~finally, some time spent in the garden~

In my self-imposed, poorly orchestrated attempt at reducing my plant budget (you know, the whole life during wartime thing), I've been on a propagating rampage.

My latest round of propagatees - lovely little cuttings - have been remarkably successful.

I would share with you what they are - that is, if I had a clue.  All I know is that I snipped them from lovely plants that were new to me - either because of interesting flowers or foliage, and I suppose my hope is that most of them are perennials.

I enjoy propagating plants - it's quite rewarding.  I think I had forgotten that.  Silly me.

~~~~~

Finally, this afternoon, I forced myself into one of my vegetable beds - after promising myself that I was going to have a productive fall vegetable garden...come hell or high water.

(It's hurricane season - so the whole 'high water' thing isn't one of those long-range possibilities).

There were weeds, more weeds - and still more weeds.  I'm a 'no-till' fan, so I was out there with my pitch fork, turning over the soil - picking out the weeds as I went.  Long strings of white dollar weed roots, secret stashes of Florida betony, and wild morning glory winding around stalks of grass.  The bed was quite a mess.

Anyway, my plan is to plant alot from seed - but I did purchase a pot filled with cilantro - that today I divided into three and planted.  Then I mulched around them with a bale of hay that I had sitting around for a long while (all the better!).

What else did I plant?  Six beautiful little chinese cabbages (aka bok choy) - also from one pot and divided.  Then asian greens and brocolli and brussel sprouts (mostly from seed) - other lettuces too.  I want to also get onions in too - and garlic in a few weeks.

I feel good, knowing that my fall vegetable garden is started.

~~~~~ 

I also put my foxglove in the ground - grown from seed, started by a colleague and given to me in a few small soil plugs.  I separated them - and placed them into individual small pots - and had good success with them. 

I still need to mulch them - but I did get them in the ground and watered.  I'll try and remember to mulch them tomorrow.

I wish I had planned ahead, and started more seedlings - but this little patch of them will have to do - at least this year.   

We've been having rain in the forecast for several days now - but no rain is falling on my garden.  We're having a dry late summer.

~~~~~

Bergenia cordifolia 'Autumn Glory'

Planted right into an area of grass - more weeds than grass - and tomorrow I'll mulch them (back to the whole no-till thing).  It was one pot and I divided them into three small clumps, and planted them at the edge of a larger bed, adjacent to a mulched path surrounding a vegetable bed.

I've not grown Bergenia before -- and must admit I'm a bit confused.  According to the 'Proven Winners' tag that came with the plant, it's a zone 4-11 perennial.  However if you go to the Proven Winners page for this plant, it's zone 4-9.  The Dave's Garden page for 'Autumn Glory' says it's zone 4a-7b.   

Huh?

My garden is definitely an 8b warming to a 9 - so 7b isn't gonna work.

So please allow me to end with the lyrics from a song perfect for the ocassion:

Does anybody really know what zone it is?
Does anybody really care??
If so, I can't imagine why...

La, la, lalalalaaaaaaaaaaa...

~~~~~

Comments

[Janet]

Great song Pam! hahahaaa. I am hoping there is no 'high water' this year. (I only wish one year at a time)
Good luck weeding, I know it is an uphill battle.

[Pam]

Janet, the weeds are everywhere. During the heat of the summer, they win. I don't have a fighting chance - but now that it's getting a bit cooler, maybe I do.