Lots of garden activity on this holiday weekend.First of all we had to go out and shop for tomato cages. The plants are all growing tall enough that they need to be supported. We were kind of surprized to discover that most stores are all sold out of cages. None at Lowes. And only sad and mangled ones at Home Depot. So, we took a drive up to Smithfield Implement (a 90 years +) hardware/farm store/cowboy store. They had a ton of cages there... and cheaper too.
Once we got home with the tomato cages, the nightmare began. Our soil here is so rocky that it is next to impossible to get those darn things in the ground. Devon decided to "make holes" in the ground by banging a stake into the ground (he looked a little like some fearless vampire killer armed with his weaponry).
After making four holes, he still couldn't get a cage in the ground the whole way. So, he decided the next best step was to shorten the length of the cages. Easier said than done, since we don't have wire cutters that will cut through that thickness. Out came the hacksaw. The boys tried to hold the cage steady while Devon sawed. This was not a pretty sight... thankfully there was no blood, but there was a lot of sweat and tears. After one cage amputation, Dr. Devon put away his tools and called it a day.
Then, we decided we needed to put up a little gardening fence to keep you-know-who... from "tip-toeing thru the tulips". We found a little fence that came in sections and the guys put it up in the afternoon. Of course, as soon as they were done, Coco, who was undeterred, just hopped right on in again. After a gentle spanking from Devon, our weiner is starting to get the message that the veggie/flower beds are no longer her domain.I am working with Sandy to determine what's taking our middle rose (out front) so long to bloom. Sandy suggested that I try to determine where all the new growth is coming from. After having a good look, we discovered that all the shoots are coming from the bottom of the plant, which I guess makes it a "climbing rose". This makes sense, considering we have one bloom that is at the bottom of the plant.
Last, but not least, we are starting to see some activity in the Dahlia department. Hurray!
People keep asking us what's with all the bamboo stakes in front of our garage? Well, they are there for the dozen dahlias we planted when Sandy & Richard were here. We have seen the first glimpse of growth. The "Tiki Sunrise" dahlias (3 of them) are starting to sprout up through the ground. Can't wait to see what they look like.
Today, we're having a lazy Sunday morning. Devon and David made a great breakfast of Pancakes and Bacon. Yum. We've decided to take some down-time to read, mess with our computers, and putter. Then, we are heading out to "stake out" the deck. We want to get a feel for where the deck will go and decided a cloudy day with no plans was the best day to do that.
