Pardon My Garden-By My Gardener

2012-10-13T10:42:00.000-05:00

Well Pardon this Gardener as I have been slacking again on keeping up with the blog.

It was a hot, dry, drought filled Summer here in the Southwestern Suburbs of Chicago. We spent more time over 100 degrees than I can ever remember in my life.

My Gardener's garden made it through the heat & drought. The lawn took a beating from the heat & the grubs this year. Last year's warmer than usual Winter led to a bumper crop of insects in the garden this year.

We are still in a drought having gotten less than 2" of rain in September. The temperatures are cooler than normal right now & the trees are losing their leaves quickly. I am hoping we get some meaningful rain through November & that we get enough snowfall this Winter make up for our brutal Summer.

I am going to try to remember to post here at least once a week.

Keep on gardening!

2012-07-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

Pardon My Garden for being so happy. We got some more rain this morning & the garden is quite happy.

By my count we've gotten about 3.5" of rain in the last week. We certainly have needed it. My water bill needed a break too. Though I still maintain to Mr. My Gardener that it is cheaper to water than to replace plant material or turf if we let it die during this drought & heat wave.

This hasn't been a good Summer for garden projects because of the heat & drought. This is the first time...maybe ever that I haven't divided & moved plants around almost daily. It's been more of a try to keep it alive holding pattern this year. All in all My Gardener's garden has come through the worst of it pretty well & keeping the garden watered & happy has been a full time job in and of itself. I will have to plot & plan My Gardener's plant shuffle for next year. I have a lot of plants that need dividing & moving as the trees have grown & the amount of sun in different parts of the garden has changed. It will give me something to do this Winter I guess.

Happy gardening!!!!

2012-07-25T11:53:00.002-05:00

Well Pardon My Garden, but my plants are cross breeding all on their own.

It's always a fun surprise to find something new in your garden & this year My Gardener's garden is creating some funky Tradescantias( Spiderworts). I have several different varieties in My Gardens. Tradescantia 'Zwanenburg Blue', 'Red Cloud', 'Concorde Grape', 'Osprey', 'Snowcap'. I 've had them all for many years now & they've never crossed before but this year they did and now they're making their own varieties. The one pictured here I fancy calling 'Cotton Candy' because it reminds me of the cotton candy you get at the fair.

Happy Gardening!

2012-07-23T18:42:00.000-05:00

Well Pardon My Gardener for being content despite the drought.
The garden is in a good holding pattern & I can't complain given how crazy this year's weather has been.

I had high hopes of moving some plants & dividing perennials this year but I am glad I didn't with the extreme heat & drought.

I guess there's always next year.

2012-07-22T09:15:00.004-05:00

Good Morning! My Gardener's garden is a buzz with activity. The bees are everywhere in my garden enjoying the flowers.

I've had a bumper crop of bees in the garden this year. A neighbor raises Italian honey bees & they are always in the garden.

I have mason bees, honey bees, bumble bees or all sorts.

Believe it or not I have never been stung by a bee despite my many, many years of gardening. Wasps, yellow jackets & hornets, sure. Bees, never. I wade into the flowers pruning with reckless abandon & they never bother me. I like to think we have a mutual appreciation for each others job in the garden.

And that's today's garden buzz. Happy gardening!

2012-07-21T12:17:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! Pardon My Garden for being so out of control despite the drought. We have water restrictions here & I I follow them. Even with the water restrictions I have managed to keep My Gardener's gardens alive & looking good. During the worst part of the heat wave I took great pains to water each of my plants with the hose( I took the nozzle off) and let them soak in deep drinks. Getting deep watering to the roots is what helped them survive the extreme heat ( almost 4 weeks at 95-105 degrees) & the lack of rain.

My water bill went up a bit but I figure it's less expensive than replacing all my gardens & my lawn. As you know if you follow my blog,we finally got almost 3" of rain the other day. The ozone from the lightening & good rain perked all my plants up that much more. It's a beautiful morning out so I'm going to go do some fussing & weeding in my gardens. Have a great day & happy gardening!

