English Roses: Last Bouquet of the Season

At the end of September I had my last big bouquet of English Roses for the season! Varieties in this picture are James Galway and Abraham Darby. I just love these roses! They are pretty easy care and do well in the Ozarks.

Have a wonderful rest of your week wherever you garden! ~ JB was here.

What I Planted-Native Flower Garden

Last fall, I planted a little Wildflower Garden, as a part of my plan to have more native plants and flowers in my own yard. I wanted to help the butterflies and hummingbirds, have less maintenance, and more enjoyment in a more complimentary landscape to our Ozarks environment here. Here is one variety that I planted:

The Glade Coneflower: Others that I planted were Butterfly Plant, Blazing Star, Purple Coneflower, Missouri Coneflower, Milkweed, and a couple of others. I bought the plants dormant last fall from Missouri Wildflower Nursery  and I am happy to report I can already see some signs of life occuring in the dormant plants!  They should really start up in this next little warm up we are going to get here in South Missouri!  I will post more pics soon, although there really isn't much to see, yet. But I have this vision....... :)

Have a great day. ~JB was here.

After the Drought: The Vision (still) Lives

It was a long, and can I say, horrific, summer this year. Things became not so much about additions or things growing and flourishing, but more just a case of survival. Every day I armed myself with a watering can, sprinkler, and it became almost a full time job. Needless to say, I haven't written anything since.

We (my gardens and I) did survive, and I learned some lessons. Even my little oak trees that I watered every day, and my little Loblolly Pine that I got from the MDC last spring at the garden show lived, so it was worth all my efforts.

Some things provided bright spots in the depressing oppressive heat. I don't think my roses were ever more beautiful. And my garden, while the yields were severely depressed, had terrific flavor and quality to the yield it did give.

I hosted some animal guests, too. I gave help to the birds, chipmunks and rabbits that came to my yard in the way of water and food. They were also a cheerful, funny, and cute respite to the severe prolonged heat. I'm proud of my efforts to encourage bluebirds and this year they had great success in my new nest boxes.

They say there could be another year of this drought. I'm planning accordingly in a few ways.

One way in particular is, I have this one flower bed that needs renovation.  I studied a lot about butterflies this year, photographing and doing something of a "Census" to see what varieties live in my surroundings. I am planning to make the flower bed in question into a butterfly area next year. I'll be using natives in the planting that can handle heat and low water requirements. Yesterday, I ordered my perennial natives, and I sketched my ideas on a sheet of typing paper. It won't be exact but it proves something definitively about my garden enthusiasm AND my vision for the future. The visions lives and is very healthy. As long as this is the case, I'll continue to garden with zeal and vision for a beautiful future with living things. I still love to raise things. Some things never change. :) ~JB was here.

More Guests in My Garden

Here are some more guests to my garden and lawn. I watered and fed everybody. We've all been a little stir  crazy. I'm glad for the recent relief. :) 

Trends-Try this for a natural Weed & Feed Fertilizer-Corn Gluten

One of the cutting edge trends in the lawn and garden this year is using corn gluten as a natural weed & feed fertilizer. I'm excited about this because it means that we now have a totally United States produced, renewable source for fertilizer for our gardens and lawns! It is also environmentally friendly and is an organic option. Corn Gluten naturally runs around 10% nitrogen. To gain its pre-emergence benefits, you need to apply it BEFORE the weeds sprout. If you wait until after, you will have paid to fertilize those little nuisances…..

Follow guidelines that are with the product for correct dosage to your specific usage and application.

Nitrogen, by the way, is the “N” value of the N, P, K you see on fertilizer bags and when soil test results are interpreted. It has to do with the lush green color of your plants and is a very necessary nutrient. (I won't bore you in this post with all those excruciating details, but take my word for it. )

Of the other two values, "P" is for Phosphorus. There is a movement to greatly reduce the application of Phosphorus to our lawns and gardens because the runoff of that element into our streams, sewer systems, etc, produces a lot of problems. It really isn't the use of it, it's the overuse, and even abuse. More on that in a future post.

"K" refers to Potash (Potassium). It's the third element in the N, P, K.

Corn Gluten as a fertilizer is a development I am very encouraged by. It has many benefits and implications for future use as it is adopted by lawn and garden owners more widely.  I plan to begin to use it.

The product shown is from www.bradfieldorganics.com and is available locally through some of the chain stores. There are several other brands available too, some organically labeled, and some not.  I won't be surprised if there won't be a lot of “indie” dealers for this product as well, as it should be fairly easy to adopt processing methods to make it.

Have a great week, and happy gardening!

~JB was here.