It’s been five or six weeks since we have had a measurable rainfall. Add to that temperatures in the upper 90s and winds at 15-20 mph every day, and that equates to spending a whole lot of time watering just to keep everything alive. Even though almost everything I grow is either native to our area, or well adapted to the dry conditions and high temperatures, they still require a bit of water to keep going, especially when they are first getting established which many of my plants and trees are.
So, I have been spending all of my gardening time watering and weeding for the past few weeks. The fire ants and grasshoppers are the most annoying pests that we are dealing with at the moment. I did find an interesting article and product description [1] recently for managing fire ants. I haven’t ordered any yet, but I did have some DE, and I have been treating active mounds with it, and it does seem to take care of the ants that it comes into contact with. There is nothing more irritating than weeding and sweating, squatting and stooping, and then sticking your hand into an ant infested plant. Ouch!
There are a few positive things happening in the gardens though. I have finally had a tomato set on one of the plants that I set out in early spring. There have been many blooms, and the plants look really healthy, but the evenings have been too warm to allow fruit to set.
First Tomatoes of Spring 08
The Lone Star hibiscus is just starting to bloom. This is a photo of the first bloom to open, but there are many more to come soon.
Close Up of Lone Star Hibiscus Bloom
I put in a small Zen shade garden in our back yard earlier this spring which is doing OK. There is a maiden hair fern, a couple of ivy plants, elephant ears, thyme, oxalis, and a yellow columbine to start out with. I’ll see if anything else needs to be added as things fill in a bit more.
Zen Shade Garden
Last, but not least, I have this unknown plant growing behind the fountain grass in the front courtyard area. I kind of like it, but I need to identify it to make sure it won’t be too invasive. If anyone knows what it is, please let me know.
Mystery Plant
Update: The mystery plant is Snakecotton Froelichia gracilis.
Cheers.
Carol