2012-07-19T15:18:00.003-05:00

Well we finally got some much needed rain last night. We were 6" behind on rainfall for the year & got 2.5" in one fell swoop! I know my gardens were happy. There is no substitution for rain & the ozone from the lightening always gives the plants a boost.

My Gardener's garden is much happier today after the rain! Happy Gardening!

2012-07-17T16:40:00.000-05:00

Well Pardon this Gardener for being a posting slacker but I went on a family vacation to the Western Slope of Colorado to see some family. While we were there we took a day trip into Utah to Arches National Monument. This picture is from a hike we took. It was my first trip to the Western Slope, Utah & Arches. The scenery was simply breathtakingly beautiful.

My family took Amtrak out to Colorado & that was quite an adventure. We got to see all kinds of neat things from the train. We saw tons of deer, a black bear, a coyote, Kingfishers, Great Blue & Little Blue Heron, Magpies, Hummingbirds and more. It was quite the scenic trip.

We also got to see firsthand how crisp everything is from Illinois to Colorado. There were some areas where the corn & soy crops looked to be doing well & others that we so brown & crisp that farmers were plowing the fields under already.

We went into the mountains to see some wildflowers but it was so dry that they weren't in bloom much to my great disappointment. The trip to Ouray to the hot spings made up for it though. My body has felt that good in 20 years.

While I was away the temperatures here at home in the Chicago burbs were in the upper 90's to 100 plus degrees. I am very grateful to my neighbor that undertook the arduous( it takes over 3 hours to water my gardens) task of watering my garden for me. I was happy to see that only a few plants withered a bit from the extreme temps while I was away. My Convallaria majalis along the sides of the drive got a little crisp as did my Geranium macrorhizum but I am pushing both of their sun tolerances anyway so I wasn't really surprised to see them a little singed.

I hope your gardens are surviving this heat wave. Water if you can & water deep. I take the nozzle off the hose and water at the base of each plant until it puddles & then I come back & hit again. Water if you can or you will most definitely lose plants in this heat.

Good luck & happy gardening!

2012-07-05T11:42:00.001-05:00

Well I went home to Lake Bluff for the 4th of July. It was the hottest 4th ever. The temperature at 11 am was 100 degrees. It got up to 104 yesterday.

While I was home I took a tour of the gardens that My brother Matt & I have helped put in at the family homestead. We've been working in those gardens for over 35 years now. I was very happy to see that The Mighty Clem was still alive & in bloom despite the drought & heat wave. The Mighty Clem is as old as I am. Which makes her a spry 42 yrs old. I just wanted to share the a photo of her. 42 years old for any perennial is quite an accomplishment. For one that was planted in the backyard of a home that raised 5 children & hosted as my Mom says, " a cast of thousands" over the years, that is no small feat. So here's to you Mighty Clem. I hope you and I both make it another 42 years or more!

2012-06-27T08:23:00.003-05:00

Good Morning! I really I am trying to remember to post her on my actual blog & not just facebook!

I have been up watering my garden in preparation for the end of the week heat wave. We are suppose to hit mid 90's today & 100's going into the weekend.

I am the only person in my neighborhood watering & it shows. My house looks like a an oasis in a sea of brown lawns & crisp gardens.

2012-06-25T12:33:00.001-05:00

Well Pardon this gardener for being such a blog slacker! I really do keep forgetting I have a blog. All the new media makes it hard to keep up. First it was Facebook, then google +, then Pinterest & tumblr. I can't keep up with it all. I am going to ry to remember to post my blogs more frequently. Try is the operative word in that sentence.

This year's VERY early Spring has the garden completely out of whack. My mid Summer perennials are all blooming now or budding up & it's only June 25th. My coneflowers, bee balm, globe thistle, verbena bonariensis( from seed) are all in bloom. Normally they don't even bud up until the 4th of July!

