This was a week of sweat! Temperatures hovered near 90 and the humidity was tropical every day. My intent was to work for an hour as soon after sunlight as possible each morning, but good intentions be damned; I usually didn’t get there until mid-morning. Though I highlighted the rock garden and all the work there is to be done there last week, this week I worked almost exclusively in my Terrace Garden, primarily weeding and mulching. The good news is I’m finally seeing progress and can report there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
Beyond much needed weeding and mulching, here are some of the things I accomplished in the garden this week:
- I found a clever way to support the clematis trellis, which, under the weight of Clematis ‘Jackmanii’, was leaning treacherously forward, away from the wall. “Zip ties!”, I thought, “zip ties are surely the answer!”
And they were. Until they weren’t. While wandering the garden this morning, I discovered that my chain of zip ties held a weak link which had given way, and the trellis was again leaning forward. I’ve replaced it; hopefully this one will hold!
2. I cursed the deer frequently! *&$*#^%*! Not only did they graze on the topmost buds and blossoms of Jackmanii’s vines, they also nibbled buds off the Obedient Plant, Balloon Flower, and the flowers off my beautiful Asiatic Lily. They’ve never bothered the Obedient Plant before. The clematis and Balloon Flower seem to be a recent taste–last summer was the first summer they bothered either of those. There seems to be a 50/50 chance whether they’ll eat the lily.
It is probably time to change up my deer repellant.
3. I trimmed the spireas. A good friend is moving from a large house and yard to a condo, and I was the happy recipient of her electric hedge trimmers. The spireas were in dire need!
4. I pulled up the daffodil fronds. Why must they take so long to die back, anyway?
I still need to pull the camassia foliage.
5. I ordered Sluggo. Slugs haven’t been too bad a problem this season, so far, but the rain that Tropical Storm Fay brought us yesterday seems to have summoned them. I thought I still had some of the slug killer on a garage shelf, but, alas, there was none to be found. Neither of the garden centers near me had it in stock, so an online purchase it was. It must be a popular product this year; it won’t be available to ship for seven to ten days! In the meanwhile, perhaps I’ll eat some cantaloupe and put the rind in the garden so the slugs will go to that instead of my marigolds!
The damage they’ve done so far is minimal, and I’d like it to remain that way!
6. I repotted my Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomioide). I bought this plant at a grocery store over a year ago, and left it in too small a pot for too long. Even so, it did all right, even spawning three baby plantlets around the rim of the original pot. I separated those out and transplanted two of them (one broke at the base of the stem) in small pots. I’ll give one to my sister-in-law when I see her in a couple weeks, and the other will go to my best friend after it gets itself established.
Pilea doesn’t require a lot of special care. I grow mine in a window that faces east and gets full sun for only an hour or two very early in the morning. It does not complain if I let it dry out quite a bit between waterings, and it is fine with infrequent fertilization . It did not seem to mind being grown in a small pot for a long time. In the year I’ve had it, this plant produced, with no help from me, three babies. If you are a houseplant lover and can get your hands on a Chinese Money Plant, I highly recommend it!
Six on Saturday is hosted each week by The Propagator, who is featuring a gorgeous Cosmos this week. Click on the link to find more offerings from gardeners all around the world!
Cosmos and Cleome 
Grrrr…deer and rabbits. Say no more. 😉 I use zip ties in the garden all the time! They are so helpful! You’ve been busy, even with the heat! We had two weeks of high 80s and 90s here in S. Wisconsin, which is unusual. Usually, we have a few days of heat, and then perfect weather (high 70s and low 80s) for a few days–throughout the summer. I really didn’t do much gardening during the hot, humid days. But now we’re finally having a break, and I’m back at it! I hope the slugs and deer won’t do anymore damage for you.
My son says there’s nothing that can’t be fixed with duct tape or zip ties! We had a few very lovely days with relatively low humidity this week, and I got a lot done, but now we’re back near 90 with high humidity again. No new slug damage that I’ve noticed–Sluggo is due to arrive Monday!
I am fortunate to have neither deer nor rabbits. In fact, my neighborhood doesn’t even have squirrels! We have lots of trees, and until they added sidewalks we had raccoons in the ditches. I think they moved down the block where there are still ditches. My pilea has its first babies, and I hope it continues to do well. It had to be moved out of its window for the air conditioner. I see you have a Garden Cat too! Mine is actually a “stray” that showed up last Sunday, and I think will need to stay, as no one is claiming it.
Good luck with your pilea. Mine seems very happy to have more space, and the transplanted babies are doing well, too. Garden Cats can be nice company! If mine is outside while I am, he almost always finds me and comes to say hello.
Do deer tend to graze in landscape more at particular times of year, and outside of the landscape at other times? Others have mentioned more deer damage too. Our is minimal, but continual through they year, even while much of the garden is bare in winter.
It used to be that the deer didn’t come right up to our house much at all, except perhaps in the coldest of winter. Then they would, understandably, stroll on down the nicely shoveled walk and nibble on the rhododendrons right there above the snow, at their level. Now it doesn’t seem to matter what time of year it is or how much other food is available. They are brazen.
Oh deer!
Good luck with that trellis! A big clematis vine can add up to a lot of weight. I like the look of Becky’s Corner.
Thanks! It’s been six days now and one heavy rainstorm since I repaired it, and it seems to be holding fast now. Fingers crossed! Becky’s Corner is nice, but it’s seen better years! The Moonbeam Coreopsis is very sparse this year; I miss the nice pop of yellow it provides.
Oh, my, Kimberley, you’ve been busy. I have had damage this year from deer, rabbits, a groundhog, and of course slugs. I change my deer and rabbit repellent frequently because they seem to get used to one brand. Sluggo works for me, but I tend to procrastinate and don’t sprinkle it until after the damaged is done. Haven’t managed to control the groundhog yet, but I think he may have moved on. Keep your fingers crossed. Love visiting your garden. Stay cool in the heat. P. x