Ihave lost 2 of the original 10 native perennials but the others seem to be surviving. The general rule with perennials is first year, sleep; second year, creep; and third year; leap. They have indeed been sleeping this year. All except the blackberry bush. It has thrown up 2 long canes but I won't expect any fruit for another year, at least. The area is now filled with stalks of bright pink and white flowers (not yet identified) and the purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) are starting to bud.
The wildflower garden was in some danger of being overrun by grass, a problem throughout my garden. Just to be spiteful it won't grow where you want it but seems to grow everywhere else. One particular strain has to be dug out using a trowel since the smallest piece of the rhizome quickly resprouts. The wildflowers seem to have won for the time being but I will be keeping an eye on this.
Once the wildflowers have finished blooming and set their seed
I will mow the area and remove the clippings. According to several
reference books, wildflowers prefer a soil that is less rich than
typical garden soil. I will also reseed again in the fall with
another wildflower selection to increase the coverage and fill
in those areas that didn't sprout this year.
Sticking it to the ants...
Ants are a problem in most Southern Californian gardens and mine is no exception. I regularly come across major colonies when turning soil in beds or weeding the stone paths. They seem to particularly like to nest under the flagstones that are placed throughout the garden.
While ants themselves don't cause much damage themselves, they can destroy fruit and lead to the proliferation of other pests in the garden. Ants cultivate aphids much in the way we cultivate cattle. They feed on the honeydew excreted by the aphids and will actually move the aphids to better feeding areas, if necessary. If you already have an aphid problem, as I did several months ago, ants can only exacerbate the problem.
Idon't really want to use commercial pesticides in my garden but I also didn't want to lose all the fruit on my apricot tree as I did last year. When I inspected the tree last week there was a dark trail of ants running across the garden, up the trunk and into the highest reaches of the tree. I had prepared for this, though. On the advice of some fellow members of the GARDENS Internet mailing list I purchased some Tanglefoot.
This sticky paste acts as a physical barrier to ants and other non-flying pests but it shouldn't be placed directly on the surface of the tree. The company recommends the waterproof paper used to protect young trees against sunburn. Wanting an easier solution myself, I found that clear, wide packing tape (the type used to seal boxes for shipping) works well. It doesn't harm the tree but forms a seal between the tape and the trunk so that ants can't crawl under it. I then smeared the tape with a generous amount of Tanglefoot. Tanglefoot stays sticky, even if you happen to get it wet while watering. You will need to replace it if it gets clogged with dust, ants or anything else. The company recommends that you remove it at the end of the fruiting season.
So far, I have seen a dramatic drop in the ant problems with both the apricot and lemon trees I have treated. I have a few Tecoma vines that also suffer from aphids and ants but they are harder to fix since there are multiple ways for the ants to climb the plant.
The roses have risen...
The roses have survived the major aphid attack detailed last month and have bloomed more that I would have ever thought possible. Last year, they bloomed slightly and some of them delayed blooming until very late in the summer. With only moderate attention to pruning and feeding since January they have performed amazingly well. All of them bloomed at nearly the same time so the color and fragrance is overpowering when you walk in the garden.
One special rose blooms with multiple, blood red blooms on each
cane. Last year there were four canes with perhaps 4-5 blooms.
Currently there are 10-12 canes with 8-10 blooms per cane. I am
amazed at the dramatic improvement in all my roses, but especially
this one. The only drawback is that this rose is in a bad location
and tends to block a path when in full growth. A space has opened
in our front garden and I am thinking of transplanting it there
once the season has ended. Wish me luck!
Into the summer...
As I come around to my first complete year in the garden I know
what lies ahead this summer. The garden has already began to overwhelm
my attempts to keep it in check. Vines need to be trained onto
trellises, bougainvillea needs to be cut back to allow passage
down the alley, and tree limbs start swinging into your head if
you don't keep them pruned out of the paths. It is easy now to
fill my two gardening bins each week and even my two, 33 gallon
trash can composters are full to the brim. Hopefully we will get
our first load of completed compost from them before the end of
the summer.
Ihope all is well in your garden as we move into this, the most
beautiful time of the gardening year. Planting is on hold until
the fall but watering is taking more time and pruning, always
pruning. I find myself carrying my hand clippers whenever I head
into the garden for any reason. As I water I will dead head the
roses or clean up the remaining bulb foliage left over from the
Spring flourish of daffodils and Freesias. Even with all this
work, there are few things as nice as sitting on your bench in
the shade of the garden watching the birds and bees. Of course,
I do need to snip that ivy back...
Keep digging...
Douglas
Douglas E. Welch is a independent writer based in Van Nuys, California.
He can be reached at dewelch@earthlink.netor via his web pages at http://home.earthlink.net/~dewelch/