We are also experiencing some drought. Here in Chicago we were dry going into the Fall & then we had little to no snow over the Winter. Spring started early in March & hot hitting temperatures in the upper 80's. We have had very little rain yet. Spring was dry & Summer is starting out dry.
I of course water on my days to water, but we really need some rain. The neighborhood is slowly turning brown one lawn & crisped garden at a time...and it's not even July. Here's a picture of my back border. I have added a phone booth to the bed. This phone booth use to be in my parent's basement growing up, now it's in my garden.

I forgot I even had a blog

2012-03-02T17:09:00.000-06:00

Ya know, I damn near forgot I had a blog. I have retired from active garden duty and have been enjoying being a retired gardener & stay at home Mom. I have been enjoying focusing on my own garden for the first time. I put a lovely red phone booth in my back perennial border last Summer just for fun. I also let my daughter plant pumpkins in the back border last year. Holy pumpkin attack. The pumpkins were very happy in the back border. The spread across 50 feet of the back garden went over the fence into all of my neighbor's gardens. I am lucky my neighbor's enjoyed the bright orange blossoms because they were outta control! I will look for some pictures of the pumpkins & phone booth to share. Now that I am retired maybe I will remember to blog more!

Gardening & Garden Blogging

2010-09-12T07:32:00.000-05:00

Well pardon this Gardener for falling off the radar! It has been a very busy Summer and it looks like it is going to be an early Fall.

This Summer was one for the record books. Seemingly endless rain during Spring and the early part of Summer had every insect & plant disease I have ever seen and a few new ones too, out in gardens in force! Then it got hot as hell and because we had so much rain early,a lot of people didn't water enough during the heat and as a result,at least in my area, is that a lot of the trees are going straight to brown and crunchy with no Fall color. Needless to say these conditions made for a very busy Summer for yours truly. When I get that busy something has to give and in this case it was my blogging. Edie-my daughter-is just more important than giving garden advice and blogging. I will try to keep up with the blog as we enter the Fall.

Now is the time to divide and move your perennials to make room for more Spring bulbs in your garden. That's right, it's time for bulbs!!!!!!!!! Get out your catalogs!

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!!!!

Rock & Roll

2010-07-12T06:20:00.000-05:00

Well Pardon this Gardener I have been slacking on my Blog posts!!! I have started posting perennials with Rock & Roll song titles as their cultivar names on My Gardener's Facebook page and I have neglected to do so here...ooops! So let me catch ya up. The first picture at left is of Polemonium reptans 'Stairway to Heaven' plant it in morning sun or shade and get ready to get the Led out!

The next picture is of Hosta x. 'Dark Star'. Deadheads will go with the Grateful Dead's song by that name. CSN fans will go with CSN's version I am sure.

The third picture is of Geranium pratense 'Midnight Reiter' an Allman Brother's favorite.

Check at your local garden center for availability. Good Luck and Happy Gardening!

lush!

2010-07-08T07:13:00.000-05:00

Holy lushness Batman! And no I am not referring to my 4th of July weekend drinking.....

A warm April followed by two months of rain have gardens all over Chicago looking like we live in Seatle! Perennials are well ahead of their normal bloom times here. Bee Balm( Monarda didyma spp.) is already bloomed out! Bee Balm doesn't typically start blooming here UNTIL the4th of July! I also have some hardy mums that are getting ready to bloom. I did not stutter, you read that correctly...I have mums getting ready to bloom in my garden in July!!!!

A growing season like this is a true rarity here in Chicago, so enjoy it! Sharpen up your pruners and keep cutting back your perennials after they bloom and before they set seed and you will enjoy another round of flowers this Summer courtesy of Mother Nature.

