the front yard. If any take root, I'll use them to extend the eugenia hedge that runs along the east edge of the front lawn. The hedge ends where I used to have a Christmas heather (Erica canaliculata 'Boscaweniana', actually a heath) adjacent to the sidewalk. Now that the heather has been replaced with a new one in the middle of the lawn (25 Dec 07), I want to extend the eugenia in an arc to the sidewalk.

Trashed the spoon-flowered chysanthemum that was growing in a flower pot on the patio and replaced it with rooted cuttings from the old plant (10 Mar). I also potted some of the cuttings in a small plastic pot as a gift to someone — after they start blooming in the fall.

Finished trimming the red fescue grass around the sprinklers and various plants growing in the back lawn.

Thinned some more peaches.

Picked more than a dozen ripe loquats.

Pulled more weeds in the east bed. New pimpernel is already sprouting where I recently cleared large amounts of that pest.

Hung shade cloth over the greenhouse window. The window was already receiving about two hours of direct sun each morning.

Stirred the compost pile. It's still not ready to be sifted.

Fed the dwarf citrus, tea tree, and gardenia with ammonium sulfate and a dash of zinc sulfate. I also put a pinch of ammonium sulfate around each wax-leaf begonia.

Fed the Camellia sasanqua in the east and rose beds, using a commercial camellia and azalea food.

An 'Inga' azalea was growing in an oblong planter that sat on the main walkway that separates the lawn from the rose bed. The azalea was not doing well, so today I replaced it with a hybrid Alstroemeria. (Another 'Inga' azalea is doing much better in a red-clay bowl on the brick walkway in front.)

Started thinning peaches.

Trimmed the lawn away from sprinkler heads, the pots in which dwarf citrus are growing, and some of the plants that are planted directly in the lawn. I still have more trimming to do before all plants in the lawn are not crowded by the red fescue (Festuca rubra).

Picked another loquat (8 Apr). This one was ripe and quite tasty. Soon, dozens will be ripe.

Last night, my brother (visiting from northern California) and I shared a large loquat from the tree in the circular bed. Although it was getting soft and the color was good, it was a bit tart. I think they need another week or two to ripen fully.

Pulled another bucket of pimpernel from around the peach tree. Then I sprayed that tree and the roses to prevent bark borers.

The sprinkler for the star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) doesn't seem to cover the entire bed. I tried to adjust it, but that didn't help. The head seems to be two opposing quarters. I think I'll replace it with a half or one-third head.

Any gardening task is difficult right now. Right-handed, I have developed a very sore right thumb. When not gardening, I have to wear a splint that immobilizes my thumb. When gardening, I must be careful how I use my thumb to avoid severe pain.

Pulled weeds from the camellia bed and from adjacent parts of the east bed. I filled my 5 gallon pail two times and then about half of a third time. The pimpernel was so thick it was crowding out some candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) and primroses (Primula polyantha). It even smothered most other weeds.

Trimmed the edges of the teardrop bed, where pink clover (Persicaria capitata) was starting to grow out over the walkway.

I tried to create a graphic for my The Back Yard page to illustrate the pattern of wax-leaf begonias. It just didn't come out right. I'll try again some other day.

Weeded the smaller part of the front lawn, the part between the brick walkway and the driveway. Then I fed it and rinsed the fertilizer into the soil just as I did (24 Mar) for the larger part.

The fan palm (Washingtonia filifera) on the front walkway obviously needed repotting. The base was raised above the soil by the roots. Instead of using the existing red-clay pot, I used a decorative pot that is wider. When I removed the palm from its old pot, I found the roots had circled at the bottom, lifting the plant several inches. Since the new pot is no deeper than the old one, I severely pruned the roots. I've done this before with the same plant, and it always recovers very quickly.

Fed the dwarf citrus with commercial citrus food plus a little zinc sulfate and some Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate). Also fed the gardenia and Australian tea tree with the same combination.

Potted some basil (Ocimum basilicum) that I bought yesterday. The dill (5 Mar) is not doing well and might have to be replaced.

Planted a red-flowered, green-leafed begonia in the raised bed around the tangelo. This replaces a begonia that failed to survive the repairs to My Hill.

Finished weeding the larger part of the front lawn, the part east of the brick walkway to our front door. Then I fed it generously with generic lawn food, which I watered into the soil. Next, I have to do the part between the walkway and the driveway, finishing by weeding again the parkway.

Weeds not only spoil the look of a garden; they also steal moisture and nutrients from other plants. If they grow tall enough, they will also steal sunlight. The sprinklers left the front lawn was too muddy for weeding. However, I saw patches of oxalis (O. coniculata), which is a weed that cannot be left for another day. I removed all the oxalis that I could see.

Dug the weeds from between the bricks in the panel on the far side of the driveway.

Climbed My Hill to install the wire rope for the 'Flame' grape at the top. While I was up there, I put bright orange safety caps on the exposed ends of the rebar. If I need any workers to climb My Hill, these caps will help them avoid tripping on the rebar; they will also prevent someone from being impaled if he or she falls against the rebar.

