Six on Saturday – 03SEP2022 – Reprieve

Chris Mousseau

A bit more rain this past week, rain barrels and butts remain full, flowers have perked up, grass needs mowing again. It’ll be hot today (high 20’s, with a humidex in the mid 30’s) but I doubt many here will be complaining…we know what’s coming in just a few weeks! Today, let’s enjoy the summer garden while we can, and join Jon, The Propagator, in sharing six things in the garden.

For some reason my roses had no problem with the heat and dry condition this summer; in fact, they’ve never done better. Both ‘Crimson Bouquet’ (in the feature photo, above) and ‘Friesia’ have put out dozens of blooms on stalks reaching higher than ever. All this with little or no black spot! The only problem I’ve had occurred just this week, when I spotted a huge caterpillar munching on Friesia’s buds. Turns out it’s the larvae of a large moth – Melanchra adjuncta – a Hitches Arches moth quite common in much of North America.

Not bothered by pests of any sort, it seems, is Verbena bonariensis. Seeds from last year’s plants were scattered all around the garden. They make for quite striking images, very architectural and unique. They’re also wonderfully drought tolerant.

II planted a few final radish seeds last weekend and they’ve sprouted quite nicely. If our usual first frost date of mid October holds true this year I should be able to enjoy these.

For some reason this daylily decided to produce a flower stalk at the end of August – a few weeks after its usual blooming period. I’m not complaining!

We were fortunate to spot a hydro truck cutting and mulching roadside trees a few weeks ago. (For non-Canadians, a hydro truck is a truck belonging to the local hydro company, and here hydro means electricity provider, the name made popular at a time when much of our electricity was created from damming rivers, creating lakes and then purposefully letting water fall into turbines that creates electricity for the power grid.) The crew gladly dropped off a couple truckloads of wood chips, that I’ve been spreading thickly throughout the garden areas. Here’s the pile, fronted by a row of late blooming Hostas.

This species has a lovely pale mauve flower:

Finally, pollinators and nectar loving critters have been enjoying the late summer blooms, including this bumble bee in the Agastache patch. Have a great weekend everyone!

21 Comments

  1. I was impressed when I saw the photo (on Instagram I think) of your nibbled rose bud…
    I had sown radishes before leaving for Canada but the lack of water caused them to rise up; the result they are inedible. Your idea to resow a bit now is good!

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    1. So happy to get these chips…and they’re chunkier than the mulch you buy, which is shredded, not chipped, often, so this lets oxygen and the bits of rain we get thru easier.

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  5. My roses have done well too this year, no blackspot at all, and they keep on flowering. Verbena bonariensis has spread here too, but I am happy for it to do so, the butterflies love it and hopefully the Goldfinch will enjoy the seeds soon.

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  6. I like the wood chips, too. I lack a good storage area though. Love the Agastache and V. bonariensis. Your roses are remarkably green and beautiful. Maybe lack of rain equals lack of humidity and less black spot?

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    1. SO much humidity this summer, as usual! It’s possible I finally found good spots for them (these 2 roses have been moved twice in the past four years), with good air circulation and no crowding, though. They were also eaten and/or frozen right to ground level over the winter, so these new, vigorous branches are coming right from the bottom of the plant.

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  7. Wow! Your rose looks better than any of mine; and roses enjoy the climate here. It does not surprise me that it did not mind the warm weather so much, since that is part of what they like about the climate here. They do not require major heat, but appreciate what they get here. They also appreciate the aridity, as long as they get water below.

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      1. So other vegetation did not grow up with them? The main problem with roses here is that NO one prunes them aggressively enough. They eventually get congested, which is what the pathogens like.

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      3. OH! Wow! I do not consider how cold it gets there. When I was a kid, I was fascinated by how, in some climates, roses get pruned back and then buried with fallen leaves for winter.

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  8. Thank you! I have an online friend in Ontario. Now and then she mentions hydro. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out what she was talking about. Now I know!

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