Thurs. Aug. 25, 2022: Ragweed Season Begins

image courtesy of Jan Haerer via pixabay.com

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Fourth Quarter Waning Moon in Leo

Day Before Dark Moon

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter, Uranus Retrograde

Celtic Tree Month of Hazel

Cloudy and humid

Not much to tell, on the garden front. The black-eyed Susan vine is gorgeous and blooming out back. The vines for the morning glory and moonflowers are lovely, but there aren’t any blossoms yet. The four o’clocks, out front, are blooming beautifully. I’d always had yellow ones on Cape; I forgot that these were red! They are fun.

The night-blooming jasmine has grown to be huge; I hope it blooms next summer.

A lot of the plants stalled, and I’m not sure why. The tomatoes never grew up so they could have blooms that then could be pollinated and make tomatoes. The hollyhocks and snapdragons also stalled. I’m not sure what’s going on there. I think, next year, I will get a different type of potting soil, and see if that makes a difference.

It’s definitely ragweed season (Achoo!) which means it will soon be goldenrod season.

We have a few slips of plants that are getting roots, and we will put them in pots soon. We are emptying pots of plants that have come and gone, and will scrub out the pots, put the soil in a bin with nutrients over the winter, out on the back deck, and, hopefully, it will be better soil next year.

It doesn’t really feel like summer anymore, but it hasn’t taken that turn into crispness for autumn, either. It’s more like a limpid in-between state.

I’m looking forward to autumn and cool breezes, and then battening down the hatches and staying cozy all winter.

How is your garden doing?

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Thurs. Aug. 18, 2022: A Little Visitor

image by Dominec Hoffman

Thursday, August 18, 2022

3^rd Quarter Waning Moon in Taurus

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter Retrograde

Celtic Tree Month of Hazel

On a positive note, we now have a hummingbird who comes and visits on the back balcony. I love hummingbirds.

On a negative note, Spiro Squirrel tore a hole in the kitchen window screen, trying to get in. Put on a temporary patch, until I can get it fixed.

The dahlia is showing new growth, which completely confuses me. The impatiens is growing back, which is great. The tomatoes have just never done much.

The four o’clocks are blooming, and they are lovely. Every afternoon, the bright reddish-pink blossoms open. I’ll try to take a picture, but I keep forgetting until it’s too dark.

My neighbors downstairs have actual ears of corn on their cornstalks. It’s vey cool. And their tomatoes are doing really well.

The weather’s been mostly dry, but as hot and humid, thank goodness. We had a little rain yesterday.

The Canada geese have been flying south the last couple of weeks. The weather folk keep telling us we will have a long, warm autumn (which would be nice), but the animals and plants are saying something else.

So we’ll see.

How’s your garden growing?

Thurs. Aug. 11, 2022: Garden in the Month of Hazel

image courtesy of Annette Meyer via pixabay.com

Thursday, August 11, 2022

Full moon in Aquarius

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter Retrograde

Sunny and pleasant

Celtic Tree Month of Hazel

The heat and humidity have broken, which is helpful. The plants are happier; the people and the cats are certainly happier.

I’ve been cleaning up and putting aside the pots where the plants didn’t survive. I have to catch up on the notes in my plant journal, but yeah, there definitely need to be some changes next year. Live and learn, right? Part of it.

I’m hearing that the heat and humidity have negatively impacted plenty of gardens. Hopefully, some books on gardening in climate change will come out soon.

Spiro Squirrel tried to get into the kitchen via the screen again earlier this week, and Willa chased him away. Another time, he was on the bistro table, watching us through the window. I had to go out on the balcony before he jumped on the railing, ran along it, and jumped back into the tree. Little brat.

The mountain heliotrope has its first blossom, which is fun. The black-eyed Susan vine is blooming like crazy all over the back balcony, and very pretty. I will definitely plant that again next year. The morning glories and moonflowers have vined all the way up the posts to the rail, but no blossoms yet.

The Farmers’ Market continues to be amazing. I’ve made pasta primavera and roasted vegetables over couscous and all kinds of good things this week. When the eggplants appear, I will buy a bunch of eggplant, zucchini, tomato, and peppers to make a big bunch of ratatouille (Moosewood recipe), and then portion it and freeze it. And I want to make a bunch more pesto, too.

We entered the Celtic Tree Month of Hazel last Friday. Hazel is connected to inspiration and wisdom. It’s all about sacred wells and magical springs, and the knowledge that bubbles inside.  Lots of wands are made out of hazel wood. It’s a wonderful time to write poetry or songs. (Which is funny, because I’m reading the latest poem I wrote at part of the Poets in Conversation series tonight).

How’s your garden growing?

Thurs. Aug. 4, 2022: Squirrel Squalor

image by Robbi Hoy courtesy of pixabay.com

Thursday, August 4, 2022

First Quarter Moon Waxing in Libra

Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, Chiron, Jupiter Retrograde

Sunny, hot, humid

Celtic Tree Month of Holly

Well, this has been a frustrating week on the garden front.

Some excellent things: my friend in New York gave me a potted lilac, mugwort, and tansy from her garden. They are all doing well.

The black-eyed Susan vine has finally started to bloom. I hope that means the morning glories and moonflowers will start, too. The night blooming jasmine is growing like crazy, and I finally put it in a larger pot.

However, the squirrel not only destroyed the pumpkin on the balcony, but ripped a hole in the kitchen screen. Willa scared him off. So now I have a screen to repair. And we have to close the kitchen window during the night, so he can’t get to it, which makes it harder to cool down the place.

Some sort of insect that makes webs infected the cucumber, the impatiens, and one of the marine heliotrope plants. I hope I’ve saved the marine heliotrope, but the cucumber is beyond help, and I think the impatiens are too (I cut back the impatiens, but I don’t think they’ll recover. I overwatered the borage and that’s gone, but I’ll plant them properly next year.

The dahlias are a loss. I stripped the dead leaves off. The blossom gave up, on the bigger of the two. The smaller one is now showing new growth.

I am DONE with dahlias. I was reluctant to try them because they are such high maintenance plants. Done with those drama queens. They’ve been fussed over and coddled since they were planted. The least they can do is bloom.

When my friend with the beautiful garden comes to visit, I will dig up the bulbs and give them to her. She can use them or the groundhogs in her yard can get them. I don’t care.

I’m not sure why the marigolds on the back balcony are doing so well, but the ones on the front porch are not.

The tomato plants just sit there. They don’t grow. They just stay the same.

I think, in this place, growing vegetables is not a good choice, and I’ll rely on the Farmers’ Market. I’ll stick with flowers and herbs, especially cooking herbs and medicinal herbs. I didn’t grow zinnias this year, but they are on my list for next year.

The lemon balm and the mints are doing very well.

The lettuce is still going, which surprises me, since lettuce usually gives it up when it gets hot.

Anyway, this season has been frustrating. But there’s usually a steep learning curve when moving to a new place.

The peace lily is delighted to be out on the back balcony this year, and is not being the drama queen she was last year. The geraniums are doing well, too. And the Christmas Cacti just bloom all year round.

So there’s plenty that’s working. But I’m still frustrated.

Hope your garden is doing better than mine.