Saturday, April 15, 2017 Irrigation and Fertilization

Another beautiful Spring day. Mostly clear with billowy clouds floating by. High yesterday and today in the low 80's. It is a bit breezy today. The chessmen are falling right and left.

Today I put a new epoxy patch and clamp on the split water line in the garage. A couple of hours later I pressurized the system and it seems to be holding. However, I noticed a second split so I put a epoxy patch on it. We'll see if it holds. It didn't but I put another layer on. In retrospect, I believe the problem which resulted in splitting this line was that I closed the valve on the incoming water in the garage. I should have left this valve open so that any moisture could have drained back toward the basement. Both of the splits were just above this valve. The valve in the basement was open all winter.

I did most of my Spring tree fertilization today using some old Miracle Grow spikes and some new Jobe's. I had only a total of 18. I pounded two in on each side of the Japanese maple near the east porch before I read the instruction. It said to apply them within the drip line of the tree but no closer than 30". The two I put in around the maple are within the drip line but only about 8" from the trunk. The diameter of the drip line is only about 36". The instructions also said to water the soil well before inserting. Not sure if this is to make the soil more penetrable but I did start the irrigation system and followed it around. Here are the locations for the tree spikes:

• 2 around the east porch maple
• 1 (a total of 10 spikes) between each hornbeam, about 8" from the east fence (east of the plant we have planted between each hornbeam)
• 1 half way on a diagonal line from the Japanese maple (below the bat house) to the east holly 
• 1 half way between the beech and the west holly
• 1 directly south of the dogwood by the upper pond
• 1 half way on a line from the Hydrangea  to the south Nadina
• 1 directly east of the Japanese red maple by the bird bath
• 1 directly south of the Zelkova

I need to get some more spikes and put some around the Canadian Red Cherry, the Red Maple, the Red Twig Dogwoods and the south holly. For the future, I figure I need 30 spikes plus spikes for the evergreen. 

In setting up the irrigation, I am staying with the three zones. Zone A includes eight circuits and cover everything without sod. Zone B includes four circuits which primarily are sodded areas. Zone C is one circuit which covers the raised beds.

For now, I am starting with the following schedule:

Zone A: each circuit will run for 10 minutes starting at 0330 hours on M, W, F

Zone B; each circuit will run for 10 minutes starting at 0500 hours (except circuit #10 which will be 5 minutes) on Tu and Sat

Zone C: circuit will run for one hour starting at 0530 hours on M, W, F, Sun

Still have some spray heads to replace and/or clean out.

Friday, April 14, 2017 Good Friday

Yesterday and today I fertilized most of the backyard plants with a Miracle Grow all purpose agent. I have started putting together a calendar to remind me when to fertilize and prune all the assorted plants we have. I finished moving the fruit trees and other inside foliage outside today, including the brugmansia. In taking the brugmansia, I broke off a short stem. I put it in a cup of water to see if it will sprout. T did this with a much larger stem and it grew. Her intention was to give it to Laura, but, not knowing that, I gave it to a neighbor who admired the parent plant.

Today, I commissioned the water lines out to the garage. When the plumber showed me how to winterize the system last Fall, I asked why we were blowing the lines from the basement out to the garage. The basement is the low point. It seemed like we should blow from the garage back to the basement. No, I was assured this would be OK. Well, today I found a split in the copper line out in the garage. I got some epoxy and plugged the split. Hopefully it will hold.

There is so much color in the backyard. I don't know what the colors are, but I can see them.

Update:

When I went out for my evening walk, I found about 1/2" of water in the garage. The epoxy patch did not hold. Not overly surprised except for how well the doors (especially the garage bay doors) did to contain the water. I shut the water off and went on with my walk. Tomorrow, I will put on another epoxy patch PLUS a clamp I also bought today.

Wednesday, April 12, 2017 Succulents, Roses, Groundcover

Although I don't like physical work, it is hard to pass up such a beautiful Spring day as today. Back in August 2014, as our project began, I dug up about 60 iris rhizomes that were growing along our back parking area. Our September 1, 2014 posting showed them drying out along the footing of our removed back porch. I did a little research and found there might be a way to preserve these and replant them. After drying them for a day or so, I dusted each with sulfur and wrapped them individually. We stored them underneath the stairway in the main house.

I've remember these occassionally but never have done anything with them until today. I got out four of them, rinsed them off and planted them in a pot. We'll see if anything happens.

