Gertrude's Flower Garden Weekly Diary
5/12/00 - Suddenly it is summer; the intense heat of the past few days has been record-breaking. Nature seems to be saying that if we humans were going to complain about the cold so far this spring she will show us the other extreme. The heat makes the garden unhappy. For one thing, it rushes growth so that iris and columbines, that right now should be at their showiest, are blooming and fading too soon. The intensely hot sun is also rapidly drying out the soil. This is not bad for the deep-rooted perennials, but it creates a dangerous situation for the little annuals--begonias, impatiens, salvia, zinnias, etc--that I am now planting. I have begun to hand-water in the evenings when it cools off, and expect to have to use the sprinkler if the heat and dryness continue.
I am still in the planting "mode," but usually combine this with other necessary garden chores that I can do at the same time. This morning, for instance, I worked on the first Triangle bed, which is edged with browallia in front of a row of begonias. This was originally a rose bed, and still contains eight or ten rose bushes. There are also columbines, cleome, hyssop, and other perennials. Today I trimmed the grass edges, pulled up weeds or unwanted annual seedlings, cultivated in as far as the begonias, edged with a trowel, and watered the little plants put in this spring. I also replace any missing plants, although there were very few, because I planted the browallia in clumps and the begonias are extremely hardy little fellows that rarely "give up the ghost" no matter how tiny they are or what the conditions--which is why I love this flower!
This week's picture is of the interior of my glass-room, and was taken earlier this spring when the daffodils were in bloom in the garden. The "flowery" lampshade was picked out by one of my daughters, and reflects nicely the decor of this "outdoor" room. Much has changed in the glass-room since this picture was taken over a month ago. The orange tree and the Meyer lemon are now outside on the terrace and doing well. The hanging geraniums are now in place by the front door. They do not have many blooms at present, but I think that this is because they are adjusting to outside conditions. I must be careful not to feed them too much, since this encourages growth of foliage rather than blooms. I planted the potted begonias on the far side of the garage, and the Manderville vine, still in its pot, is planted on the terrace end of the new fence, where it is not too happy so far and looking rather sunburned. Only the cactus plants are left in the glass-room, but looking out of the windows I see flowers everywhere.
[My "Home Page" is at home.att.net/~ntgates/index.html The "Home Page" and current "Weekly Diary" are linked; all other "Weekly Diaries" link with the one before and after it, but any "Diary" can be reached at the "Home Page" address by adding the "Diary" number (1 to 59 as of 7/1/00) after "index"--e.g. index25.]
5/19/00 - Gertrude's Flower Garden Weekly Diary
5/5/00 - Gertrude's Flower Garden Weekly Diary
ntgates@worldnet.att.net
