I was out walking in the garden yesterday, and I encountered a very pleasant surprise.  My Autumn Joy sedum was covered in honeybees.  I've never seen so many honeybees in one spot with the exception of being near a hive.   Yeah for happy bees!

My roses from Chamblee Roses arrived today.  What great roses they are!  The second I peeled the tape off the box, the fragrance jumped out at me.  Pure heaven.  They have blooms.  The packaging was impeccable.  They appear very healthy.  I would highly recommend Chamblee!

 Lincoln Peas in bloom.

 Earliglow strawberries are still producing well.

The death of Lady Emma Hamilton.  Clearly not as lush as last season.  Also, despite the relatively dry weather, she is covered in black spot.

 Looking behind the rose, clear evidence of Rose Rosette Disease (RRD).  Heavily infected with this virus.  :(

 

 An up-close view of the excessive thorniness and red hue.

 When cut, the canes are noticeably soft.  She was "shovel-pruned" and secured in a plastic bag this afternoon for disposal.

 Her gorgeous final blooms and buds were removed.

They now adorn my bathroom window so I can smell their delightfully sweet fragrance one last time.  She will be missed.

 I love this combination.  Double Knockout roses with Maynight salvia.

 My new favorite rose.  Abraham Darby!  The fragrance is delicious.  Plus it's strong enough to smell by just walking by.  The blooms are packed with petals once fully open (only partially open in this picture). 

LOVE THIS! I HIGHLY recommend these to clean your hummingbird feeder ports.  I purchased 25 "Economy Disposable Black Mascara Wand Brushes".  I have used pipe cleaners in the past, but wow....  I used these for the first time this morning and I'M IN LOVE!  The feeders look like new.  I found them on eBay for only $3.50 which included shipping!

 Pretty combination.  Double Knockout rose, Maynight Salvia, daylily, and heuchera.

 A surprise volunteer.  I haven't grown coreopsis in two years.  I used to grow Tequila Sunrise.  A lovely dwarf variety with variegated foliage.  It only survived about 3 years.  Two years later...surprise.  What a fun plant to pop up in the crack between the house and sidewalk.

 My dwarf Alberta spruce has had issues since I planted it last summer.  Lots of browning along the bottom and huge sections died off.  Since we had such a severe drought last season, I figured that I must not have been supplementing it enough with moisture.  Turns out, mites are most likely the continuing problem.  Check out all the webbing.  Ugh.

 Guacamole hosta shaded with pink and white azaleas.

 My Golden Delicious apple tree had some funky leaves.  I peeked inside to find lots of ants and aphids.  Yum.

 After unrolling the leaf, here's what was inside.  Where are the ladybugs when you need them?

 Felix Crousse peony with my new birdhouse in the far back (left side).  We just put the birdhouse up today.  I can't wait to see if we get some curious renters.

 Fat N Sassy peppers are loving the heat today.  The Kennebec potatoes are doing well in their containers.  I will have to fill them up the rest of the way with soil now that they are tall enough.

 Reliance grapes are starting to form.

 The entire vine.  Now I only hope I can keep the birds away from them this season.  They ate EVERY grape OVERNIGHT last season.  EVERY GRAPE!

 Ville de Lyon clematis gracing the porch.

 Navaho blackberries are blooming their hearts out.

 Raspberries are already in bloom!

Double Knockout Rose.

Today's harvest. Lucky Cross, Stupice (one), and a few Sun Gold tomatoes. Caroline raspberries. Oregon Sugar Pod peas that I forgot were out there. They have full-sized peas in the pods since they were picked passed their prime. I thought the peas would be hard a lack sweetness since they grew so large. The pods were alright, but the peas inside were quite delicious. I have to remember just to plant shelling peas in the future. We just seem to enjoy them more. Oh, and the brown clumps in the bowl are dried zinnia heads. I am saving some of the seed from my Oklahoma red for next season. These are blooming machines with NO mildew. Tropical Milkweed is again releasing seeds. I saved a few for next season.
Graham Thomas rose. It's been a bad year for roses so far. Only a few blooms in the beginning of the season. Then long periods of drought hit. Then flooding rains. Now that the weather has moderated, all the roses are putting out new buds and flowers are starting to finally starting to open.
Perhaps a week or so before Irene's rains hit, I cut back my blackberries to about 4 feet tall so the laterals would put on more growth. I tossed the prunings into a heap and went inside. An hour or so later I thought, "what a waste". I went out and cut the branches into 8 inch sections. Removed the lower sets of leaves, and tossed them into this container full of used potato soil....from my potato containers. It's been a few weeks and it looks like some of them are hanging on despite flooding rains and neglect. Others, on the left, haven't faired so well.
I had some left over green coated tension wire, so I finally gave my Major Wheeler honeysuckle a place to climb. It was rambling through my azaleas and on the ground. I really want it to travel up along my light post. The green color is barely noticeable from a short distance, so I think the honeysuckle will look quite nice blooming there next season.
Happy Gardening!

My resident hummingbird. She stops by several times a day. Okay, it's probably not the same one each time, but I enjoy the visits nonetheless. Stupice Tomatoes. All are ripening at the same time. TONS of them.
Mucho Nacho Jalapenos. They don't normally crack like this, but the plant has been ignored for a few weeks.
Queen of Sweden Rose. She waited until now to really start putting on a show.

