The calendar says August, but it is not August. The temps recently have gotten back down again in the 50s at night. The highs have been in the 70s and low, low 80s (all F). The air conditioner has been off for the past few days.
My garden is supposed to be exhausted for the moment, hanging in during hotter days and dryer soils.
Instead, it is fat and happy, and each day hollyhocks, from seed thrown in on a whim back in late winter, are rising above the back of the daisies and coneflowers, alternating between tall stalks of rose colored flowers and fine pink flowers.
Yes, the perennials are overcrowded and must be sorted out. The roses are the saddest -- japanese beetles have been horrible this year, coming a month early. Maybe they will leave a month early. I am thinking about digging up most of my roses and moving them to a sunny spot away from the other plants. There I can use chemicals to fight blackspot and beetles.
I prefer roses amid other plants, in beds. This is tricky because in such a humid climate they need good air flow. But it is not impossible. Except that it is. I may be swimming too far upstream here, attempting roses in a climate that says no, you can't.
It's been a good summer for the tall phloxes, of all colors.
Saturday, I finished cutting out the shade garden in the front yard. Normally, I would have waited to fall to do that work, but with the cooler temps, the mosquitoes have at least for the moment laid low. The ground is too hard to do heavy digging, but I've been killing grass with plastic covering, keeping the top soil moist and the dead grass and weeds easy to hoe or pull out.
I am still bewildered over experiencing what may be the best climate I've ever experienced in my entire life in the summertime.
Monday, August 09, 2004
twilight zone (in a good sense)...
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4 comments:
When you say "tall" do you mean 3-4 feet, with buds all the way up the stalk? Mine have red flowers.
Yes, actually. One of the reasons I've shied away from hollyhocks is because they become so very talk. These are, at the moment, 4-5 feet tall. They may get taller, but I like the proportions so far. And yes, some of the stalks are pink and some are red/rose.
Aha! I quite like mine -- one of them has tipped over, but continued to grow, which means that two and a half feet of stem lies on the sidewalk, but another foot has grown to the sky. There's a faith statement in that someplace. :-)
It's a weird summer, isn't it? Even here in Austin, I believe we've only had one 100-degree day. Next Thursday, the projected high is 88. That's October weather! (Only half-kidding)
Enjoy the cool. Though I'd be loath to give up Texas, I might trade it in for just one truly cool summer.
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