Garden Tasks Finished before Storm

Cutting Back the Lamb's Ears and Jasmine in the Bed by the Garage

Every day this spring I've walked by this poor Spanish Sage plant I could barely see because it was being covered by jasmine from above. That blocked its light. On April 5 I finally made some time to cut the jasmine back and expose the sage to the light again. 

Jasmine Blocking the Light the Spanish Sage Needs

Here is the same plant when I finished pruning back the jasmine. I also cut back some of the sage. Because it's been straining to get the sun, it got very leggy, and you can see its bare branches that were hidden by the jasmine. You can also see the tiny leaves on those stems. I hope they will now grow up instead of continuing towards the sidewalk. 

Next winter I will have to do this job sooner and cut the sage way back, but this winter I had the flu all during January and then had steady dentist appointments during February and most of March. After getting my root canals done I didn't feel like working in the garden or anywhere else, and I was always playing catch-up on other work. In addition to that, it rained a lot and the ground was wet. 

I pruned the jasmine that was covering the Spanish Sage and also thinned the Lamb's Ears that were trying to smother it.

Not far from the Spanish Sage was a Sweet William struggling to survive -- maybe more than one. It's hard to tell in the midst of all the jasmine and Lamb's Ears plants.  Normally the Sweet William plants that reseed return at this time of year, but this year the Lamb's Ears spread so much that they completely covered any of the seedlings trying to emerge. Although I do love Lamb's Ears, enough is enough. I will probably still have to trim more of it back. I took the photo below on March 28. I knew I had to uncover any plants under that Lamb's Ears patch, and I had to just keep pulling and pruning until I found this plant. I was hoping there would be more. Maybe there still will be.

Below is a close-up of the struggling Sweet William after I pulled a lot of the Lamb's Ears away from it. I had not realized the Lamb's Ears were propping it up. It was also very leggy and fell flat. I may have to prop it up with a small stake to keep it upright. I'm hoping it will spread as time goes on. Plants have an amazing ability to recover, just as my butterfly bush did after a storm knocked it down. 

Struggling Sweet William after I Thinned Lamb's Ears Around It.

 

The photo below puts my afternoon's work into context. The star jasmine is in the background against the wall. Left to right: jasmine, struggling sage, Lillies of the Nile between jasmine and Lamb's Ears in middle, the space where the Sweet William tries to gain ground, more Lamb's Ears, blooming calendulas with budding irises behind them. Between the calendula and the car, you see the low green of the gazanias with a tall flowering kale behind it next to the brick trim. 

What I Accomplished in the Front Flowerbed 

If you read my last post, you saw the state of the front flowerbed before I started weeding and thinning and pruning on April 6. The Lamb's Ears were out of control, the hyssop that hadn't been pruned was brown and ugly and taking over, the oregano in the pot needed pruning, and grassy weeds were trying to overwhelm anything the other plants were leaving alone. 

The two photos below were taken on February 13. We had had so much rain that weeding was almost impossible. I was also weakened by all the dental work I was having done. After even more rain in March, by the day I started the work the state of this flowerbed was even worse. 

Since it was February, the daffodils were budding. My chard on the right bottom had turned red. You can see the dead growth on the oregano in the terracotta pot. That brown clump to the left of it is the hyssop. It looked even browner when I started cutting it way back on April 6. Pruning the oregano was much easier. 

The worst job, though, was getting the grassy weeds that were taking over any bare ground they could find. Their roots are very hard to get out. They also entangle the roots of the plants I want to keep. Here they are surrounding my catmint. The catmint itself has escaped from its pot and is now also running amuck, but at least I can make tea out of that.  

Catmint in and out of Pot Surrounded by Grassy Weeds

The photos show only a portion of the work that needed to be done. I was trying to finish the most urgent tasks before the storm that was supposed to hit later at night started. Here is how the area around the catmint pot looked by the time I was through. Not perfect, but good enough to scatter some old seeds around before the storm brought rain to water them. They were very old seeds, but I thought I'd see what happened. Mother Nature often surprises me. 