This morning I took my weekly walk through the Mobot. Lots of color and new growth. Afterwards I went over to the Bowood Nursery. This was one of T's favorite nurseries. It also has a small restaurant which uses their own herbs. I noticed they are also putting in a vegetable garden to supply the restaurant and to sell produce.

I found the rose I've been looking for to fill out T's rose garden. It is a Knock Out 'White Out'. This is the fifth rose bush in her garden. From right to left, the colors are pink (the one T planted last year), lavender, yellow, red and white. Four of the five are Knock Outs. While the KO's I got last week from Lowe's were $19 each, this one was $44. I have no doubt it will be twice as good as the others. If not, at least it is the "right" color.

I also got some more ground covers. Last year, we bought four Irish moss and five Scottish moss. These were all small (2") plants. All but one of these were planted along the south side of the chess board, between it and the pond. None of those survived. The last one was planted between the stepping stones along the west side of the pond. That is the only one of that initial batch that is still alive.

The yellow mass is the Scottish moss, the two green masses are two varieties of creeping thyme

I assumed the problem with the mosses we planted was associated with the soil. While these mosses are supposed to be none too particular, the soil between the chess board and the pond is really nasty with lots of gravel. I decided to try it again this year, but was determined to improve the soil to see if I could get them to take hold. I excavated and used a mixture of soil left over from my plantings of the Hellebores and equal amounts of potting soil. Cannot be any worse than what was there originally. I planted four 4" plants, two Irish and two Scottish. I put them in the corner beside the skimmer. If they take hold, I'll retry along the south side of the chess board.

I also got another Brass Buttons (Leptinella squalida 'Platt's Black'). This is a ground cover we planted between the stepping stones, one down from the Scottish moss and one up from the creeping thyme. The original plant is still alive, and may regain its previous glory, but I decided to add another just beside it. This is really an interesting plant.

Lastly, I bought a couple more succulent for the succulent bed.  A sedum (Gold moss Stonecrop) and a Sempervivum (Hens and Chicks). These should both be hardy in our climate so I rearrange a couple of the other plants so that they will have room to grow.  I also decided to take a cutting off our prickly pear and put it into the succulent garden.

The history of our prickly pear is some what sorted. It is a native to Missouri and came from our neighbors yard at the end of the alley. A single pedal followed me home one night several years ago, nestled in my coat pocket. It took me a LONG time to get all the barnacles out of that pocket and the cotton gloves I was wearing at the time. Once home, I stuck the pedal into a pot of potting soil and it survived and propagated. Today, that one pedal is now seven pedals and there is a lot of new growth.

Our prickly pear

I returned the remainder of the plant to the perimeter of the pond. If it looks like it will survive my pruning, I will try to remove it from its pot and make it a permanent home among the pond boulders.

My experience with handling prickly pears is that you should use a pair of leather gloves you are willing to throw away. You will not want to ever wear them again. You should also have a magnifying glass and pair of tweezers available for removing the microscopic barnacles (even though you use the gloves).

Update on poinsettia...there is new growth!! Looks encouraging!! 

Tuesday, April 11, 2017 Hellebore and Bleeding Heart

Went to Costco and Lowe's today. At both places I looked at their Knockout Roses, searching for one that would coordinate with the ones I already have. Neither place had a color I wanted.

This afternoon I planted the two Hellebores and the Bleeding Heart. I put the bleeding heart behind the rabbit. The soil was not as bad as I had expected, but the ground is full of electrical conduit, irrigation piping and drainage lines. I hope it does OK.

The soil up by the east porch, where I put the "Champion" Hellebore, contains quite a bit of clay, but not too bad.

The soil between the Hornbeams was very nice. The worms seem to think so as well. My first shovel must have had a half dozen huge earthworms.

I will keep looking for the proper rose. The Knockouts are nice in that they don't grow too tall and are very easy to care for. So far, I have a Pink KO, a Double KO (red), a Sunny KO (white/yellow) and a Lavender Veranda Rose. All four of these are supposed to only grow 2'-3' tall, which is important so that they do not impede the casement window operation.

Monday, April 10, 2017 New Plants

Thunderstorms intermittently today. It has been two weeks since I last checked for okra plants at our favorite nursery. They told me at that time that the okra would be delivered in two weeks. My goals today include the okra, hellebore (to replace the coleus and mayapple between our hornbeams) and another rose for T's rose bed. With respect to the rose, I would like to find another Knockout, specifically the Coral Knock Out Rose.

