Second Flush for the Birthday Girl Rose

Our new "Birthday Girl" floribunda rose is just starting its second flush of blooms. Since its inaugural flush during the first week of July, it has put out 4 new canes as well as lots of new buds on its original canes. In the catalog, its final size is described as one foot wider than it is taller. And that is the growth pattern for this rose in its first year in our garden too. It is off to a terrific start.

The First Precipitation of Summer

Rose "Birthday Girl"

We awoke to cloudy skies and by 7:00 AM there was the softest sound of rainfall on the roof. It never really rained this morning, but we did get what I would call heavy showers at times. It ended by 9:00  AM but it was enough that the ground was damp and the air smelled clean. We need a lot more rain to help put out the fires and really renew the earth but even the 10th of an inch we got this morning was certainly a welcome gift.

Golden Celebration Rose

Our "Golden Celebration" rose opened its first blooms this weekend. It was the last of the 5 new roses that we planted this Spring to bloom. Since we didn't expect any of the roses to bloom this first year, these displays, although small, have been a real bonus.

This award wining variety from David Austin, released in 1992,  has lovely golden-yellow blooms. They don't appear to be as cupped in shape with this first flush as they were described in the catalog. But that might change as the plant matures. They do have a very soft, floral scent. It will be fun to watch as this plant grows to reach its final 4.5' by 4.5' size.

Rose Birthday Girl

The first bloom opened this past weekend on the "Birthday Girl" floribunda rose. This rose is one of the 5 new roses that we purchased this Spring for one of our new flowerbeds. "Birthday Girl" has semi-double flowers with cream centers and pink and yellow edges. It is a repeat bloomer throughout the Summer and Fall. It should be a knock-out bush after it matures in a few year and gets covered in these vivid blooms.

Rose Hips in the Hedgerow

As I was walking up and down our long drive this past weekend, flecks of color caught my eye. It was a nice patch of rose hips in the hedgerow along the road. In a year where drought has once again  limited the fall color in our trees, it was so nice to see this splash of autumnal beauty.

Back to Garden Set-up

After dinner, I headed back down to the Big Garden to resume laying out the dahlia rows. I last worked on this project last weekend but took a break from it due to a very sore lower back and other gardening tasks that became a priority. I managed to complete another 5 rows tonight, for a total of 13 rows completed. The end is in sight!

As I was leaving the garden, I notices that the hairy vetch that climbs up Dorothy's rose had begun to bloom. I think the hot pink rose and the purple vetch are such a pretty color combination.

As I headed homeward, I pasted this little guy on the road. Another reminder, as if I needed one, on why I really should put up the rabbit fence in the Big Garden this year. It is so inconvenient to have up, but it would be much worse to loose a bunch of dahlias to the rabbits like I did last year.

Final Tilling

Tonight after dinner, Dad and I headed down to the Big Garden and gave it the 2nd and final tilling of the year. I was pleasantly surprised by how much it had dried since the last tilling. I had thought that we would have to wait until the weekend to till again. Now it will have two warm, sunny days to dry out once again, and then I should be able to start working on setting up the rows by Sunday. It will be so nice, and so rare, to be able to have the tilling done for the year by Memorial Day weekend.

As soon as Dad started the tiller, a robin flew in and landed behind him. He happily followed the tiller the whole evening, grabbing up worms. I am not sure how he was able to fly by the end!

Next to the Big Garden gate is Dorthy's rose. This lovely old rose in in full bloom right now. Thanks to our fairly dry and warm Spring, it hasn't been affected too much by black spot like it has in many past years.

Besides being a striking hot pink color, it is also quite fragrant. I would describe its scent as a light floral. Quite feminine, just like the rose.

I am really pleased that it has sent up two new canes this Spring. It didn't send up any new ones last year and the whole rose plant has been diminishing in size for the past 4-5 years. I think voles have been tunneling through its root system, causing the rose to loose vigor. My fingers are crossed that these two new canes continue to grow and thrive.

Last Rose of Summer

Each year, Dorothy's rose down in the big garden produces an abundance of hot pink blooms. Its first flush of blooms, always the biggest of the year, is in June. But then it has a few more, smaller flushes, as Summer marches along. It is always interested to see when the last bloom of the year will appear. Unless another bud  miraculously forms, this is the last bloom of 2014.

It's Time to Make A Plan

I began my day working down in the big garden. I worked raking the ground level and setting out stakes for each row of dahlias. I ending up getting 5 more rows set up, for a total of 6 rows completed.

 

Dorothy's rose by the garden gate is in full bloom. I also have a really nice crop of hairy vetch climbing through the rose. I think the hot pink of the rose and the intense purple of the vetch look so pretty together.

