Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Garden therapy














Today is a gorgeous day!

The wind isn't blowing and it's so warm compared to the temperatures we've been having.

I decided to clean out the rose bed this afternoon. What a job. I pulled up the little fence, raked all of the junk out, laid down weed barrier paper, and started putting down mulch. Unfortunately, I ran out and need to get a couple more bags.

In the past I've tried growing things like four-o-clocks, snapdragons, etc., in this bed. They do fine, but it ends up being taken over by weeds, grass, and yellow-blooming clover. I decided this year I'm going for the mulched look. I'm tired of fighting it.

I'm really afraid I may have to move my roses eventually. This area doesn't seem to ever dry out which in some ways is good, but I'm not sure the roses really appreciate it.

The happy news is that the center rose is a Blaze climbing rose and it's going to have to have a new trellis this year. It's outgrown the old iron baby bed trellis since I planted it last spring. When I first planted it, the rose didn't even come to the bottom rung on the bed.

Of all the flower beds around this house, this one makes me the grumpiest. I have to stop and remember though, it was just a patch of grass and weeds when we bought the house. So really, I suppose it's come a long way in three years.

One of these years I'll have it the way I want it.

2 comments:

SchnauzerMom said...

I love roses but aphids ate up the one that I had. I do have a lot of iris. They are tough and can take care of themselves. I love gardens and the idea of gardening. But I'm usually too worn out at the end of the day to do much. Yours sounds like it will be very pretty.

Aunt Jo said...

Aphids can be a real problem. I have always used a non-degreasing detergent like Dove dish soap, mixed with water and sprayed on the little buggers.