Remember to keep an eye on your containers and your bedding plants in this heat! Things dry out faster than most people realize when it's this hot. Keep an eye out for Powdery Mildew & Leaf Mold as well as the Japanese Beetles that have recently emerged in force! Here's a page from my playbook. Buy a pump sprayer at your local hardware store and put in a mix of Ortho systemic insect killer and Ortho Rose Pride. It will help protect your plants from both the insect infestations and the powdery mildew and black spot!!!!!

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

I'm baaaack!

2010-07-02T06:38:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! I took a small hiatus from blogging. As you can see from the picture I posted, I almost pruned my finger right off! I took seven stitches!!! Thankfully I didn't get my fingernail!

And thankfully,the rain seems to be behind us. Here in Chicago it was the wettest June in 113 years!!! Damn Skippy it was! Now that the rain has stopped, it is a good time to get into your garden and cut back hard on your perennials that have grown to bionic proportions with all the rain. Cut them back to the ground and let them flush back out. You will get what amounts to a second season out of your perennials. My Celadine Poppies( Sylophorum diphyllum) have bloomed twice already! My Spiderwort( Traadescantai spp.) are ready to do the same.

Remember my friends, that despite a months worth of record setting rain, you need to monitor your garden for when to water. People with more sun and Southern & Western exposures will need to water this weekend when it heats up. I have been in more than a few gardens this week that are already bone dry believe it or not! Shade gardens will be slower to dry out in general, UNLESS there are large trees. The trees take a lot of the water and you may find your shade garden to be drier than it should be. So keep your eyes open for watering needs.

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!!!!!

Slugs

2010-06-17T06:13:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! Are your Hosta's & other perennials starting to look like the Hosta pictured to the left? Then you have slugs and snails. All the rain & cooler temperatures has the slugs & snails out in force eating everything!

There are several different ways to try and combat these slimy little pests. I start by checking the soil under the leaves around the base of the plant. Any slugs I find there I kill on the spot. Diatomaceous Earth can be applied to the soil at the base of your plants. The snails & slugs can't crawl on it. You can also try Ortho Slug Bait. For the Earth chemically adverse gardener, crushed egg shells applied around the plant and shall bowls of beer can be put out in the garden. The slugs & snails are attracted to it, go in for a drink & drown. "Attack pattern Delta, go now!" Sorry, couldn't resist a good Star Wars quote!

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

Dear Mother Nature....

2010-06-14T06:32:00.000-05:00

Dear Mother Nature, please ease up on the rain in Chicago for a little bit. Generally speaking I love rain, but we've had so much this Spring that my garden is floating, heck some of my friend's entire yards are floating. So a little respite from the rain would really be appreciated. Say maybe a two week gap between the rain on schedule for this week and the next rain would be super duper!

Seriously, my garden is floating! I know I have blogged about this already, but with all this rain and the diseases & insects that have come with it is all I can talk about because I can't even get into the gardens in my care to work, my own included! The worst is that there is really nothing you or I can do about it but watch our gardens slowly decline. Unless you have planted plants that can handle standing water, as in a Rain Garden, all you can do is watch as your plants start to die from root rot & crown rot brought on by over saturated soil. When the rain does finally stop for a bit, dig out your perennials that are really showing signs of root or crown rot( check some of my earlier blogs for pictures of plants with these diseases), cut back the leaves and let the roots dry out some on a hard surface. You can pitch fork the soil and try and air it out as well.

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

Rain, rain,rain

2010-06-08T06:33:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! It is raining again here in Chicago. Hopefully it will be a nice slow & steady rain and not another deluge. The ground is so saturated here it can't hold anymore water and parts of my yard are still wet from the last deluge!

Be vigilant for signs of plants struggling with root rot from too much water,in your garden & in your containers. Containers dump out any standing water and use a small hand trowel to turnover the soil as much as you can to help dry it out without disturbing your plants. Perennials in the beds that are struggling will have leaves that are starting to yellow and show signs of black spot. Try and move away the mulch and turnover soil around the plants to help dry it out or if the plant is really fading dig it out ,cut it back and let the roots dry out before you replant it!