As you can see my potted dahlias are growing well. I took the time this afternoon to check on each potted tuber that hadn't yet poked out of the soil. Most of them were close, but a few tubers just weren't producing any measurable growth.So I tossed those tubers and made a note of the new variety totals. With the garden layout 1/2 complete, it was time- past time really - to make a master map for the big garden.Yikes, 18 rows of dahlias this year! The most ever, even with the tubers that I tossed today. At this point it looks like I will have 242 potted plants to set in.

The Open Rose of the Year

When I was down in the big garden tonight, I noticed that the first bloom was open on Dorothy's rose. It is such a pretty shade of hot pink that absolutely glows against all of the greens of June. I also took notice that there is a lot of  hairy vetch climbing in the rose this year. I am hopeful that the vetch will once again bloom while the rose does. The purple of the vetch pairs perfectly with the pink of the rose.

Rose Hips

Some of the first Fall color each year appears in the hedgerows. Our native wild rose "rosa nutkana" the Nootka Rose has lovely colored hips. They have turned a soft crimson red and glow like little beacons in the green hedgerow between the road and my garden.

Wild Roses

As I mowed around the big garden yesterday, I noticed some pink in the hedgerows. When I looked closer I discovered that our wild roses are already blooming! I think of the wild roses as early June bloomers, so like everything else, they are running ahead of schedule.

Depending upon the age of the bloom and how much direct sunlight it receives, the bloom color can vary from hot pink to an almost mauve purple. A welcome pop of color in a sea of green.

The Last Rose of Summer

Tonight while I was down in the big garden, I noticed that Dorothy's Rose had opened one last bloom for the season. Since its initial big flush in June, it has produced a few sprays and single blooms throughout July & August. But after a close inspection of the canes, I am relatively certain that this will be the last bloom of Summer.

The First 90 degree Day of the Year!

What a difference a week makes! Last Sunday we hit a high of 72 and we were glad to have it "that warm". Today topped out at 90 degrees - and it felt hot! I started the day by going down to the big garden and attempting to rake out the peaks and valleys. While it is still far from perfect, it is now a great deal better than it was even 24 hours ago. Then I went back to the house and made the garden map. Dad and I also made a trip out to Lane Forest Products and got two scoops of Nature's Best mix. Around 2 o'clock I went back down to the garden and started laying out the rows. I worked for about an hour until my shade disappeared and  I got way too warm. After dinner Dad and I went back down with the pickup and unloaded the Nature's Best. I stayed and worked until 8 o'clock. I now have seven of the rows set so I am optimistic that I can get the rest of the stakes in and the labels on in the next few days. And then I can actually start planting! I did stop to take a picture of Dorothy's rose tonight. It is nearing the end of its first flush and has two beautiful trusses in full bloom.

One Step Forward, Four Steps Back

Late yesterday afternoon, Dad and I took the pickup truck to Lane Forest Products and got two scoops of blended mint compost. When we returned we dumped it in a dry corner of the garden. My idea was tonight we would spread the mint compost,with the help of our tractor, down in the wet end of the garden.

As you can see, after last weeks big rains, there is standing water and mud here. So Dad carefully distributed the compost and I raked it evenly over the area. Then Dad started to till the garden, for what I optimistically thought would be the fifth and final time. What happened next was a bit of a disaster.The more we tilled the worse that garden got. The soil was so wet and it just turned over in huge, clay clumps. And the wet end where we dumped the compost was so wet the tractor wheels just sunk and we weren't even able to really till in any compost. So after almost one month of tilling - and rainfall - the garden is in worse shape than it was in mid-May. To be truthful, I can't ever remember the whole garden being wetter than it is right now. I am at a bit of a loss how to proceed. We certainly can't till anymore until there is some major drying out.

On a happier note, Dorothy's rose in the garden has begun to bloom. I noticed the first blooms open yesterday and quite a few more opened in today's sunny weather.



The Last Rose of Summer

Every year I watch Dorothy's rose by the big garden. It normally begins blooming with a huge flush of color sometime in June. It then blooms intermittently for the next month or so. It is always fun to see if I can spot what I dramatically call "the last rose of Summer" on this plant. This year, the last bloom on the canes is now full open today. In comparison, the last bloom of 2010 was on September 13th and the last bloom of 2009 was on July 29th. Our two cool Springs the last two years have certainly moved the date of the final bloom much later compared to the hot Summer of 2009. When will the last bloom open next year?

