Gertrude's Flower Garden Weekly Diary

5/24/02 - I have been in California the last two weeks visiting children and grandchildren. The garden changed dramatically during the time that I was away. All the spring bulbs had finished blooming, and the iris, that were just beginning to bloom when I left, had only a few blooms here and there. The God's Eyes are in full bloom, and many of the annuals that I had planted before I left had begun to bloom: French marigolds, Star zinnias, regular zinnias, begonias, dwarf ageratum, blue salvia, impatiens, and geraniums. The pots on the terrace and along the driveway look particularly good--petunias, Dahlberg daisies, heliotrope, and the new geraniums that were raised from seed are all blooming. Since most of the annuals have just begun to bloom, the garden is not as full of color as it will be in a few weeks. Weeds and "volunteers" are also growing well, which means that the gardener will be busy for the next few weeks!
I have begun my "march" (on my kneeler) around all of the garden beds. So far I have finished the driveway bed on the side of the house, the two long narrow begonia beds on either side of the driveway, and the beds in front of the house on either side of the steps. One of the problems with growing bulbs, perennials, and annuals in the same beds (as I do), is that in the springtime the emerging perennials and the lush leaves of the bulbs tend to crowd out the newly planted (and still small) annuals. One of the things that I try to do, therefore, is to give the annuals room by cutting back some of the bulb tops and the perennials. Sometimes the gardener must be ruthless in curbing the rush of springtime growth, removing perennials that have seeded themselves too close to the bed borders that I reserve for annuals. I either transplant these trespassers elsewhere or put them in the mulch pile. While going around the beds, I also cultivate the newly planted annuals, clip the grass, and redefine the bed edges with a trowel. I will worry later about cultivating further into the beds. The next big job will be transplanting "volunteers."
Our home was built in two parts: the original house in 1937 and an addition after World War II. Each construction included a fireplace, and, therefore, our home has two chimneys. The old chimney is on the side of the house facing the driveway, and for many years we have had a climbing rose growing there on a fan-shaped trellis. The rose has had to be replaced several times; the last time was shortly after Gertrude's death. It was after the usual spring planting time so that when I went to a garden supply center, I found that they did not have many climbing roses from which to choose. Among the few scrawny specimens was a climbing rose with a distinctly Germanic name. Unfortunately, I lost the name tag and have forgotten what it was called. I did feel, however, that since Gertrude's parents were both from Germany, this rose would be a good choice as a rememberance of her. It is an old-fashioned pink rose with flowers that are delightfully fragrant and petals that scatter in the breeze. As you can see from this week's picture, it has grown vigorously seeming to like this warm, sunny location.

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