Vitex seems impossibly bluer than ever, this year. Surprise lilies, Lycoris squamigera, do literally surprise, as they suddenly pop up. Island gardens and sidewalks are adorned with the bountiful burst of bloom of rose-of Sharon and hybrid “dinnerplate” hibiscus, members of the mallow (Malvaceae) family.
Elsewhere, away from the sidewalks, in the coves and wetlands, the native marshmallows are a billow of pink and white. The flowers of the Malvaceae, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malvaceae, including rose-of-Sharon, dinnerplate hibiscus, hollyhocks, sidalcea, and malva, last only for a day, but are produced in such abundance that the show lasts and lasts.
Downpours predicted?
Weather forecasting is loaded with predictions of a busy hurricane season. H. Debby is expected to produce heavy rains and swells as it passes on its course northeastward. Even when spared the dreaded ‘direct hits’ that are possible with such storms, heavy tropical-level downpours can wash out driveways and damage gardens.
Downpours bring down branchlets, or more. Check staking of dahlias and others such as hollyhocks; the force of these tropical downpours may flatten clumps of tall phlox and others, like ironweed and goldenrod. They usually eventually come back up on their own, but shaking them off and helping them to their feet as soon as possible minimizes the damage.
On the bright side, look for increased mushroom activity. Oaks with Sulphur Polypore infection, and wood chip mulches, are a good place to start a hunt. Arrays of Shaggy Manes and Wine Caps frequently occur on mulch, but always use a guide or identification app to assist proper identification.
Henhouse gold
Greater trash generation is a feature of houseguests and resort life; heat and pesky flies are a symptom of August. They also create a pressing need to clean the henhouse. Heat encourages the emergence of many insects, but flies especially become annoying, since they are programmed to seek entrance into spaces, including the hens’ and ours.
Once replaced with fresh bedding, the old bedding, which contains a season’s worth of shavings, droppings, wood ash, diatomaceous earth, and lime, becomes a luxurious (in garden terms) substance, and goes out onto the vegetable garden as mulch and top dressing: henhouse gold.
It will become incorporated and cultivated in as the season goes by, and helps to create a soil that is friable and fertile, feeding the soil’s micro-life. Watch the squash, cucumber, or hollies, sweet peas, and roses — everything, really — take a great leap forward!
Plants that are able to grow strongly and well are enduring less stress. Stress causes plants to emit the substances that attract harmful insect attack and browsing by herbivores. One approach of combating disease and harmful insects — the cucumber beetles, squash bugs, and more — is by growing, not the most pesticide-loaded plants, but the healthiest plants possible.
I put on my mask and hat, on one of the hottest Sundays so far. Clean bedding and nesting material increase the hens’ comfort level and laying ability. Mites and lice, poultry parasites that are not necessarily initially visible to the human eye, also accumulate and prey on the birds. The flock will peck and scratch at plumage and dust bathe; the birds groom each other, as evidenced by delicate pecking at facial areas.
In addition to clean nesting boxes, spraying and wiping down perches with something such as vinegar helps to control parasites traveling between birds. Back in the day, we used to apply Black Flag or Sevin products. It was probably more harmful to the humans to do this than to the lice. Live and learn.
Fig culture
As Garden Notes has mentioned previously, figs (Ficus carica) are relatively recent arrivals here, whose Island culture and survival are made more feasible by changes in our weather and climate. Figs appear to be largely free of pests and problems. Perhaps their novelty gives them a pass, for now.
My experience with them is limited to “Brown Turkey,” which I propagated from the late Sumner Silverman’s plant. This is one of the cold hardy heritage cultivars, introduced early on in the Northeast. Harvest is about to begin.
More named cultivars, some of which are available at Island garden centers and at Logee’s, logees.com/browse-by-botanical-name/ficus.html, have now joined it. One of the most promising is the compact cultivar ‘Fignomenal,’ which fruits and bears throughout the year, on a size plant suitable for a sunny spot inside the house.
The potted Brown Turkey here is larger and goes into the barn in cold weather, to winter over in a dormant state. I give it a watering-canful once a month and hope I have finally learned pruning to contain and to shape it. It appears to be responding well. The prunings root if placed in a bucket of water over the winter and left in a cool spot.
In the garden
Pea-straw, the spent vines of peas, has mostly passed its useful presence in the vegetable garden, although ingenious gardeners find ways to repurpose it. Pea-straw makes a nursery for lettuce, mâche, cilantro, and dill seedlings, if these are allowed to go to seed and self-sow. Take a chance though, and plant more peas for fall harvest, especially edible-podded and sugar snap peas.
Winter squash plants have gone into place; they and eggplant appreciate the rainfall we might receive from passing tropical lows. Not so much: tomato vines, which are vulnerable to soil splash and the disease organisms this may transport. Some gardeners lay plastic mulch (disposal issue) or resort to removing lower leaflets as a means for control.
Bt sprays for cabbages, kales, and lepidopteran caterpillar control.
It is bulb-ordering time if you want the best selection of garlic and ornamental bulbs.
Create huge improvement in the appearance of spirea and foxgloves by removing browned foliage and flower heads.
Have a great time at the Fair!
