Storms, rain delay garden updates

    

The magnolia is blooming again and the ixora filled with flowers.

As much as the gardens and lawn need rain, the drenches we have had lately put a damper (yes, that's a pun) on my plans for planting and seeding.

I decided a few weeks ago that I would start replacing the St. Augustine grass with Zoyzia.  I had hoped to put down sod in the larger bare areas and plugs in smaller ones.  A search of nurseries and garden centers came up empty. One center declared they could order the sod but the order had to be a minimum of one pallet (400 square feet) for more than $200.  I wasn't prepared to uses that much sod at one time, nor spend that much.  Further investigation showed that I could use Zoyzia seed, which Scott's provides in a seed-mulch combination.   That will allow me to test grow it in limited areas before I commit to more.  My daughter is planning to replace her entire lawn with sod in the spring and I may be able to piggyback on her order for a small quantity if I like my experiment. 

The major planting quandary I've had -- filling the space left by removal of the magnolia -- has been decided.  I am taking another chance on a Japanese maple, a brilliant red color, of course.  It is a Web order and I should have delivery by next week.  Our weather will be cooler then and probably drier.  To avoid daily hose treatments, I will be using a slow-drip product requiring filling only about once a week.

I want to add pansies to the gardens for winter color but was told at my favorite nursery, South Brevard Nursery in Melbourne, that November was the month for pansies, so I will have to wait.

The storm that passed through our area a week ago knocked several branches out of my big oak in the front yard plus dozens of smaller branches.  I wouldn't attempt to count the  twigs and leaves.  I still have two broken but hanging branches that are too high to reach, even on a tall ladder.  I hate having to wait for their inevitable fall, hoping they don't hit people or cars.  I also lost a big branch from the ash tree in the back yard -- the first time that tree has been struck. 

After the storm, I had to get up on the roof to check for branches there and the status of the gutters.  I knew we had a problem on one gutter because I could see the small branch wedged in the corner that was causing a big waterfall onto the patio.

As I suspected, branches of various sizes littered the roof.  The gutter I knew I had to check was worse than expected.  A bunch of small branches were wedged in  and blocked leaves from washing away.  Not even a leaf blower (which I frequently use for leaf removal) would clear it all so hand removal was necessary.  Fortunately, the rest of the gutters were nearly clear, just a few leaves. 

I wish I had finished my drainage project before all this rain but I wasn't sure what and how I would do it until last week.  It may become a dry-season project. 

That is how my garden grows for now. 

More later.

Hot summer slows garden work

I haven't written anything new here for a while because there wasn't much to tell over the summer.  My garden efforts were primarily keeping plants fertilized and gardens weeded.  I had to do the work very early in the morning before the heat overwhelmed me -- usually only about an hour's worth.  Because of those conditions, I wasn't very inspired to think of future projects.

But, YEA!, fall is here and the mornings are cooler.  I spent an hour and a half today weeding and fertilizing, plus pruning the juniper and podocarpus on the north side of the house. 

One of the sad results of the very hot summer was the decline of the transplanted magnolia in the back yard.  You may remember that I had moved it from the shaded corner to a sunnier spot on the south side.  Its reluctance to revive and show new growth convinced me to pull it out last month.  So now I am on the search for something else to fill the spot. 

I am also waiting to find a new Mr. Lincoln rose bush to replace one in the front yard.  The tree trimmer (man) took down a large branch that unfortunately hit the old bush straight on and broke the trunk at or below the ground level.  There was no salvaging that plant.  The bush next to it onlly suffered one broken branch which I considered part of my fall pruning.

With the advent of October, I pruned all my rose bushes for their semi-annual trim.  There is new growth on all of them now so I anticipate another flowering winter season. 

The cooler fall weather has apparently made all the plants happy as they are filling out and blooming more now.  Even my magnolia has one ready to burst open and another soon behind it (see below).

The biggest success has been the large ixora under the maple tree.  It has succumbed to the freezes the last 2 winters but recovered and filled with flowers (also below). If we don't have another freeze, it will continue to bloom all winter.

That's all for this update.  I should have more as the fall progresses and I plan more projects.