Time to end the era of this blog. I have loved sharing photos and thoughts, and hope that some of my musings fell on interested ears. With other mountains to climb, I am leaving my blog on Weed Street. It has been fun. Bloggers, I wish you a productive 2023 and readers, I hope you will find me in other places. Good bye!
Good bye August. You have so many days, and so many of those 31 were spent indoors because you are a hot, hot month. And when you aren’t hot, you are pouring down the rain.
I spent a good deal of that time reading and stitching.
I can’t explain why I had the desire to stitch these little houses all during the 2 years of Covid isolation. I had this one finished into a stand up piece, and now what am I do to with it? I have 4 more little houses that I can finish. When I have a little village of these houses, all perfectly and precisely stitched, will it remind me that we tried so hard to keep our HOMES safe and together as the seasons passed so slowly?
Do you feel that the worst of Covid is over? I have friends that are catching it, but it hasn’t been more than a serious cold? Just asking…it IS still with us, and yet I keep stitching these little houses.
And now on to the garden. Our Propagator friend is running this week end, but I like to join his Six on Saturdayhttp://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com fans. Is his running, like my stitching, how he keeps it all together in these strange times? Maybe.
Datura ‘Evening Fragrance’Stag HornBirthday orchidsBirthday bouquetSky over Skidaway
So, farewell August 2022, and hello September, what surprises do you hold?
Question for fellow bloggers. Have you ever attempted to print out some of your own favorite blog posts? How do you print it without all the ads and WordPress stuff appearing? I can’t figure that out.
Quickly, here are six. Heat, Humidity and afternoon thunderstorms abound. This morning there is a slight break so here quickly are six things blooming in my garden. Please join the propagator http://thepropagatorblog on his site to see more blooms from around the world.
Waking this morning, the scene outside from my window, was blurred by the condensation of a very humid day.
The irony is that we have had a well dug for garden use, and it’s been raining quite a bit ever since! There is a lot of summer left, so we will benefit if for no other reason than we won’t be watering the landscape with treated county water which is costly.
A bit of a cheat in terms of participating with the wonderful British blogger http://thepropogatorblog.wordpress.com because this hydrangea was photographed during a garden tour I took this past week. The owner didn’t know it’s name….do you?
The curcuma blooming is a wonderful sight and made me wonder why none of mine are in bloom. 😳
The garden was created by a true gardener. She has the heart of a gardener and the eye of an artist. And the ladies who took this tour are true gardeners as the rain did fall, but they were not thwarted!
I won’t be going outdoors to take my ‘6 on Saturday’ because of the weather. I keep hoping that I can report something from this new small border we created in March. The privet have taken, the iris aren’t sure they love it, the grasses lost their variegations and the salvia are slow from the cuttings I planted. A tiny marigold seedling along with a coreopsis seedling have nothing to show yet….so we will save that for another day. The back border with the elephant ears, the ginger lily, stromanthe and bromeliad have not filled in, and I will keep that opening to the woods as is. I recently saw a fox taking a snooze in that clearing, and also saw a mother deer and fawn walk through the passage. Until the rain passes this is likely what we will be working on.
Pop on over to see what other gardeners have blooming on the link above. May the rain fall, May the sun return.
Today, I take you to the Sparrow Field Pollinator Garden on Skidaway Island, GA. Every Friday morning, a small group of women and a couple of men work to keep this area along a golf course a beautiful berm of pollinator plants and teaching tool. We are approaching a very challenging season due to heat and humidity and fire ants…but onward in the garden.
Sparrow Field Pollinator GardenLoofah vine in flowerBee houseEvidence of deer grazingPine straw, a Southern ground cover
Though they’ve been bitten by fire ants, stung by ground wasps, frightened by venomous snakes and thwarted by greedy deer, the work goes on to show Island residents the native plants that will improve our ecosystem. This tenacious group of volunteers are making a difference.
The Queen’s jubilant celebration of 70 years on the throne couldn’t be held at any better time of the year…June. The old saying, June is busting out all over, is apt. The Chelsea flower show, the Queen on her balcony, Louis acting up humorously…it’s all wonderful fun. And a wonderful distraction to the grim side of life…wildfires, inflation, political divides, war….
So let’s see what is busting out all over this week.
A new day LilyHydrangeaElaine’s begoniaMandevillaGarden harvest on Sunday
Who has time to keep up a blog when the vegetables need attention. Heat index in Savannah will be 107 today! Shocking! Stay cool, if you can.
