A Month Later ...

Between the rain and the heat, precious little has been done by me. However, Mother Nature has been at work. Here's a quick rundown on how things stand as of the 4th of July.

First, the crape myrtle. It has produced a lot of buds. I'm a bit disappointed in the few that have opened. The catalog described the color as more coral than pink. I'm hoping that as more buds open it will take on a coral hue, but whatever it is, I'll be enjoying it.

Remember the Rose of Sharon that had the microscopic leaves? Well, look at it now! It is filling out nicely and looking very healthy. I'm so happy that it got the time it needed to recover. 

The two nearest neighbors of the recovering bush, which were putting out leaves from the get-go, now seem to be in distress. Their leaves are withering. They've had as much rain as everything else in the garden.

Difficult to focus the phone camera, but here area some of the wilting leaves on the Rose of Sharon right beside the one that is recovering. Will be interesting to see what happens next.

Next up, the paulownia trees. If you'll recall, I bought two of them bare root from the nursery that shall not be named. As of last week, I thought both of them were dead. Not so! One of them is looking like a dead stick.

But look at the other one --- there are little leaves sprouting from the base of the trunk. There may be hope for it yet.

Compare with this paulownia, which came potted, not bare root. It is growing very well. This shot doesn't show it, but it is as tall as the red flag now.

The hydrangea bush has produced two flowers, this one and another on the other side of the bush. I'm thinking I've learned the lesson with this. I pruned back like mad in the early spring without knowing whether it blooms on old growth or new growth. Since there is no sign of buds in the greenery, I'm now pretty sure it blooms on old growth. Oh, well ...

Remember the nasty bush growing under the fence? Joe cut it down to the ground but couldn't get out the root without destroying that section of fence. Well ... look at it now! It is in the side yard, not easily seen from inside the house, so it has escaped my attention until today. Guess who's getting out there tomorrow before the branches get too thick to cut with my hand clippers.

This morning I managed an hour or so of weed pulling, so at least part of the garden is looking passably good. I really need to get outside at the crack of dawn, before the temps climb into the humid high seventies to keep up. The balloon flowers are in dire need of deadheading. You can see some of them in front of the hydrangea photo above. The marigolds in pots around the statue on the island have curled up their toes. Not sure what to replace them with. The pots are small, and the heat dries them out so quickly that they need water a couple times a day. I haven't been keeping up. Buddha needs to be spray painted. And so it goes . . .

Disgruntled Pigeons -- Hooray!!

It's still raining on and off, but I managed to get in a goodly amount of weeding this morning while the cloud cover held. When the sun came out around 10:30, I had to retreat, as heat and humidity increased rapidly.  (Don't forget to click on photos for a larger version.)

Weeding finished along the first four sections of fence; eight to go. Most of the really dense weed patches have been dealt with. The bench/kneeler is a handy tool. I'm not much good at kneeling, but sitting on the bench and leaning down to weed is great. See how well the lavender is growing under the bird feeder. The pigeons haven't harmed it. I swear it has nearly doubled in size. (And yes, I see that area needs weeding.) 

The earlier weeded sections are beginning to green up again and will need to be revisited before they are mulched. Home Depot is delivering 45 bags of brown mulch tomorrow. I paid extra to have it delivered inside the gate. From there I can load a bag at a time on my little garden wagon and pull it to where it is to be spread.

The new caged bird seed feeder is working. The sparrows and smaller birds can easily get through the 1-1/2" openings, but the larger birds are baffled. I haven't seen any cardinals attempt to get inside the cage. I'm afraid they may be a tad too big. I'm thinking about making a dome of chicken wire to put on the ground to protect a plate of sunflower seeds. The cardinals should be able to get in but not the pigeons.

I don't know what kind of bird this is, but he's doomed to go away hungry. It's hard to see, but there is a hummingbird at the feeder drinking out of the yellow flower on the left side. I know, just a blur, but I had to share. :) The hummers seem to have given the feeder a 5-star rating, as I now see them morning, noon, and evening. One buzzed near my head when I was weeding beneath the feeder a day or so ago. 

This is what getting the caged feeder is all about. No way is this pigeon getting any seed unless the smaller birds drop some on the ground. They tried hard the first few days. Now they just stomp around underneath. If I were to open the door a crack, I'm sure I'd hear them expressing a high degree of disgruntlement.

In the nursery department, the red stem dogwood and the slow-growing Rose of Sharon seem to be holding their own.

It's difficult to see the red stems against the red Georgia clay, but my goodness won't this be a standout come winter. In the spring it will sport white flowers. It seems to be settling in well. No droopy leaves.

I made another attempt to photograph the tiny leaves on the slowest Rose of Sharon bush. I put my hand behind the branch in an attempt to get the camera to autofocus on the leaves, not the far background. The leaflet on the right may be a quarter inch long. This is bigger than its earlier efforts to produce greenery. I've been talking nicely to it, words of encouragement.

The other newcomer, the Tuscarora crape myrtle, seems to be doing all right off by its lonesome in the side yard. This area is a real mess, with pea gravel and bricks sliding down the slope from house to fence, and not a blade of grass in sight. 

The crape myrtle doesn't add anything to the backyard landscaping. In fact, it is out of sight and nearly always out of mind. Its contribution to the effort will be blocking the view of the neighbors from the office and studio with its dense foliage and lovely coral colored blooms. Can't wait for it to grow!

The umbrella pots around the statue are working out well. The marigolds add a nice pop of color without overpowering Mom and babe.

I think the proportion will be better after the pots are settled down into the inch or inch-and-a-half of pea gravel. It's on the To Do list!

And now, the mystery of the day. What are these flowers? The former owner must have loved them, as they are planted all over the place. I need to take one to a local nursery for identification, unless one of you can solve the mystery.

This is what they mystery flower looks like as its buds swell.

The balloon-like buds pop open to become a lovely star-shaped flower.

 If you know what these are, please respond in the comments below. Thanks!!

Edit: When my brother thought they were called something like Balloon Flowers. He was spot on! I Googled "purple star flowers", and there they were. Thanks, Rich! Apparently they are hearty perennials that can withstand short bouts of drought and come back smiling year after year. The article says they bloom in mid-summer, but here in Georgia they are blooming the 3rd week in May.