My first stop however was at the local Harbor Freight to try to find replacement wheels/tires for my ancient Montgomery Ward Garden Mark wheelbarrow. My neighbor borrowed it last week and one of the tires broke. I don't know how old the wheelbarrow is, but I remember using it in my childhood back in Kansas. Therefore, I was not upset and actually surprised it has lasted so long. The wheel/tires are 9" diameter with a 1/2" shaft. At Harbor Freight, I found a 10" which looked like it should work. It did although I will have to forgo the original hub caps. The two new wheels/tires cost me $16 and should give me another 40 years of service.

Then off to the nursery. When I got there and did not find the okra, I asked and was told the okra would arrive in two weeks. I reminded this guy I was told the same thing two weeks ago. He just smiled and said the "two week" response is their standard response. I did find a couple of nice hellebores and also a really nice bleeding heart, which T loved. I was so happy about finding these that I forgot about the rose. It was not actually on my list, but I knew I would remember it.

When I got home, and took the hellebores to their new home, I was amazed to find that the mayapple, which I gave up for dead last year, had sprouted.

Mayapple

I will put of the hellebore (the "Shooting Star") between the hornbeams where we had a coleus planted last year.

Helleborus: "Shooting Star"

The other will go over by the east porch in a fairly open corner.

Helleborus:"Champion"

Now, where to put the bleeding heart? The tag says it prefers well drained soil and morning sun or partial shade. I would like to have it prominent and identified two potential locations. One is by T's rabbit on the southeast corner of the chess board. This location would help obscure the electrical outlets behind the rabbit and it is a very prominent location.

The other location is between the beech and the holly on the north side of the chess board. This location would offer the morning sun and afternoon shade. It probably is better draining soil that behind the rabbit.

I may sleep on this weighty matter, but I am leaning toward the rabbit location. I may change my mind if I dig a hole behind the rabbit and discover the soil is so poor (which I am afraid it may be) that I don't want to risk it.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Yesterday I energized the irrigation system and tested all 13 zones. Everything seemed OK. There are a few spray heads that are partially plugged. There are also several spray heads that I need to change the orientation, field of coverage and/or the height of the nozzle. These were apparent to us last Spring and I brought it to John's (Landscaper) attention. At the time, it was obvious that John really did not want to be troubled with it. It really was Wally's (irrigation guy) area and John said he was having problems getting Wally's attention. I knew I could address the issues myself later so I let it slide. Well, it is now "later". I will do some research on these Rainbird spray heads. It won't be too complicated and the parts are readily available almost anywhere.

We have received a lot of rain over the past week or so. The only areas that look like they need water are the raised beds (Zone 13). Today I set the irrigation system to only run Zone 13 for one hour starting at 0530 hours every day. The Zone 13 uses drip hoses. While I see absolutely no signs of the 15 pepper plants I set out two weeks ago or any of the chard or kale, I am still hopeful they will come up.

Today is a another beautiful Spring day, albeit a bit gusty (the chess pieces are falling right and left). I took T's ‘Trailing Red’ livingstone daisy out to be planted in the same spot as last year. This is beautiful green and white waxy-leafed plant with tiny red flowers. It seemed to like the location T selected for it last year and spread greatly. I knew it was not going to survive the winter so last fall I took two cuttings and brought them inside. One I put in a bottle water and the other I planted in a pot. Both did very well over the winter. The one in the water rooted and I sent it to Houston with Laura for their garden. The one I potted is now back in its original home.

I also performed some surgery around the Canadian Red Cherry. We noticed last year that there were sprouts coming out of the root ball of this tree. I cut them back a couple of time last year and it appears I will need to do so again this year.

Before culling the root ball sprouts

After culling

I also pruned of the dead branches of the ‘Silvery Blue’ Russian Sage up by the Arborvitae. This sage is just now starting to show some tiny leaves. It seems to leaf out and blossom later than the ‘Denim n Lace’ Russian Sage down by the Zelkova. 

The remainder of the morning I spent weeding spearmint from the east raised bed. This stuff is very invasive and I will never plant it again unless in a container.

This afternoon, I notice the copious number of blue flowers on the lungwort along the east side of the chess board. They seem to like that sorry soil!