Horses and their poop

DH and I drove out to horsey northwest Marion County for another load of composted horse manure. It is a truly beautiful, scenic trip over rolling hills with fenced pastures to the right and to the left past farm after farm along Highway 27. After last night’s dip into the 20’s most of the pastures were not as lovely as on the last trip, now tan instead of emerald green. I took my camera with me, so you could watch the compost acquisition.

That's steam coming off the manure compost! Never saw that before.

Brown gold is on its way.

The nice fellow driving the tractor has very good aim.

One of the perks of rose gardening... watching heavy equipment.

Anticipation...

Dump-a-roony!

More steam. Very cool.

Three heaping buckets all tied up. The tarp makes it easier to remove the compost from the truck. His bucket is the size of a long bed whereas ours is a short bed, so we leave him a mess to clean up. Like I said, he's very nice about it and glad to have someone take it off his hands. Probably will need a fifth load.

Since I had my camera, I thought I'd take some pics of the beautiful horses that are usually on the farm, but they must have been inside having dinner.

Down the road a piece I spotted a couple in a pasture close enough to the fence so as not to embarrass my lens. He's a nice one.

He/she decided to mosey over to see who was looking at him.

And then his young friend came over, too.

I like horses... in movies and books, but in person they are very foreign to me, very big animals known to have teeth. Teeth in animals bother me.

But this fellow had such a sweet face.

His look made me wish I could read horse-minds, but probably I don't need to be Freud to figure out he was looking for a snack. Sorry, buddy. I really wanted to stroke his face, but the coward in me prevailed. I left without letting him know my true feelings for him. Do you think he can read human-minds? I get the feeling that he reads hearts though.

Frozen azaleas are not pretty, and they are very sad. I guess it would take a miracle for the rest of the buds to open now... rather than rot. Ahhh, the fragrance of the rotting Florida landscape after a freeze. Not nice.

No sad endings here (did everyone watch 'Downton Abbey' last night? OMG, how could they?) so I'll end with the lovely Reve d'Or from a few days ago. Amazingly, she looked pristine today after the freezing night. Maybe, she'll be fine... in my dreams.

Stay warm… wherever you are.

2/19/13 Postscript:  Dare I say it? Great minds think alike. Yesterday my blog was on compost, and today  Martha Stewart's blog is on compost. She doesn't mention horse manure, but she's got plenty of heavy equipment.  So dare I say that I may have inspired the inspiring Martha? Uhhh... probably not.

Garden remodel continues

Tis the season, you know, for reinventing the wheel, garden-wise.  It has happened every year so far in my garden.  I guess I’ve given up vowing that it won’t.  What the heck.  We move furniture around. Why not roses and other plants?  Today after work I spent the most productive two and a half hours moving plants.  Don’t you feel thrilled with yourself when things go well and smoothly??  That was me when I came in at dark.

Working in the front garden – as everywhere – certain things must happen before certain other things can happen.  How many times have I walked past certain roses and certain empty spaces in total frustration with the status quo?  Don’t answer that.  Well, today things were moving! 

‘Mary Guthrie’ has been jammed between two ‘Red Ruffles’ azaleas and the Tea rose, ‘Duquesa’, literally buried under these other plants.  The damp ground made the move easy.  She was up and out in seconds and in her new home next to ‘Louis Philippe’ in minutes.  I was amazed by her large size since I’d never been able to see her where she was.  Now those big, bright pink single flowers will be much more visible.

‘Capitaine Dyel de Graville’ and ‘Mystic Beauty’ were in an even more awful situation.  I had planted them very close to each other (two feet apart) as babies, knowing it was probably unwise, er, definitely unwise.  The double whammy was a lack of sun, so they were looking pretty scrawny – if you could see what you were looking at.  When ‘Pink Perpetue’ moved away to Rose Petals Nursery, she left a prime space on the front circle.  The move of ‘Mary Guthrie’ left an opposing space across the path, so these were the destinations of CDdG and MB, both being kin to ‘Souvenir de la Malmaison’.  After some bed preparation of MG’s former spot (lots of sand astonishingly close to the surface) I slipped the Capitaine out of the ground. Wow! He was bigger than he looked. Now he’s settled in next to ‘Duquesa’ with room in front for daylilies.

