Um, Mrs. Dove.../'Golden Xanadu'

 

Itoh Peony 'Misaka' ('Smith Opus 1')

I've been hard at it in the garden.  Finally.

The garden did it.  It lured me out.  It insisted I pay attention.  Especially the roses.  How can I mope indoors when the garden is doing this?   

Didelta 'Silver Falls': 

Salvia 'Waverly':

They lured me!

The Bumbles are back!

The Bismarkia looks good:

So does Aloe 'Hellskloof Bells':

'Silas Marner'

'Golden Celebration':

'Belinda's Dream':

'Brass Band': 

'Drop Dead Red' and 'Julia Child' with Lagerstroemia 'Ebony Flame'

'The Endeavor':

'Bolero 2004':

'Princesse Charlene de Monaco':

I'm doing the details now:  moving or removing a few plants, planting what were cuttings rooted last year and are now grown large enough to put into the ground, pulling yellowing Iris and Hemerocallis leaves as the flower stems emerge.  

And the final important touch, fresh mulch to set off everything.  Yes it's late for that, but spending the day making the beautiful more beautiful is a thrill.  I always forget how wonderful the garden can be despite my inept efforts, until it shows me what it can do, despite my mistakes, procrastination, hesitation.  

Still have to resolve this situation:  'Golden Xanadu' Philodendron blocking path in its reach for more sunlight:

'Golden Xanadu' didn't have much of a root system, and separated cleanly into three pieces all by itself.  I'd like to cut off the long bare stems and re-root the pieces--possible?  A couple different sites say a stem will root in a glass of water in 2-4 weeks.  Do I dare cut most of the stem and all the (few) roots each has?

Thinking, thinking...do I dare?  Still thinking. 

 I added some spare soil to the now-empty area, which is 3' wide and 4' long.  Not big.  There's irrigation, and a drain.

Put what there?  'Golden Xanadu' needs more light, so it--now they--must go elsewhere.  The other small planter on the patio does pretty well with a potted Sanseveria and a clump of Pyrrosia lingua (I think). 

Happy fern:

I have a few dwarfie Sans...

...and a somewhat variegated Aspidistra:

Leave them in their pots, mulch or gravel the soil, and call it "art"?  What's a relief is opening that gate without hitting poor 'Golden Xanadu'.  

Neighbor/Garden Buddy gave me a seedling of 'High Gold' Leucospermum!  How cool is that?  I must carefully grow it larger so it can better survive going into the garden:

Rooted cutting of Hydrangea, growing, has flower buds.  I potted it up before it will get too large for the space it was temporarily occupying:

Oops.  New Clematis 'Ramona', because I was buying bags of mulch, and could not resist.  Have been resisting up to now, honest!  'Ramona' had just come off the delivery truck, and came home with me before it had time to bake, dry out, and die at the big-box home improvement store:

Oh, and Mrs. Dove.  Her chicks fledged and flew a few days ago.  Look what she left on the edge of the koi pond the day before yesterday:

Not going to work there, honey.  Just not.  I put the egg in the empty nest, but Mrs. Dove did not go there to tend it.  Sorry.