Tuesday, August 17, 2004

17aug04Mums,Lambs Ears,Toad

17aug04

There was an American Toad on the cement outside. It was a baby, about two inches long. It was finding a lot of bugs out there. I assume this because I was and I wasn't even looking for them. It sprinkled, but no rain yet, so I watered. I transplanted more lettuce. It is a challenge to find places for it all since we have bunnies out in the garden I have to grow it in protected places.
I transplanted Mums this afternoon. The Mums were dry and the ground was dry. I started these Mums in June while pinching back a third of the stem, as per Mum protocol May 1, June 1, July 1.
I stuck the tops onto a flat and a pot that were empty. They spent the summer out behind the garage where they were put temporarily until the party was over. I meant to get to them, they dried out and almost died a couple times. Always a drink brought them back to life. Now when there isn’t much going on in the front, I have Mums.
I noticed some Mum seeds in a catalogue and would like to grow some rather than buy the hybrid over fertilized plants over at the nursery. The bought ones don’t hold up in my garden. I have some white ones my neighbor gave me and two kinds from the local perennial exchange. Fever Few is actually in the Mum family and it seeds itself, and I spread it, all over the garden.
I read about a woman who is so serious about Mums, she starts new every spring by rooting them from her old plants. This process seems sensible to me now, it used to sound like too much work. The garden can get out of control all summer but when it runs down and there is not much going on at the end of August, Ta da, put in some Mums. They go on even after frost.
I put some Lambs Ears top shoots in a flat to root. After a few years they grow too much stem and have to be renewed. I am fond of Lambs Ears, as an edging plant they work quite well. With Lambs Ears on the job, digging up the edge twice a year to make it look nice is not imperative.

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