Promise, Day Three

I suddenly feel like I am in Brigadoon - this is the third day of the miracle!

I started the day off right, moving all of the plants I have been propagating from the patio out to the different locations around the yard that I want to plant them. This will get them acclimated to the sunlight they will be getting. I try to do this everytime I plant anything new in the garden. I leave them in the pot for about 3 days to give them time to get used to their surroundings. If I see them start to fail, I can move them without doing serious damage to the plant.

I started pulling vines again, this time the cucumber vine from the opposite side of the yard. My neighboring house is a rental property, and the owner is a tile setter and he keeps his machinery and supplies up against the fence on his side, and all sorts of things grow out of that area. Lately the cucumber vine has been growing non-stop, spreading into my yard and even barricading the gate on that side. I have been pulling it down, but cannot get into his section to stop it. That side and the back fence have venetian blind slats through the chainlink, so it isn't easy to see through or manage the problem through. The owner usually comes by on the weekend to get his tools and will pull down what he can. He is usually very good about this, but lately business is slow, so he hasn't needed his tools. I can't believe it - the economy is causing part of my garden weed problem!

I ended up pulling the tall grassy weeds that have sprung up along the screen room. They have grown taller than the jasmine so it is time to cut it all down. I think it is time I invest in a weed wacker to help speed up the process!

Promise, Day 2

I was outside for about 45 minutes just before dinner - meatloaf again? I stuck to the nasty vine for the whole time, pulling stalks out of the tangerine tree, and cleaning up the fence as much as I could reach. I pulled more then 200 yards of vines off the tree, and just happened to look through the fence to see more of the vines. There is one stalk that is bigger around than my thigh! I didn't know anything grew that thick!! I will definitely have to get over the fence to get this stuff under control. I am seeing a marked improvement in the corner, so I am still sticking with my promise.

Day One of Promise

So I promised myself I would spend at least 30 minutes a day out in the yard catching up on the weeding, and for general upkeep of the planting beds. I was out there for an hour today, working in the back corner. The weed grass was almost as tall as the heliconias, so I managed to make a good bit of headway in that area. I also trimmed back the surinam cherry bushes that have sprung up behind the heliconias. I plan to get into the easement to kill the roots, once I have the inside cut back.

I started by pulling all of the cucumber vine off the side fence. As you can see from the photo, the neighbor's fence is the culprit, spreading it all into my yard. I managed to get rid of the cucumber vine from the right side of the house, and was working on

Then there is the kudzu type vine. I have a couple of photos here to show what I mean. They have a small white flower, kind of like a 1 inch white morning glory. The stalk is very tough and ropey, with the outer husk quick to slough off leaving the green vine safe. It has climbed through my tangerine and up into the nasty weed tree behind it - about 30 feet into the sky. All along the back fence it has been invading the confederate and winter jasmine, and the three passionfruit vines, killing everything in its wake. It has started to cover the hibiscus and brugmansias, so I need to take serious action. I have started cutting every stalk I find, hoping to cut off the food supply. I am planning to go over the fence with muriatic acid to kill the roots if I can find the source.

Finally, I took some photos of the front of the house, showing the new half moon bed. I have a lot of plants in there, in small clusters - plumeria, crotons, chiflera, even a spindle palm. I will think of something else to put there once everything starts growing, and then mulch it all. I figured I

had to do something to cut down on the upkeep since we terminated our lawn service today. I may do as my mother suggests and cover every bit of green with mulch.

Sorry for the absence

Well, it seems like I just never find the time to write anymore. That isn't the case, but I am just getting over a long, drawn-out session with the flu. I don't know if it was swine flu - there are some who will object - but for those of us without medical insurance, some things just go undiagnosed. I am still a little congested, but it isn't unmanageable and doesn't seem to be contagious.

So I finally got around to planting the half circle in the center of my driveway. I got a couple of plumerias from Scott and Joe a couple of weeks ago, so I used them as the basis for my design. I opted for a symmetrical design, with the plumeria on either side of a spindle palm seedling. Then I went to Ken's Trees on 58th and 58th on Saturday and bought a bunch of nice crotons for $7.00 a piece. I got 6 (2 of each variety) and planted them in front of the plumeria, with a pink majesty croton in the center that I got from Phil at a raffle two months ago. Then I put a dwarf chiflera behind the croton clusters, and finally a pair of Aztec Gold plumerias cuttings from my own tree. Now the circle looks full to my liking, and will be great as it fills in and grows bigger. I still have to spread out mulch, but that will come later this week.

I also have been working to eradicate those horrible vines from my yard. I started working in the back corner, and after a half hour pulled a black trash bag full from the fence and another full of weeds from the heliconia/ginger patch. I am planning to spend a half hour each day this week catching up with the weeding, and planting anything I have been cultivating. I have a bunch of gingers that need to go into the ground, and a couple of recent plantings that have died that need replacing.

The clerodendron I got from Brad just up and died last week. It was blooming very nicely, with big clusters of lovely scented flowers called cashmere bouquet. Then last week, it up and turned black. No warning, no nothing. It is still out there, all black and nasty! Likewise, I planted a plumbago out back and it up and died right off the bat. I think I would rather plants to that so I don't get too attached to them. I picked up a couple of nice plants at Ken's to replace them both, and I have a few night-blooming jasmine to fill in the patches. Hopefully I will get the rest of the mulch down to finish off this new bed. I have already decided that I will not dig a hole for the water feature, but instead will use those garden blocks to build a single layer wall around the black vinyl base. I will let you know how that works out.

Photos of all to come next time.

HELP!!!! I need somebody!!!!

I am beginning to hate the rain! I don't really. I just hate having it all well up and produce mosquitos. I have been trying to keep the rainbarrel empty to avoid the bugs, and have even gone so far as to chlorinate the water, but they just keep coming back.

I have complained about the weeds before, and while I do hate weeding, I have something to talk about that is more than just weeds that have gotten ahead of me. I have two, count 'em, two invasive vines that have been covering my fence, tree, and plants.

First there is the weedy vine that puts out those orange pod things that smells so green when you pull them out. The house just north of me is vacant and this vine is crawling all over their fence and has spread to mine. I keep pulling it down whenever I am out in the yard, but I just cannot get control of it. It really took over two years ago, but last year it wasn't bad at all. This year it has started to spread out, so I think I can keep ahead of it. This vine is really minor, though.

The worse of the two is this horrible thing that is like kudzu. At first I thought it was a passion vine. It came from the free mulch, but from the shape of the leaves I thought it might be the Florida native passiflora. Jim N was visiting and he assures me that it isn't a passion vine, although it does have many of the same properties. This is very invasive and has choked out two of my passion vines, and the confederate jasmine. It is all through my tangerine tree, and is on top of the oak behind the fence. The vines have grown to 6" thick, and when you pull on them, the flesh sloughs off. I have tried Round-up on it to no avail. I have pulled miles of it out of the trees, and it has been a real struggle to get it out from the jasmine vines. I wouldn't care it if killed the two trees, since I have always disliked them. But they aren't happy just covering the trees. They are monopolizing the fence, and are starting to choke off the different vines I have growing on it. I try to keep it under control; I can pull out 10 feet today, and tomorrow will have 20 feet in its place. I hack at the stalks that I can reach on the ground, and can see where some has died, but the majority takes it as time to push out more vines. Does anyone have suggestions for me?? I am going crazy over this stuff!!!

HELP!!!!