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Garden Bliss & Blunder, Issue #039
August 07, 2024

August Heats Up & Cools Down

"There is no gardening without humility.

Nature is constantly sending

even its oldest scholars

to the bottom of the class

for some egregious blunder."

Alfred Austin

August is the month of glorious clouds…. they form, then disappear in shadow or light… a painter’s delight…

I spend a lot of time taking photos of clouds (and flowers) to paint on those cold sleety days of winter.

Take lots of photos because clouds and gardens change every day.

My painting of clouds - Young's Point Road - Ontario

However, the clouds we don’t love, are those from the tragic forest fires

in western Canada.

We pray for those who have lost their lives, their livelihoods and their homes.

My painting of the smokey clouds from western fires.

"No time to grieve for roses

when the forests

are burning."

Zbigniew Herbert

Rose Cuttings

When you groom or deadhead your roses, cut a stem or two and take 4 or 5 inches of strong new growth… then push each one, deeply into a pot of soil…

... perhaps 6 out of 10 will form roots in a few weeks and then gently replant them where you can keep an eye on them for the rest of the season.

Voila.... more roses !!!

These cuttings are about a month along.. in a pot with other random cuttings.

See the small white flowers near the middle?

It's a rose cutting from last summer of a white, polyantha rose

called Rosa Alba Meidland and it is blooming already.... easy and fun.

This rose, below, is also from a cutting and only in its 3rd season.

Native Lobelia

This Spring, our local Canadian Tire Store added a lot of native plants to its garden centre.

I bought 3 "Queen Victoria Lobelia" with dark burgundy leaves and the promise of brilliant red flowers on a single stalk.

also called CARDINAL FLOWER

Lobelia cardinals Campanulacea in the Bellflower Family.

It is a native, upright, clump forming perennial with a spike of densely packed bright red florets that hummingbirds love... and hardy to zone 4 in sun or part shade.....

It won a Garden Merit award from the RHS!

The tag said: 12 to 18 inches tall so I put them near the front edge of the garden beside the little red roses.

Oops..by the end of July they were over 3 feet tall - so I will move them in the fall to the middle of the bed where sturdy plants and grasses will support their glorious-ness.

There are also 2 or 3 smaller 'sprouts' coming from each plant so I will cut the blooms back when they are dead and they may bloom again... WOW...

Hot Watering....

Let the water from your hose or rain barrel run a bit because lying in the sun, can heat up the hose, rain barrel or watering can...and the water will be HOT...

During extended periods of hot summer weather, plants cope by going into a sort of dormancy.

Please don't fertilize or prune now as this encourages new growth and can stress the plant.

Maintain your regular watering schedule if you have one but don't overwater either - that extra water will just fill up those little soil spaces plants need for oxygen.

Annuals? yes, fertilize and water lots.

Water at the BASE OF THE PLANT.... it is more difficult if your garden is full of plants so soaker hoses (laid in the spring before plants grow) might work better.

CAUTION WITH SOAKER HOSES: You get what you pay for. Our cheaper ones sprung leaks which went undetected for a day as they were under the mulch.... check yours often and set a timer.

Leaving any hose on too long, even with just a trickle, uses a lot of unnecessary water. ... and overhead sprinklers only fill the air with droplets.... very little of that water actually gets to the ground as it is deflected by leaves and branches.

Do Your Best...

“Do your best and leave the rest.

'Twill all come right

Some day or night.”

Anna Sewell

Lately, I've been more content to sit for a bit while my shoulder gets ready to get back into the swing of things...

I'm pleased how both my body and my garden are getting along. Good lesson.

I like how the textures and colours thread their way, leading the eye from one bed in the back garden to another... especially the yellows and even chartreuse.

Years ago when I first read Alexandra Stoddard's amazing books on making a home, she said "..every room needs a touch of yellow."

Back then I wasn't that fond of yellow but she was right and now, every room has a spot of yellow ...and also now in my garden - she was right.

Yellow sets off greens, reds, pinks and... especially the greens.

Thank you Alexandra.

Lessons in my garden...

WHAT I WANT TO DO, or CAN and CANNOT DO IN MY GARDEN:

- Clean the patio

- Weed between bricks

- Repaint the table and chairs (see below)

- Paint the bench

.... I weeded between the bricks (but they're back) and cleaned the patio.

The rest will wait....I'm trying hard to be careful and take it easier... frustrating but it will all work out in the end.

Besides, I need to leave some tasks for tomorrow, don't I?

FIND SIMPLER SOLUTIONS:

Keep stone paths weeded and add a few glass stones for shimmer…

Edge the beds as the rest of the garden will look better and the weeds will disappear. My Dad always said: if you butter the edges of your toast, the rest will take care of itself….

Wise man, my Dad.

FIND MORE DELIGHT:

Those pesky chipmunks become adorable as they eat seeds from my daughter’s hand.

They often leave a few for the very polite Bluejay who sits and waits his turn in the Spruce tree

My sketch of our resident chipmunk who sits on the rock waiting (impatiently) for his seeds.

ADD COLOUR TO YOUR GARDEN

Highlight some of the darker areas in your garden, either with texture and foliage such as ferns, Hosta, Heuchera, Coleus and other cheerful annuals tucked into bare spots... (great because plants usually go on sale this time of year).

End of Day for Bees...

Those little bees you often see in the evening sitting on flowers are old bees.

Old & sick bees don't always return to the hive at the end of their day.

They spend the night on flowers and if they have the chance to see another sunrise, they go back to bringing pollen or nectar to the colony.

Leave them be(e)... imagine falling asleep with your face in a glorious flower!!

Cosmos Flowers & Seeds...

When the blooms die, seeds form.

Collect them unless you want them to self-sow and fill your garden with them next summer.

I save them and in late fall, when the soil is still warm, I mix them with a bit of soil and spread them where I want new ones next summer. Be sure to label the envelope or you may have some surprises... happy or....

Pruning Bush Issues...

Many landscapers - some at the request of their clients - prune bushes into shapes that are often not the natural habit the bush was grown for.

Many deciduous bushes need to be pruned the way they grow… much like roses but Yew or other conifers can often be pruned to create more density instead of less,

But not having enough interior space for light, or air, can cause the centre to die out and ultimately shorten the life of the bush.

A favourite pruning style for many landscape companies.

Burning Bushes often become overgrown.... perhaps through neglect or just not understanding how to prune them.

Although this pruning may seem drastic, these were so overgrown. They are open to sunlight and air flow.... and better still, rainwater can now reach the roots.