Gertrude's Flower Garden Weekly Diary
8/18/00 - Despite what the poet says, for gardeners at least, August can be "the cruellest month." Although not true in South Jersey this summer, gardens are usually put under great stress in August because the weather is so dry. And, when it does rain, great sheets of water flatten or push over the poor, thirsty flowers. Well, while we haven't had the drought, we certainly have had the downpours, and I am out often with a bucket of garden stakes and a roll of twist-ties to repair the damage. And, of course, some of the perennials, such as the black-eyed-Susans and cone flowers, are beginning to die back for this year and need to be trimmed to keep the flower beds tidy. There are, however, still many flowers blooming, and even yet to bloom, and ahead are two of the loveliest months of the garden year, September and October.
Today (Tuesday) the rain stopped and the sun finally came out. The ground is still terribly soggy so that I elected to work on the driveway side of the house, where I am able to kneel on the asphalt. At least the weeds pulled up easily, but the main problem in the beds at this time of year is grass--crabgrass particularly, which never wants to be pulled up. Too bad that the tenacity to survive of crabgrass can't be crossed with the beauty of one of the more fragile flowers--but then, I guess, fragility is a part of beauty.
The lovely flowers in this week's picture blossom on the Mandevilla vine (Mandevilla splendens), a southern lady who cannot tolerate our cold winters here in the north. More prosaically, Mandevilla is one of hundreds of members of the dogbane family (Apocynaceae). As I have noted previously, my Mandevilla was given to me by a friend, I wintered it over in my glass-room, and moved it outside this spring, letting it grow on the new driveway fence. This summer there seem to be many of these beautiful flowering vines around. Most gardeners will treat them as annuals and buy new ones next spring, but I am going to trim mine back and move it again into the glass-room. I kept it in its original pot, but may have to replace this with a larger one to give the roots more room. The Mandevilla will grow ten to fifteen feet, and is covered with these pink, funnel-shaped flowers and leathery, dark green leaves. It will grow in sun or light shade, and prefers a well-drained soil. The Mandervilla vine is drought-tolerant, but most gardeners water it once a week. It is listed as a favorite of hummingbirds, can be propagated by stem cuttings, and needs something to wrap around for support.
8/25/00- Gertrude's Flower Garden Weekly Diary
8/11/00 - Gertrude's Flower Garden Weekly Diary
Last Year's - Gertrude's Flower Garden Weekly Diary
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