Monday, April 27, 2015

Almost the End of April...

I'd like to have another climbing/rambling rose like the one currently growing on the west wall of the house.  (...Though I'm not sure where I'd put it, and it might actually be even nicer to buy one of a different variety...)  Well, anyway, I'd still like to propagate that rose.  (We have a big yard; I can find a place for it.)

I'm not sure whether it's a climber or rambler, despite reading about how to tell the difference.  It has groups of seven leaves and it is pretty pliable, which would make you think it's a rambler, but I'm still not positive.  I asked about it last year on GardenWeb, and someone suggested 'Lavender Lassie' as a possibility.  Most of the photos of 'Lavender Lassie' aren't an exact match, but I've found a few that do look a lot like my rose... 'Lavender Lassie' is a climbing "hybrid musk rose" introduced in 1960. 

In any case, I did a very little reading online about how to propagate roses, then took four cuttings.  I'm not feeling very confident, based on how much the leaves are drooping.  I haven't had great luck propagating roses, in the past, but I'm sure I wasn't doing it correctly. 

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I fertilized some of our plants (shrubs, perennials, small trees) this morning, in advance of the predicted rain.  I have no idea if it's the right time, right formula, right amount, right phase of the moon-- but I figure it's probably better than nothing. 

The job's not completely finished, but even "started" is something.

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Unless the weather forecasters are playing a cruel joke, we're due for a couple of cooler days starting mid-week.  That sounds wonderful.

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Photos from the past couple of days:

The first daylily bloom of the year!
This cheerful yellow came from Mom's garden, earlier this spring.  At least some of those (not sure if it was all or not) were originally grown from seed by Carrie and Victor (one of my sisters and her husband).  I believe Mom said the ones they grew were registered hybrids, though she didn't know their names.  

Yellow Daylily

Yellow Daylily

Creeping Jenny 'Goldilocks'.
It's hanging in there.  I'd like to get this established in the ground.  Right now all I have of it is in a couple of containers. 

Creeping Jenny

Aloe vera can look so lush:

Aloe Vera

Freckle-face has performed better than I expected.  Some of the hold-overs from last year probably need trimming soon, though.

Freckle-Face

'Nearly Wild' rose.
I have two of these.  One is much smaller than the other.  It hasn't grown much for the past couple of years-- not as much as I'd have expected.  A gentle early-spring pruning might be reinvigorating.  It was among the fertilized plants of this morning, so maybe that will help, too.

Nearly Wild

Nearly Wild Rose

Thunbergia (black-eyed susan vine).
It's not growing very quickly, but it's early yet.
I think I'll transplant most of these marigold seedlings and leave just one on the other side of the tub.

Thunbergia and Marigolds

Double Red Knock Out rose.
It's kind of crazy how BRIGHT RED these things are!  Retina-searing red-- but in a good way.  ;o)

Grasshopper

Double Red KO Rose

Double Red KO Rose

Achillea continues to bloom.
It has a very natural wildflower look to it.  (It probably is a wildflower, but I haven't seen it in my little corner of the world.)  If it starts taking over, next year, I may relocate it to another part of the yard.

Achillea

Stormy weather approaches...
But it turned out to just be some gentle rain.  Nothing like the weekend's violent wind and soaking bucketfuls. 

Cloudy Morning

Daisy gardenia.
It's a simple but cute-looking flower, isn't it?  And it's a gardenia, so there's that wonderful, sweet fragrance, too!

Daisy Gardenia

The third clematis.
This bloom is aging, but still lovely.  I love that anemone-type center.  The plum tips!

Clematis

Overnight, the pineapple guava buds burst open.  There are a lot of them this year.

Pineapple Guava Blooms

Pineapple Guava Blooms

The clumps of spiderwort by the bald cypress are taking over.  I guess I don't mind them there...

Spiderwort

The lantana has started to flower!  I wonder if this can be the same type Mom used to have at the old house... Hers was a big bush; this one, so far, has stayed fairly small.  Pretty, but small.

Lantana

'Little Gem' magnolia.
They both have started blooming.  It's a very fresh, sculptural type of flower. 
I've read that they have a fragrance (like their larger relative, the Southern magnolia), but I don't know that I've ever noticed any magnolia having a scent.  I'll have to remember to give it a good sniff, next time I'm walking by...

'Little Gem' Magnolia