Shifting to Summer

Another week; another blog. This week of June 20 – June 24 I was once again present for the gardens event preparation. All week we have been hustling and bustling about in order to dress-up the garden for the “Twilight in the garden” event on Saturday.
I am very happy to be working at Cuddy’s at this transitional time. As the last traces of spring fade away, the summer-scape of the garden is beginning to emerge. Opuntias are flowering, pawpaw’s (Asimina triloba) are fruiting, and bees are nosily making their way through a variety of delicacies contained in the rose garden. It’s always a melancholy moment when a flowers time has run out, and it must wilt as the peonies are currently in the process of doing. However one must enjoy the flowers which still remain and look forward to those which are still in the form of a bud.

 

A great variety of tasks were undertaken by myself as well as the Cuddy’s “home team” throughout this week. Many of these tasks did involve the removal of undesirable species once again; however the species profile has changed slightly since my last visit. No longer do dandelions (Taraxicum offinale) create an endless sea of yellow. The species mainly seen about are English plantain (Plantago lanceolata), purslane (Portulaca oleracea), bindweed (Convolvulus ssp.), and excess numbers of desirable plants such as sweet woodruff and echinops.

 

Areas which I personally tackled in our beautification endeavor were the compost pile, the rose garden, the perennial border, the hatchery border, and the paths which encircle the Cuddy properties. Some areas had “lost” their carefully sculpted edges and so those had need to be re-established. The gravel paths of the Mediterranean garden and the alpine garden were also raked smooth. Debris was removed from the boxwoods which were expertly clipped by a co-worker.

Monday, the 20^th was a particularly hot day, and so all employees were to follow the action plan for this event. Much water was ingested and duties indoors and in the shade were undertaken. The classroom (our HQ) is now very clean.

A large part of my duties Friday morning was the watering of the cacti and succulent collection, as well as other potted plants around the property. Each plant received a good soaking, and by the afternoon one could see a remarkable difference in the vigor of quite a few of the specimens. I enjoy caring for contained plants; which is good as they would quickly parish without care. Being contained disallows the roots to search out life-giving water and nutrients and so their provision is of the upmost importance.

 

In conclusion, this has been a fantastic week at Cuddy’s, and once again I am looking forward to my next time here in August. It is exciting and very interesting to watch this garden develop with thyme but I am so impatiens…..  

(Clematis pictured, not impatiens)