‘Mystic Beauty’ was a bit more reluctant but did submit, and on the way to the new spot, it dawned on me (palm to the forehead!) that I had planned to put MB next to ‘Duquesa’ and CDdG next to SDLM since MB is basically SDLM’s twin – just the opposite of what I had actually done.  Oh, well, move on, right?  So as I dug MB’s hole, it occurred to me that what I will have is a bank of ‘Souv de la Malmaison’ – three bushes next to each other! This could be quite a sight in full bloom!!  And MB will be surrounded by echinacea plants, because seeds have sprouted all over that area, and so many seedlings are growing there that I transplanted several over to CDdG.  This is a prime example of how a garden evolves and grows.

The azaleas got planted elsewhere, and a displaced Ilex crenata ‘Compacta Holly’ was placed in CDdG’s old spot.  And a good time was had by all!


My January hardscaping efforts finished off the edging on this corner and made a place for seven daylilies, using the last of my topsoil pile.  The bare shrub behind the daylilies is ‘Pinky Winky’ hydrangea, and behind that is ‘Mrs B. R. Cant’.  On the right is my new camellia that was potted on to a large pot since my ground is inhospitable to camellias.


The old plastic edging was allowing soil to spill out of this bed, and with more composted horse manure to be added soon I had to make a change in the edging, so I chose the same scalloped concrete blocks that I used in the new bed under the ‘Francois Juranville’ arbor.  It really wasn’t as difficult as you’d think. It took about half an hour. Those invisible bushes behind the newly planted daylilies are ‘Red Ruffles’ azaleas, looking much the worse for having been through the freeze.


As a way to hide new basal shoots from marauding squirrels, I planted snapdragons at the base of ‘Leonie Lamesch’ (above) and ‘Arcadia Louisiana Tea’ (below).  When they get bigger and bushy, I think they will offer some protection to the new cane breaks.  Speaking of squirrels, my plan to rid the garden of them was peanut butter and plaster of paris bonbons.  I read a report that hypercalcemia would result in a heart attack for the squirrel.  Alas, after I made 20 of them and put them out last Saturday I was doing more research and found an actual experiment where someone tested the lethality of these bonbons.  A squirrel was fed nothing but the bonbons for four days and didn’t die. Drat!!  Anyone need a big bucket of plaster of paris?




Lovely new growth on ‘Maman Cochet’ (above).


This is my ‘Quietness’.  Admittedly, at only one year old she has been in a less than total-sun position, so I moved her to a possibly less beneficial position on the west side of the house.  That means no sun until one o’clock in the afternoon.  Have I doomed her?  Well, possibly, but I made room for daylilies, so what’s done is done. Go for it, ‘Quietness’!!  I think it will take me all of one minute to prune her.


A Mophead (Hydrangea Macrophylla) making a break from winter.  Yay!!


‘Foxy’ Foxglove, having survived our summer, is blooming beautifully.


One of the snapdragons that I planted last winter along the front sidewalk next to the garage lasted through the summer and has become quite large this winter, and now it’s blooming beautifully, too.  I’ll have to be more lavish with my care of the new ones I have to plant, so they’ll live long and bloom again.


Remember last summer when I was dropping coneheads around the garden?  Here is one of the results.  I’m still dropping seeds around.  I really think echinacea is my favorite plant and flower.


Volunteers.  A weed at the top of the photo and ‘Victoria Blue’ Salvia seedlings.


Another Echinacea ‘Purple Coneflower’ seedling.


And a sweet viola volunteer.  Teensy, teensy blue flowers.  Love them!


David Austin’s ‘Lilian Austin’, a gift from Carol, is now in a big pot.  Hopefully, the clay pot won’t dry out too much in the heat of summer.


Newly planted daylilies. These are ‘Chinese Scholar’.  My planting plan was to keep plants of the same cultivar grouped together rather than scattering them around willy-nilly, figuring they would have a bigger impact that way.  There’s another cluster like this one nearby.


I also tried to plant the daylilies with roses of a similar color. These Dianthus chinensis (my other most favorite flower) will go under ‘Polonaise’ and some other red roses.

I’m really loving the cut in my job hours though I felt differently when it happened.  One extra hour a day is wonderful for getting a lot done in the garden before dark sets in.

Oh, in case you’re wondering, the rain gauge registered .90 inches.  Happiness is almost an inch of rain!!  

A volunteer and more

The violas that I grew from seed last winter did not impress me much due to their petite size. (Oh, I know I sound like Goldilocks. The companion plants are either too big or too small…never just right.) Well, the dear things have reseeded, so now I’m impressed.



