BloomStruck

 

Journal Entry No.4
The Summertime Swing

In my last journal entry I talked about a number of things afflicting my garden. While there have been some improvements, this year still feels like a bizarre unfolding nightmare, and after speaking with my neighbors recently I realized that this isn't my battle alone. This past weekend we flushed a skunk out from underneath our deck which then attempted to take residence under my neighbor's deck. I am awaiting my other neighbors return from their vacation to notify them that they also have yet another skunk living under their shed (which is situated directly beside my courtyard garden, so it's been leaving turds all over the place). Our house is literally flanked by skunks, as you can imagine, I seldom get the opportunity to open my windows anymore. And speaking of our skunk, it was only a few weeks earlier that I had to flush out a groundhog from the same space under my deck! It had dug a large hole beside the extension foundation which is obviously not good. We backfilled it with gravel and reassembled the deck on a very hot afternoon. I was not pleased. Which reminds me...a few months earlier than that we had to racoon proof our roof after one squeezed into the extension! The wildlife has gone, for lack of a better description, ape shit. Perfectly ape shit. I don't know where any of our natural predators have gone. We once had a number of very large predatory birds nesting in the area and I have not seen one in ages. My husband theorizes that the construction has scared them off, and has allowed our rodent population to proliferate, which explains the incessantly increasing number of chipmunks, squirrels, moles, voles, shrews and what have you.

We did set up a number of snap traps. Now, where I live it is illegal to trap and remove animals from one environment to another. I think this has something to do with maintaining eco-systems. Some people believe it renders the animal "homeless" and causes it to die a slow and painful death because it can't adapt to its new surroundings. Either way, I don't want to get fined, so we endeavored to use snap traps and we have experienced some success with them. Unfortunately it's both time consuming and gross. I'm at a point where I go out every few days, set them up and empty them a few times that day, and then I take a break from it. I'll have a few days where I see no rodents scurrying about, then they appear to forget all about the traps and come back. It comes and goes in waves but when I manage to get the numbers down I see improvements in spades. Less holes dug, less destruction, more flowers! I still have to drape my rose bush in netting, though, and it looks awful. I sincerely hope next year we see an upsurge in predatory birds and things go back to normal. 

Some good news is that my hydrangeas are mostly performing well. Namely the Wee Bit Grumpy and the Bloomstruck I planted last year (photo above). Also my Invincibelle Limetta looks quite lacey and contrasts beautifully with the variegated hostas and the magenta and fuchsia flowers I've planted nearby. I'm sad to say that my Princess Diana daylily was beheaded so I won't be seeing any blooms this year. My pink astilbe, which promised several heads of blooms for whatever reason flopped over and dried up (despite the foliage being okay?). I also have doubts my Visions in Red will bloom, either. The forming buds have dried or stopped growing entirely. My back garden beds look sadly sparse. The balloon flowers on the other hand are full and blooming in excess! They bring a lovely touch of periwinkle to the back garden which matches my patio rug. I will be buying more of them and filling in the spaces where nothing seems to grow. The daylilies that came with the house are also blooming nicely this year. After we take the cherry tree down I imagine this will only improve with the amount of sunlight they receive.

I have much to do in the garden but our primary focus right now is finishing our basement. It's been a massive undertaking spanning two years. This is okay because we are in the midst of a heat wave and I spend less time outside when it's unbearably hot. Today we're facing humidex temperatures of 40°C. It wasn't so bad this morning but once the sun rises the cool humidity becomes thick and unbreathable. Thankfully it rained yesterday so no need to water the plants. We had a terrible dry spell recently, I shudder to think about our bills lol.

For now I am awaiting the blooms of my Mango Salsa OsoEasy shrub rose, and a bushel of Chinese Forget-me-not which looks so lovely in its uniform periwinkle blue. Also, the morning glories I have planted throughout the garden are starting to produce. It took longer than I thought but I'm thrilled to see them! They are one of my favorite flowers. I'm trying Moonflowers this year and I'm positively excited to see what they look like. There are still adventures to be had in the garden! Not much longer now and it will be autumn, so I take my wins where I can get them. 

Happy Gardening!