There was so much happening in April and this year the weather has blessed Savannah with a cool dryness,….yes, we all like the rain to wash the garden, but the humidity in Savannah can be brutal. 2022 has been quite different and except for some bothersome days with gnats, the gardening life couldn’t be better.
However, May will bring on summer, long before the rest of the country experiences it. The weathermen say we may see 90 degrees next week. In the mean time, look what is blooming on Skidaway Island in my garden. And visit The Propogator who hosts Six on Saturday (I am a day late) featuring links to gardens all over the world!
Salvia ‘Hot lips’Unnamed begonia with a Mahonia, not the leather leaf typeKitchen window boxHydrangea ..an Easter hostess giftBegonia, tuberousLantanaView from Delegal marina
That is my six on Sunday! My readers of many years may notice that I am more casual in naming my plants with their botanical names. While accuracy is important and I have worked hard to research and recall the proper names, amidst the ever changing science, over the years…. My status has changed. I am now officially a GCA Horticulture Judge Emeritus.
So just as I have retired from actively judging GCA flower shows, I am completing the UGA Master Gardener program. Naturally, my decades as a gardener have taught me more than I could possibly learn in a 6 month course and a year long volunteer commitment, as a Master Gardener, but I recommend taking a master gardener program wherever you live. You will learn so much, and be exposed to more science than you have had since college! All of the Latin names for plants that I have committed to memory will not be as important without my Judging assignments to study for. My focus this past year has been more on the science based workings of plants. The 978 page textbook includes such chapters as: Basic entomology, plant pathology, propagation, vegetable gardening, turf, plant and pest management, with organic gardening, composting and landscaping design thrown in along with so much more!
The view out over the marsh says so much…keep your eyes on the horizon because there is always something new to learn and to experience with each new day you are blessed to live!
LeucojumSnap dragons planted in December, now in bloomCamellia ‘Royal Velvet’Red Buckeye – blooms in time for the hummers to returnSatsuma orange tree blossomViburnum
The garden is a mess, because of wind and rain and our no-show lawn guy. But the plants bloom on. I am joining the Propagator as usual on Saturday…. well, not exactly usual, but I do try to carve some time to see what is going on in his world and his fellow garden followers! check it out! Rain and bad weather is heading for coastal Georgia this afternoon, so I will sail across the ocean just now!
You might say we are long on lorapetalum on Skidaway Island.
Lorapetalum
As a member of the same family as witch hazel, they can take the occasional freeze of a cold Winter here. But best of all, the deer don’t eat them and they can take our hot, humid summers. You will see a range of colors and sizes and styles. Some like to trim them as a hedge, and others prefer a natural look.
Amaryllis
This is also the time of year that I begin to look for a blooming stalk of amarylis to emerge from the many bulbs I have planted in the ground, after their Christmas blooming is finished. This is the first one this year and I hope the freeze expected tonight won’t harm it!
Azalea
The azaleas are out in full force, at least the tops of the azaleas are blooming. Our hungry deer on the Island have made quite a mess of the many azaleas we usually see at this time of year.
Camellia
The camellias carry on. Tomorrow there will be a meeting of the Coastal Georgia Camellia Society, at a member’s home, and I am excited to see a private garden and more camellias!
I’ve linked to the Propagator’s Six on Saturday and I know you will enjoy what is going on in his British garden. http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com. His Six on Saturday is a good way to start the week end. The world is in such turmoil….getting out in our gardens helps to lessen our worry, doesn’t it?
I so appreciate the Six on Saturday posts from The Propagator blog. Check out his bloghttp://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com, It is a check point in my week. A checkpoint that I hardly ever check off until Sunday or Monday. The expression, better late than never, rings true.
Gecko friendBegonia
Saturday was spent repotting begonias and moving them out of the garage or from their sheltered Winter homes.
Pansy
The pansy that won’t quit! This plant has lived in a pot on our outdoor dining table since Fall with only a couple evenings covered due to freezing dips in temperature. Amazing!
Viburnum hedge…newly planted
Just a little experiment. Planting a new viburnum hedge with pennisetum ‘Sky Rocket’ and newly divided iris planted in front. Let’s see how each does by July.
Sparrow Pollinator Garden
Bottoms up ladies! I volunteer at this garden, sponsored by the Skidaway Audubon group, once a week. Cutting back the “brown stuff’ last week. Within a few weeks, you will be surprised to see how it changes so fast on coastal Georgia!
Seeds are sprouting on the warming mat….tomatoes, lettuce, asters, and basil. What are you starting from seed?