June 11th, 2007
I truly hate weeds. I don’t mean that I just dislike the sight of them. I mean, I think I’m starting to take it personally that they spring up to spoil my hard work. I’m not sure, but I think my blood pressure goes up when I see new weeds.
Now, that’s not to be interpreted as meaning that I don’t HAVE weeds because I am rabidly ferreting through my flower beds to pluck them out. It just means that I get a little steamed (okay, a lot steamed) when I see them.
I’m trying to be better about the “pick a few whenever you go out” approach. I mean, I go out a LOT since I have two little dogs with bladders the size of golf balls. So while I’m waiting for Sarah to get inspiration for her “business,” I’m stretching my hamstrings in a deep forward bend, breathing deeply and scratching through the dirt with my fingernails to get at the weed roots.
My manicure looks like crap.
I also have a new, slightly evil way of dealing with weeds, inspired by the whole over-the-top weed flamethrower contraption you can buy. I kid you not. You can buy a weeding tool that is attached to a propane tank that allows you to torch errant weeds with the push of a button. As you might imagine, my 16-year-old son thinks this is a grand idea and has volunteered to do weeding duty if I buy him one.
Hah. Not a chance.
I am taking a more medieval approach. I boil water while I’m working in the kitchen and then scamper outside with the teapot and POUR BOILING WATER ON THE WEEDS! It’s very satisfying, really, in an evil kind of way. It also ensures that you kill the roots so they won’t spring back up to annoy you again another day.
This works particularly well for cracks between pavers and for areas with those itty bitty tiny weeds that you can’t seem to scratch up, even if you throw caution about your manicure to the wind. Of course, I recommend that you are careful around the delicate roots of surrounding plants. But there are LOTS of places where this works just fine.
As proof, I offer some photographic examples of what happens with the boiling cauldron approach.
Another helpful, if evil, tip from the Bumblebee Blog. Now go have some mean fun.
June 8th, 2007
Harry felt sorry for me one Sunday when I was despairing over all the planting I had to do and installed these for me next to the woods. We’re trying to tame the edges into something a bit more civilized and less toxic (poison ivy!)
These hydrangeas are supposed to be repeat bloomers. Just deadhead the spent blooms and new ones shoot right up to take their place. What a lovely idea for the garden and yard. I’ll let you know if it works as advertised.
In the meantime, I thought you might be interested in some other useful sources about hydrangeas:
Changing the Color of Your Hydrangeas – This website gives very specific directions about how to turn your hydrangeas from pink to blue or from blue to pink.
All About Hydrangeas – A very useful site that includes information about propagating, planting and fertilizing, pruning and a very good description of the needs of different types of hydrangeas.
I wish I had read these sites before I let a well-intentioned helper prune my hydrangeas in the fall. We had NO flowers the following year. She also “evened out” some hollies in front of the house, meaning that two that are supposed to be tall on the ends are now stubby and short. And my spiral topiaries are a disaster.
IMPORTANT LESSON FOR TODAY: Read up about pruning and institute a NO PRUNING OR TRIMMING policy with any yard and garden helpers. This year things have gone much more smoothly.
That’s it for now. It’s been a long week and I have much work to do this weekend.
Ciao!
–Bumblebee (Robin)
Posted In: Gardening
Hi! I'm Robin Ripley author of Wisdom for Home Preservers, published by Taunton Press. I am also co-author of Grocery Gardening. Bumblebee is about my life in rural Maryland, my garden and my love of food, my little dogs and pet chickens. You can follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook. Thank you for visiting!
by RSS |
by email
To get the latest Bumblebee posts in your email box, just enter your email address.
Baking
Birds
Blogging
bluebirds
brother
bulbs
cake
chicks
daffodils
Dogs
Easter egg chicken
eggs
fall
Flowers
food
garden
garden seating
gloriosa superba Rothschildiana
Grocery Gardening
hellebores
hens
Johnny Cash
Lowe's Creative Ideas
Memphis
Meredith
Miss P
Moss Mountain Farm
My DIY Summer
P. Allen Smith
Palazzo di Pollo
Papillons
Philadelphia Flower Show
Polish chicken
potager
Recipes
rooster
Sarah
seasons
snow
Sophie
spring
T. Boone Chickens
Vegetables
winter
wisteria