A day or two ago, I noticed a very heavy infestation of aphids on the 'Baby Blanket' roses in the pottery bowl on the patio. A strong spray of water did not dislodge all of those pests. Earlier, I saw a few aphids on the spoon chrysanthemum when I took cuttings (10 Mar). A more thorough investigation showed aphids on several of my new roses, on lower growth on my established 'Fourth of July' climbing rose, on the artichoke (Cynara scoymus), and on some of my dwarf citrus. Along with aphids, the 'Baby Blanket' rose and the chrysanthemum also had ants, which protect the aphids from such predators as ladybugs and lacewings. Today, I sprayed malathion on the new roses as well as 'Fourth of July' and 'Baby Blanket', on all the dwarf citrus, and on the chrysanthemum. Since ants sometimes establish nests in my flower pots, I used the surplus spray as a drench on several pots.

Thought the sage (Salvia officinalis) in back was dying, but today I noticed some new shoots. I cut away some of the older growth to encourage the new growth.

Thinned the loquat crop some more (14 Mar).

Installed the rebar for the supports for the 'Flame' grape at the top of My Hill. When it starts fruiting in about 2-3 years, I might leave the crop for the raccoons and squirrels. It's too exhausting climbing My Hill.

Last year, we got a small crop of fruit from our loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica 'Macbeth'). This year, the tree set a very abundant crop. The landscape contractor who planted the tree five years ago — the same contractor who repaired my landscape after My Hill was regraded — suggested that I should thin out the fruit. Since the branches are already sagging under the weight of still immature fruit, I decided he was correct and removed a significant part of the crop. I know that thinning causes the remaining fruit on my peach tree to grow extra large. I hope the same is true of loquats.

Planted a 'Dublin Bay' climbing rose in the rose bed. Now, I'm waiting for 'Color Magic', the last of the roses to replace those lost during the repairs to My Hill.

Finished rigging the support for the 'Perlette' and 'Black Monukka' grapes on the lower part of My Hill. I still have to do the support for the 'Flame' grape at the top of the slope.

Pulled lots of weeds from the beds in back.

Took cuttings of the spoon chrysanthemum (C. morifolium) that's on the patio. The parent plant has been in the same pot for two years without being divided or renewed from cuttings.

Pruned the gardenia. Pruning is not necessary for promoting flowers; it's more for aesthetics, to shape the bush.

Started installing the wire rope for supporting the two lower grape vines on My Hill. I was interrupted by a phone call and was too tired to climb back onto the slope to finish.

Finished weeding the parkway in front (28 Feb). Now, I have to start on the main part of the front lawn.

Started sifting compost from my compost pile. However, I quickly discovered that it had not "worked" long enough. Instead of a half-barrel of compost, I got a half-bucket. I turned and stirred the pile, added some nitrogen (50-0-0 urea), and watered it. I will check it again about a month from now.

Yesterday, bought dill (Anethum graveolens) and foxglove (Digitalis purpurea). Today, I potted the dill. I'll keep it in the shade of the patio for a week or two to get established before moving it out into the sun with the rest of my herbs. I'll have to create a miniature raised bed for the foxglove, so it's remaining in its plastic nursery pot for now.

Fed the established roses, using a commercial rose food with systemic insecticide. Then, I ran the drip irrigation for the roses in front, not to water the roses but to adjust the emitters. I also ran the regular sprinklers in front to determine if a shrub head on a riser was functional or a remnant of my old sprinkler system. It was the latter, so I'll be removing the head and riser before someone trips on it.

Trimmed the tea tree, removing branches that cross, hang, or grow towards the center.

Fed the established beds, using an off-brand lawn food:

• In the main part of the front yard, I fed the dwarf English ivy (Hedera helix 'Hahn's') and all the shrubs, excluding the dwarf holly (Ilex cornuta 'Burfordii Nana') and the mock orange (Pittosporum tobira) both of which were fed earlier after I trimmed them (17 Feb).
• In the back, I fed the established plants in the east, teardrop, circular, and west beds, excluding the dwarf myrtle (Myrtus communis 'Compacta'), which I fed earlier after I trimmed them (28 Feb), and the tea tree, which I fed yesterday.

Newly planted perennials will be fed in about a month or two, after their roots have become more established. Newly planted shrubs won't be fed until next year. Nitrogen in the fertilizer stimulates the growth of foliage, for which new roots will not have grown enough to supply moisture in the heat of summer.

The established plants on the west side of the driveway in front don't need any fertilizing. Except for the roses, they're all adapted to an environment with "lean" soil. The established roses in front were fed last month (17 Feb).

Planted nasturtium seeds (Tropaeolum majus) across the lower portion of My Hill. These will give quick coverage while the English ivy (H. helix, not dwarf) and African daisies (Osteospermum fruticosum) are getting established.

Installed some of the rebar for anchoring the cable that will support my new grape vines.

Had lunch today at a docents' workshop for Gardens of the World. The speaker talked about home vegetable gardens and gave each docent a young tomato plant. I planted mine in the rose bed, next to the steps that lead up to My Hill.

I'm very frustrated. I know that climbing 'Chrysler Imperial' rose is no longer being grown commercially. Today, I discovered that no one has 'Color Magic'. I might leave two spaces for roses vacant until next year.