Did I show you my baby ‘Mary Rose’? She is one of the four David Austin roses I ordered in July from Heirloom Roses in Oregon. She is greener than when she was in the pot a week and a half ago, but she’s not much bigger.



Here’s a closer look at ‘Mary Rose’. Not even a foot tall now, I expect her to be good sized by this time next year. I would think four times bigger for sure.



Azalea ‘Duc de Rohan’ is blooming and will continue until next March. It’s still a small plant, too – less than 2x2, but I only got him last February.



The most cheerful plant in my garden is Dianthus chinensis. It blooms all year in pinks and reds and magentas. On top of that it stays green all winter. Freezes don’t effect it at all.



Here’s the view from under ‘Maman Cochet, Climbing’. Careful now. You could get snagged!



Impatiens looking rather serene and being a fine example for the rest of us.

Few flowers, lots of green

I learned early on that evergreens in a garden are its backbone, but my primary reason for deciding to inter-plant the roses with evergreens was to hide the fact that the roses had very few leaves. A beginner gardener can't expect to have everything, I guess, and leaves were the things I was sorely missing in the first year or two. Human beings are not always the quickest learners and nature can move quite slowly anyway, but a  person can only look at bare rose canes for so long before she becomes nauseated, so this was my remedy.

'Red Ruffle' azaleas I had in abundance because I had selected them for the original landscaping when we built this house. I found out they transplant quite well, so they are scattered around most parts of the garden. Encore azaleas seemed to be just what the doctor ordered but haven't lived up to to their advertisements in my garden. Half of the four I bought died from my higher pH as did a couple of 'Red Ruffles', and the other two need regular soil sulfur applications. The remaining two do not bloom except in the spring with the other azaleas. I should have just bought more 'Red Ruffles'.

In shade

Or sun

Liriope - both variegated and 'Evergreen Giant' and now 'Super Blue' - are staples in my garden. There's something about those slender green leaves waving in the breeze that sets my mind at ease.

I tried two 'Dwarf Walter's Viburnum'. One died; the other is nice and green but is an extremely slow grower and didn't bloom this spring. It's leaves are about 1/2" to 3/4" - very little.

'Regina', Giant Apostle's Iris, came into the garden this spring. So far I like them. Only one has bloomed, and they are getting quite large in a short time, so I don't know if I'll be constantly dividing them or removing them if they start getting out of control. Obviously, their stiff verticality is an interesting element that was missing before they came, so I'd like to keep them.

Daylily greenery is becoming more of a presence as the plants mature. Their flowers bring wonder into the garden, but the plants themselves are not only interesting but space-filling without the bother of planting annuals every year or deadheading perennials. If chosen wisely, daylilies can bloom well into the heat of summer and the foliage can last through winter.

In my shade areas I have several kinds of azaleas, several kinds of hydrangeas, a ginger of some kind and, of course, the oak tree suckers that are the bane of my life.

This azalea is called 'Red Formosa' but it's more of a deep magenta, and the leaves are deep green with a tinge of burgundy - and very pretty.

'George Taber' or 'Mrs. George Taber'- Leaves are a much more yellow green, almost chartreuse.

 

 'Limelight' Hydrangea paniculata is blooming today. It's leaves appear below.

Variegated Lacecap Hydrangea doesn't bloom much in my garden, its flowers aren't much to look at, and they don't last long, but the foliage is reason enough for me to love it.

'Duc de Rohan' azalea blooms from October thru the end of azalea season with coral flowers. Its leaves are smaller than my other azaleas.

Some roses' foliage is worthy of boasting. There's no doubt I could have found others, but my camera battery died. Here are four.

'White Pet' (a polyantha)

'Enchantress' (a Tea rose) - Here is the definition of flowers few and far between - today anyway.

'Souvenir de la Malmaison', being the queen of the garden, is green and  blooming, of course.

'Bow Bells' continues to amaze me with her healthy foliage and increasing size in her shady spot.
And did you see the flower bud?

However, there are always some flowers in the garden - just in case you need your fix.

'Stokesia' Aster

'Napoleon' - China rose from 1835 looking too cute.

'Blueberry Frost'

'Souv de la Malmaison'

'Souv de la Malmaison' reminding me of old lace

'Souv de la Malmaison' sharing the spotlight with her oh, so healthy foliage

'Madame Lombard' -a Tea rose from 1878 in one of her many looks.

Greenery is a good thing in a garden, and I like having a lot of it. As someone once said, you shouldn't be able to see the mulch. I'd much rather look at all those shades of green.