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

The Japanese Beetles are coming!!!!!!!!

2010-06-04T06:17:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! Pest Armageddon 2010 continues....it's June that means the Japanese Beetles are coming.

The Japanese beetle originated in Japan,hence the name... They came to North America in the early 1900s. The first Japanese iris bulbs arrived in the United States in 1912. Japanese beetles were noticed in 1916 on iris bulbs. These beetles, which live in woods, gardens and open meadows, are found throughout most of the United States except for the extreme southeastern region.

Japanese Beetle larvae overwinter in the soil and move upward in the soil as the ground warms in May & June. They begin emerging as adults in June & July.

Chemical insecticides such as sprays or granules can effectively control Japanese beetle larvae that live in soil. Insecticidal spays work on adult beetles. There also Pheromone Traps that lure adults. There is some debate over whether this method helps control the problem or exacerbates it by attracting adults into your garden/yard to the trap. If you use the Pheromone Traps hang them AWAY from your garden. Another control method is to spread a sheet under infested plants and then shake the plant so beetles fall on the sheet to be dumped into a container of soapy water.

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

Everyday I find a new pest or disease in the gardens

2010-06-03T06:13:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! Wow, did we get some rain here in Chicago. I STILL have standing water in my back yard!

I really can't stress enough to be alert for signs of trouble in your garden beds. All the rain has our soils waterlogged. This leaves plants open to root rot & crown rot. Plants that are already stressed are more susceptible to disease & pests.

I have posted some more pictures of some pests that I am seeing popping up in garden beds. The top picture is the Striped Cucumber Beetle, the lower is Red Aphids. If you find red aphids cut the infected stems off and seal them in a plastic bag to kill the aphids. The Cucumber Beetle treat with safer soap.

Look for signs of root & crown rot. Yellowing leaves that are turning slimy. I am pulling the waterlogged mulch away from my perennials to expose the soil and let it start to dry out. Perennials that are in dire shape I am digging out and letting dry out before I replant.

Be on alert! Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

Water Logged

2010-06-02T07:18:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! I woke up this morning and my garden, pictured to the left, was floating. It's hard to tell from the picture I took but there is two inches of standing water in the garden bed & the mulch is floating. I think I am going to build an Arc for my perennials....

This surely will not help with all the powdery mildew, black spot,root rot, crown rot, etc. that I have been seeing everywhere. It probably won't help with the mosquitoes either.

Be sure to spill out any standing water in pots in your yard, that will help with the burgeoning mosquito population. Unfortunately, there isn't anything you can do to get rid of the standing water in your garden. You can however, try and help it dry out.. as the water goes down I will be moving the mulch away from the base of my plants to expose the dirt and try and let them dry out near their crowns. The mulch will only hold the moisture and exacerbate the conditions that can lead to root rot, crown rot, black spot etc. So for the moment, I will move the mulch away and try and help my garden dry out...if that doesn't work I will have my Arc ready!

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

Foggy & Humid

2010-06-01T06:32:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! I hope that everyone had wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.

Herein Chicago our weather has been hot & humid. We got more rain over the weekend and have an ethereal fog floating around this morning. I can not stress enough how on the alert you need to be in your gardens for plant diseases and insect infestations in this weather. To date I have seen powdery mildew, scale, black spot, phytophora rot, leaf miners, caterpillars, spittle bugs...the list goes on and on and it is only June!

There are systemic sprays that you can use to help control powdery mildew & black spot a swell as insects. You can also take a chemical free approach and start thinning out and spacing your perennials to allow better air flow. Make sure to water your perennials at the base, not overhead and that will help with the powdery mildew & black spot. Good garden hygiene will help as well. Keep it clean. Pick up any diseased leaves from the garden bed. As for the insect explosion...the only non chemical solution is to try safer soaps.It is my experience that they can help, but if you have a major pest infestation only a systemic chemical will really help.

Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

Pests

2010-05-29T07:27:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! The warmer it gets here in Chicago after our cool wet Spring, the more pests I see. There hasn't been a garden I have been in yet this year that doesn't have some pest eating something. There are simply too many to list. Be on the alert in your garden and look for signs of trouble. When you find a pest the first step is to identify it so you know how to treat it. When I was a youngster the best source of garden pest information was an absolutely HUGE Othro Problem Solver. Our local Hardware store had a copy that got a lot of use. Sometimes there would be a line to look at it! Ortho still has these books and you can buy one on line if you are so inclined. It's still my favorite source for information. There is also the internet for the more tech savvy gardener. These days answers are only a mouse click away. The internet is a great source of information for gardeners. There are multiple garden forums where you can chat amongst other gardeners and get useful tips and information. That said, it's good to have a reliable source of identification available to you so look fora good book. I still think the Ortho Problem Solver is the best, but I'm old school like that.
Good Luck & Happy Gardening!

Plant Doctor

2010-05-27T06:39:00.000-05:00

Good Morning! I have been blogging lately ad nauseum about pant diseases, and pests in gardens this year. So today I thought I would post some pictures of some of the diseases I am seeing everyday out in gardens in the Chicago area.

The boxwood hedge pictured to the left is showing signs of phtophyora root & crown rot. This Springs weather is perfect for these diseases. Phytophthora cinnamomi and P. parasitica are water mold, fungus-like microorganisms favored by waterlogged conditions and warm weather. Irrigation scheduling that promotes prolonged soil saturation can encourage disease development. fair warning, the disease can be can be carried in recycled irrigation water. Sypmtoms include, foliage wilting and turning gray-green to bronze to a dry brown color. Whole sections of the plant may dry and brown as the disease progresses. Roots become brown and water soaked. The cortex is rotted and falls off all but the larger roots. A chocolate-brown to black color develops from roots into the root crown and may extend a few centimeters above the soil. Infected plants generally die. There is no chemical solution. Fungicides can help prevent the disease. The best thing you can do to help prevent this disease is to control your irrigation. Should you lose boxwood to this disease DO NOT replant boxwood in that area as the fungus will remain in the soil.

The daylilly pictured next has classic crown rot. Crown rot in generally caused by a fungus. When plants are stressed by the combination of the stress of blooming and high heat and humidity the can be susceptible to crown rot. Our weather in Chicago has been perfect for this disease. Be on the look out for perennials that are yellowing and flopping over. They may also be soft/slimy and they will smell like they are rotting. Try sprays that have an anti-bacterial and/or fungicide.

Powdery mildew is another common plant disease that favors hot humid conditions and is exacerbated by planting plants in tight clusters. Spacing plants and keeping plants properly pruned can help keep the disease under control. As can good garden hygiene. Clean up any fallen diseased leaves in the garden to help keep it from spreading. Fungicides are helpful in managing the disease. Fair warning, not all fungicides will work universally. Read the label to make sure you are buying the right fungicide for the right plant.

The next picture is of Black spot, a disease commonly found on roses. To help prevent and control black spot water your roses from below and in the early morning hours. Cleanup any fallen leaves from under your roses. Remove already diseased leaves to prevent it from spreading. Use Ortho rose spray to help control it during the growing season. Sulfur powder will also help keep it from spreading. A dormant oil applied in Winter will also help.

The rose pictured next has Bortrytis. These

infections are favored by cool, rainy spring and summer weather usually around 60 degrees. Gray mold can be particularly damaging when rainy, drizzly weather continues over several days. Again keeping the garden clean is your best form of prevention. Should you see this disease dispose of any infected petals or leaves and treat with a fungicide.

Yep, 2010 the year of the garden plagues....

Good Luck my friend and Happy Gardening!