What have you done today in the Garden?

Nothing today it's raining again all day.

 

It's raining today and likely to tomorrow. More importantly, it will likely rain on Wednesday which is the day of my golf club's summer competition final, for which I've qualified, (along with a few dozen other members). Because of the amount of rain, I won't know for certain if the competition is "on," until I turn up for my "tee time."

 

Nothing..went to the cinema with a friend ,she phoned me this morning so it was short notice.....the bulbs will have to wait until tomorrow now.

 

Nothing today it's raining and all day, I've got tulip bulbs to plant but they can wait until November if need be.

 

Yes definitely , I always leave our Tulips until November.

 

Too hot for fall weather. I did some watering.

The lavender plants that mostly got pruned almost to ground level last month (?) continue to recover.



I had missed a couple of stems on the other one, six or nine inches long. I decided to air layer those.

They have a right angle bend.



So I needed to insert them into their containers through the low part of the side, instead of the bottom. So that's where I cut the holes.



Then I did the usual. Trim off low leaves. Wound the sides of the stems through the bark, to expose the cambium. Use a Q-tip to paint the stem with rooting hormone. Insert the stem through the hole.



Then I filled with potting soil and watered to settle the soil.



Now they just look like potted young plants, sitting next to the old (regenerating) plant. I might wait until Spring, to see if the grow roots. It's so nice working with those - the scent is amazing!

I also air layered a Sageleaf Rockrose (Cistus), same method.



Some dry tolerant plants came in the mail. I hope they will be low maintenance, minimal or no watering once established, and deer/rabbit unpalatable. (Here is a deer / rabbit. They are common in the American Pacific Northwest forests, a favorite food of Sasquatch. )



I also picked sauce tomatoes.

Oh here are the dry tolerant plants. Lychnis atrosanguinia, Kniphofia "Glowstick", Coreopsis "Paprika", Eryngium "Blue Jackpot", Echnicaea "Pow Wow White". I planted the Lychnis. I watered the others and placed them in the shade for the day.

 

@Daniel W , I dry my herbs in large paper grocery sacks. When I get to them, I strip the leaves and save them in zipper bags, or empty spice bottles. You can crumble the leaves to make the pieces smaller. Just label the bag in case you forget which is which. Label your zipper bags or bottles also.

I also save my dead flower heads in paper grocery sacks also. I just keep them in my spare room until I am ready for the seeds. Or my herbs.

I don't have a dehydrator, and the oven does not always work, or might need to be used. I like the ones with handles on them. They could be hung up if desired.

 

Wow Daniel you are buzzy and like all the seeds you ordered. You have chosen some real winners. It’s a good idea to order early before they are sold out.
Like the half deer half rabbit we called a ‘Jackalope’ . Your pic gives a better image of these annoying creatures.
Big Foot does seem to help control jacklope’s in the forest around here too.

Today discovered a carpenter ant invasion… will have to find their nest. The shield bug invasion has started again, I really dislike them and so noisy in flight scares the dogs. Also spotted a tiny baby chipmunks scurrying around , popping in and out of the porch area. It’s always something.

Wrestled with the wild blackberries again… hopefully for the last time . Took the better half of the day. Mowed the areas that need attention and reclaimed the garden edges since the ground squirrels have left .

it never did clear out the marine layer today . Was cooler than predicted.

Finally mowed my neighbor’s lawn while he’s on Vaca.

 

I actually worked on that quilt most of the day. It was raining most of the day, and we had a heavy storm overnight. I think it was around 3 am. I was still awake thanks to taking that nap yesterday.... I have one side of the quilt hemmed, and 3 more sides to hem. It needs a few spots mended, apparently whoever made the top made a few boo-boos. I am not the greatest quilter either. THEN that one will be done. I want to get it done, because I have other projects to get at.

It might be rainy most of the week? I hope not. My grass really needs mowed again. And there are hordes of weeds needing pulled.

 

Separating and planting deer fern and asiatic lily bulbs. Have been busy moving/relocating daylily, hosta, and phlox. Still need to creat new beds along parts of the fence line and move some black eyed Susan’s. Harvested a few tomatoes and gave away half a dozen heads of cabbage. The leaves will soon be falling to help creat those new beds.

 

I do it two different ways. I made a hanging dryer from wreath forms (from the dollar tree) and netting, which is hanging in the garage. For some reason I can't think of the name. The fabric tutus are made from. I will try to remember to take a picture tomorrow. So I either use that or my oven has dehydrate on it. If it's warm I use the hanging rack. But I had already filled it with some other herbs, so I just put that batch in the oven.

 

Daniel— mate, that is no “deer-rabbit”, it is an ordinary jackalope. I did not know that they spread that far.

By the way, which Cistus is that one? I am so fond of them, sadly it is a bit too moist for them here. I have tried. There are a reasonable number of them to choose from.

 

Managed to plant half of the wallflowers, i might be able to do the rest tomorrow.

 

Thanks AA Night Owl. I will try the paper bags. There will be oregano, maybe also rosemary and maybe a little lavender from a slight pruning.

 

Thanks Sjoerd for correcting me. By the way, did you know that gnomes ride jackalopes to their Gnomepaloozas? It's true. Actual photo:



That Cistus is "Sage-leaf Cistus". Cistus salviifolius. Another name is Gallipoli rose "prostratus". Rambling.... I spent a few months in Gallipoli in 1978. Then it was called Gelibolu. There was a NATO base there at the time. I remember almost none of it. Gallopoli was where a horrible battle was fought in WW1.

I don't know if the Cistus will survive here over-winter. It's an experiment.