Above: Lady Emma Hamilton rose
Scarlet Oklahoma zinnia and other pickings from the morning garden.
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STAY COOL EVERYONE!

Right now it is pouring AGAIN. While there was a bit of a break this morning, I ran out to see what was in bloom. This is what I saw. Alexander Fleming peony. It is supposed to be fragrant, but I guess the wet weather is interfering with that.
Felix Crousse
Felix Crousse up close
William Baffin climbing roses starting to open up.
Golden Zest rose. Lemon-scented! Although not with all the rain.
Jacob Kline monarda. Just added last fall. Initially there were 3 plants but one died. The two remaining are really taking off. I can see how these would get a bit pushy in the garden.
"Climbing" the wall on a trellis is Brite Eyes rose. To the left of it is a Double Knockout rose.
Brite Eyes up close.
Maynight Salvia with a Navaho blackberry flower that just opened.
The rain isn't all bad. Everything is getting pretty lush.

2010 Garden Review Part II

2010 REVIEW
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BIGGEST HITS
Salad Bush Hybrid Cucumber - Excellent production and flavor. A must-have, compact cucumber. Vine are about 3’ long. Has yet to disappoint me like other varieties. Canned TONS of pickles using these (not picklers) and they were excellent. Maintained a pleasing texture and crispiness with canning. Seed is a bit pricier and has to be ordered online, but it will definitely be returning next season.
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Reliance Grape- Newly planted in the beginning of the season. Very vigorous, disease resistant. Very happy with its growth so far.
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Apache Blackberry- I planted one in the beginning of the season. It is an upright variety, healthy, and growing vigorously. Branches topped at around 4 feet to encourage laterals. Fruits on previous years growth.
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Red Norland potato- Good production and flavor in container. Beautiful color. Will be back.
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Russet Burbank potato- Very large potatoes in ground. Good flavor and great production. Rough skin. Will be replaced with Yukons.
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Yukon Gold potato- Good production and flavor in containers. Will be the staple potato here next season. Love it!
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Golden Acre Cabbage- Small cabbage that produces quickly. Very easy to grow with great flavor. Successful in Spring and Fall. Will be back.
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Lady Emma Hamilton rose- An excellent David Austin, disease resistant shrub rose. I don’t spray, so this is important. The heavy humidity didn’t take a toll until very late in the season. A light spotting of black spot. No big deal. New foliage is a gorgeous burgundy which sets of the deep apricot-colored blooms. A stunning rose. Branches form a nicely rounded shape. Heavy bloomer. Strong, citrus scent. Love it!
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Scarlet Nantes carrots- I could place these in either category. Last year these were fantastic. Sweet, large, they froze well. A huge hit. This year, well…black swallowtail butterflies used the to lay their eggs on. They would devour all of the young, supple foliage. I would bring them indoors and raise the cats…picking off the young foliage myself to feed them. Although the plants kept pumping out fresh leaves, it took a huge toll on the size of the carrot. Would I have changed a thing? Not for a second. We may not be eating homegrown carrots this winter, but we have lots of great memories of the butterflies we raised and released.
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Sterling onion- from Dixondale Farms. Large, white onion. Storing well so far. Only a few
Began to spoil. Great flavor.
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Red Zeppelin onion- from Dixondale Farms- still storing well, very strong flavor. Lovely red rings.
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Copra onion- from Dixondale Farms, yellow, long storer, small size, but weather was quite dry.
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BIGGEST MISSES - A large part of these varieties landing in the “misses” list was due to the weather. Record heat. Drought. High humidity. Not exactly a recipe for success. Another huge factor was the soil mix that was filling the raised beds. I used Mel’s Mix. A combination of 1/3 peat, 1/3 compost, and 1/3 vermiculite. The peat portion was detrimental to many of my plants because it refused to stay moist or remoisten despite repetitive, deep waterings. My recommendation. DON’T USE MEL’S MIX. Half of the soil in these beds will be removed and mixed into spots with heavy clay soil. The other half will stay in the beds and get mixed with my existing clay soil to help it retain water and nutrients better. With that said, here were the biggest misses:
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Spirit Hybrid Pumpkins - All three plants succumbed to borers early in the season. Willing to try this shorter-vined pumpkin one more time next season.
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Black Beauty Squash- I must be the only one that has yet to grow a successful squash. Of the two I planted, one was eaten by rabbits. The other….just barely hung onto life until the drought hit. Then died. Not willing to save space and try it again. I like zucchini bread, but not that much. I’ll just ask for one or two from my in-laws. They can’t get rid of their fast enough.
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Serendipity Corn- Bicolor, synergistic. Started out so impressive, but it was impossible to get the peat in Mel’s mix within the raised bed to moisten. Would try again. The few ears produced were filled out well with excellent flavor.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

Graham Thomas

Planted around 3 years ago as a bagged rose from Home Depot.

Strong tea scent.

Queen of Sweden

Something has been taking chunks out of some of my roses before they open.

Planted this Spring from Pickering Nurseries.

Jubilee Celebration

Planted this Spring from Pickering Nurseries.

Jubilee Celebration

Double Delight
Planted this Spring from Henry Fields.

I should have just purchased it at the store. It had a lot of dead wood when it arrived. I cut all of the dead wood off immediately before planting it. Other than a cane borer killing one of the canes, it's doing well now.