Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Stop to smell the roses and mockorange blooms.......


In my backyard stands a very old mockorange bush.  It is overgrown and really isn't very good looking anymore.  The blooms and the smell are so wonderful though as they seem to be the last flowering shrub to bloom in spring.  Other neighbors have this plant and some have killed theirs by cutting them back and others have the same large shrub with lots of dead wood to be removed.


I am not a big fan of this plant, spiderwort, as it won't stay standing. A light rain makes it lay flat on the ground. I don't know if I need to move it to a sunnier location but it's in partial shade and never stays vertical. I had the magenta color of this plant but my field lilies crowded it out.


I can see now that my neighbor must have driven up my drive and sprayed some creeping charlie. I think it is drifting spray the took out the leaves of my old fashion rose bushes and as you can see this hosta plant.  He means well but he must have had some residue weed killer in that tank  instead of just trimax.  Trimax doesn't affect anything but creeping charlie but knowing him he must have had some other chemical that spread by the windy day.  He treats my boulevard along the road on Sundays when we are not home and I have never had any problem before this year. He and I will need to talk.


I don't think the overspray is going to stop the bushes from blooming but once the blooms are gone I will trim everything down to the ground.

Wednesday is here and we had a nice rain last night.  I got my zinnia bed planted and some sweet potato plants set into the ground.  My tomatoes are growing well and I am making some headway with the hand weeding.  The grass is hard to keep up with this time of the year.  Thanks for stopping in.........

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Our mock orange was here when we moved in and we have never dared to prune it for fear of it not blooming well the following year. As for spiderwort, we have some plant supports that are varying sized circles with three support legs that stick in the ground; I wonder if something like that would help your plants. We ordered the supports many years ago online.
I definitely would have a talk with the neighbor. It is good that you figured out what had happened and it sure is a shame that he felt free to do that and cause you to have prune so severely. Keep us posted.

Anonymous said...

I found the link to the support hoops I was talking about above.
http://www.gardeners.com/Grow-Through-Flower-Supports/FlowerGardening_FlowerSupports,37-467RS,default,cp.html

Rosaria Williams said...

We're having a delayed wet, wet spring. Everything that overwintereed is overgrown; my broccoli is already gone to seed, as my spinach. I guess we'll just have to wait. Love to come here and see things blooming in Iowa.

Anonymous said...

That link does not seem to be working. It was Gardener's Supply Co.
www.gardeners.com

The Retired One said...

All these flowers are wonderful shots! We finally got rain here a few nights ago..we needed it so badly!

Far Side of Fifty said...

Larry, If he sprays on Sundays..then go out with a hose on a fine mist and wash off your plants in that area. Spiderwort especially the older varieties always flop..but you can put supports up for them..mine are in full sun and they still get floppy in the wind and rain. :)

laurie said...

there is no scent more lovely than that of the mock orange.

Linda said...

That's a bit delicate with your neighbour. Hope you get it sorted okay. What a pity about your beautiful hosta. You don't seem to have problems with snails? If I ever get time I'll post a photo of mine that's being devoured at the moment.