The Big Garden Inventory 2011

Last week we took a tour and inventory of the kitchen garden next to the house. This week it's time to go down to the Big Garden and see what's growing! This garden is planted primarily with flowers but a few vegetables did find their way in. Here's a complete list of what's growing there this year:

Seed

• "Hutterite Soup" Bush Bean - Seed Savers Exchange
• "Queen Sophia" Marigold - Johnny's Select Seed
• "Durango" Marigold - Johnny's Select Seed
• "Tangerine Gem" Marigold - Johnny's Select Seed
• "Red Gem" Marigold - Johnny's Select Seed
• "Lemon Gem" Marigold - Johnny's Select Seed
• "Persian Carpet" Zinnia - Renee's Seed
• "Zahara Double Cherry" - Zinnia -Johnny's Select Seed
• "Blue Point Bouquet" - Zinnia - Renee's Seed
• "Bling Bling" - Zinnia - Renee's Seed
• "Speckled Hound" - Winter Squash- The Cook's Garden
• 199 Misc. Dahlias - various sources

Plants

• "Profusion" Mixed Colors - Zinnia - Peoria Gardens
• "Apricot Profusion" - Zinnia - Peoria Gardens
• "Lady Bird Cream Purple Spot" - Nasturtium - Log House Plants
• "Sunrise Serenade" - Morning Glory - Log House Plants
• "Grandpa Ott" - Morning Glory - Log House Plants
• "Split Personality" - Morning Glory - Log House Plants

The "Hutterite Soup" bush beans are now about 8" tall. They are doing well but I really don't think that there will be enough time for them to grow beans to maturity before the rains come this Fall. I just got them planted too late this year. It's already a week into August and they haven't even bloomed yet.

I ended up with more rows for flowers this year then I had flowers started to plant in the rows. So it was off to the nursery! I came home with a couple of 6-packs of "Apricot Profusion" Zinnias. I have grown many of the Profusion series from seed, but hadn't ever heard of the apricot color before. I took a chance and I am so glad that I did. It is a wonderful shade of orange that just glows on overcast days. I can't wait for the plants to really branch out and be covered in this terrific color.

One of the many "new-to-me" plants that I started from seed this year are the Gem series of Marigolds. These dainty plants are getting covered in the smallest, single blooms of reds, oranges, and yellows. I think these plants would be better displayed planted in a pot closer to eye level then they are here in the ground. I do think they are awfully sweet though and it will be interesting to see how tall they get.

The "Zahara Double Cherry" Zinnias are another new one for me. I read about this variety in an issue of Organic Gardening last year and decided that I wanted to give it a try this year. It shouldn't be too much longer before the first blooms open.

My two rows of "Persian Carpet" Zinnias are finally starting to take off. These poor guys didn't get planted until quite late so they have some catching up to do. They will reach a height of only around 12" so they are a bit quicker to bloom than some of the other taller varieties.

A perfect bud on a "Bling Bling" Zinnia. This is another new variety for me. The colors on the package are super bright as the name implies. It should make for a dazzling row.

I think that this "Blue Point Bouquet " Zinnia will be the first zinnia that I started from seed to open. I haven't grown this variety for two years and I am excited to have it in my garden once again. It offers a great color assortment on nicely sized, well branching plants.

The dahlias have just started to open. Here is a bloom of a new-to-me Pom "Valda".

Another Pom, this time the pink beauty "Lismoore Peggy". This particular bloom is perfectly round, just as a pom should be. It would be a great candidate to take to a dahlia show.

One of my favorite collerettes "David Lam". It is such a beautiful shade of dark red.

A partially opened bloom of "CG Nordic".

And this bloom is all about potential! An immature bud of "Ryecroft Dave's Choice", an excellent show flower. Depending on the weather this bloom should be open in about a week I would guess.

A view looking across all of the dahlias down toward the flower rows at the far end.

Yes, there are a few vegetables in this garden! Here are two of my four "Speckled Hound" Winter Squash. Considering what a shady, and slightly damp place that I have planted them in, they are doing remarkably well.

Here are two fruit on one of the plants. The yellow fruit on the left did not get pollinated and is in the process of falling off. The one on the right did get pollinated, I think, and should begin to rapidly expand in size. Fingers crossed!

Here is my trellis planted with many varieties of Morning Glories. Because this picture was taken in the evening most of them have closed up for the day. I have had a big problem this year that when the varieties finally bloom they are not the variety printed on the plant tag. Oh well, I love them all so it's just been a bit of a surprise to see what all I have.

Here is a bloom that has started to close of "Sunrise Serenade".

I have had a lot of these open this week. Again, it is not the variety on the tag but I think it is "Flying Saucer".

And I can't forget Dorothy's rose. It is still throwing off a beautiful bloom here and there. I don't know its true name but it is a reliable performer year after year.