Can We Talk 2

May Gardening

         My story would be more about things gone wrong.

         My dad planted butterfly bushes, which we have always loved because they really do draw butterflies. The bushes have been full and spreading. At least until the last few years. I've been trimming away many dead branches. Last year I was checking for the parasitic vines that wrap around your shrubs and trees and peonies and choke them out. I untwined a lot from one butterfly bush and traced the pieces to the ground. Some very large pieces of wood broke off. The second one, on the other side of the house, had dead branches, but no vines.

          This year, I have trimmed away a whole trash can of dead pieces from just one bush, and broke off more to the ground. I pulled all the weeds from around the bottom, but put fresh mulch around the bottom. I looked it up, and I believe both bushes have root rot. Don't know what to do for it.

         He also planted a hedge of Japanese hollies along the street, which he keeps trimmed. I noticed yellow spots on them while I was weeding. I looked that up. We have an iron deficiency which is easily remedied. I'm just afraid to go to that kind of store during the semi-quarantine to get what I need. We also have a huge holly tree on one side of the garage, and a compact holly hedge on the other side of the garage. They are beginning to look the same. The acid soil we have needs some doctoring.

         We can't grow rosemary. It smells great for a while, but won't last all year. I have pots of sage and chives which grow back every year on their own. I planted a long narrow box of flower seeds and placed it on my deck railing. Some of them were beginning to grow. Tonight during dinner we watched two doves in the box pecking away. They were cheap seeds, so they probably cost less than bird seed.

         Deer eat the tulips, hostas, and blackberries. Also, cypress shrubs-mine look like topiary, but only to the height of a deer's head.

         One year my dad planted a voodoo plant in the flower bed. Last year, I went on the warpath against these invasive plants. I pulled at least 200 and put them in the trash. Dad would have thrown them in the compost, but I know they would have survived and multiplied. I think I won. I have not seen a single voodoo plant this year, and have weeded that bed several times already.

         At a different location, I planted mint. Do not plant mint, bamboo, or voodoo, unless you are prepared for them to take over everything. They're like kudzu, or dandelions, very invasive and very sturdy.

         I do pretty well with irises and marigolds.