Catmint Pot After Weeding

Below you see what the hyssop plant looked like when I finished with it. Better late than never. It will grow out again before it's time for it to bloom in June. A few green shoots are already peaking out. I did miss a couple of branches, but I'll get them after I finish the taxes. After the rain, the catmint in the pot perked up again. 

Hyssop after Haircut

Here's how the front flowerbed looked after I finished working and had scattered my seeds. The rain came as promised later and all the next day, so I'm hoping maybe at least a couple of seeds will sprout. On the lower right, in front of the irises, you see a green carnation plant with the leaves of an old daffodil plant in front of it. You could not see that carnation before I cut back the hyssop which was covering it.  I had forgotten the carnation was there. I fed it. 

A Good's Afternoon's Work in the Flowerbed

When I finished for the day, I took the pictures of the flower beds and then turned to get the sky toward the west. The sunset promised rain. And it came. I'm glad I pushed myself to get some of the preliminary work done before it started coming down. 

***

What's Happening in my Garden in Early Spring?

There Are Lots of Garden Tasks to Be Done

We've had a lot of rain in the past two months, and the garden reflects that. The weeds are trying to take over, but I've been too busy going to and recovering from dentist appointments to do much about them. The grassy weeds are the worst.  Fortunately, my lamb's ears, which grow as fast as weeds, are helping to keep some of them at bay. Meanwhile, the bees are really enjoying the flowers that are appearing everywhere and the kale is bolting.

Grassy Weeds Trying to Take Over the Garden, Lamb's Ears Trying to Compete

Weeding and Thinning

In the photo above you can see some of the garden tasks I'm way behind on. Weeding is probably the most important. If I don't get the weeds out of the way, the reseeding plants may not get the light they need to sprout. Some of the lamb's ears, much as I love them, will also have to go. As you can see below, they are choking the emerging Sweet William seedlings from last year's seeds. I'll also have to cut back the star jasmine that surrounds and is starting to cover these plants. Looks like I will also have to reapply my non-toxic snail bait in this section. I usually use the cheapest brand, and it works.

Lamb's Ears Smothering Sweet William Seedling, while both Fight the Star Jasmine, © B. Radisavljevic 

With all this weeding to be done, it's time to check my gardening tools again. If you find yourself short, this Vremi 9-piece tool set has all one needs to tackle most weeding jobs.



Bees in the Holly

The holly is in bloom, and the bees love it. I took this photo a few days ago. I'm glad I did because the gardener trimmed some of the flowers off today. He said the bees were pretty angry with him as he worked and he had to be careful. I think there are still enough flowers to keep the bees busy. 

Bees Foraging in Holly Flowers in March, © B. Radisavljevic

The Bolting Kale

I currently have four kale plants growing in my flower beds. Three of them are volunteers that did not exactly grow where I would have placed them. All of them are bolting now. I will probably cut the flowering stems from the weakest plants, and let the others go to seed for next year's crop. I will also have to harvest and freeze a lot of the leaves that are left.

 My top photo showed my best kale plant. I understand now why it may not have had the aphid problems the other plants had. Its close neighbors are calendula and catmint, both of which help repel or trap these pests that bother my other plants. Also, that kale in my front flowerbed gets more regular water than the other plants, and better soil. It is the only kale plant with drip irrigation. 

The kale plant below gets less care than any of the others. It sprang up between my driveway and my neighbor's yard in the bed in the middle. There is a birch tree there and gazanias cover most of the ground. It is not irrigated unless I remember to pour some water on the kale plant. How it ever took root there I'll never know, but I have used many of its leaves. You can see from its flowers that it's bolting. So are the other plants, but the flowers are harder to see in their photos. 

Flowers of Bolting Kale, © B. Radisavljevic

This is actually a pair of kale plants below. I never thinned them. I sometimes use their leaves, but they are often plagued with aphids. They have poor soil and no companion plants but gazanias. They do not have regular irrigation. They grow in the corner of a bed of gazania and star jasmine beside the driveway. Like the plant above, they came from the mother plant you see at the top of this blog post. 

Twin Kale Plants by Driveway, © B. Radisavljevic

My Favorite Companion Planting Book

Great Garden Companions: A Companion-Planting System for a Beautiful, Chemical-Free Vegetable Garden

 I have used this book for years. It has provided inspiration on what to plant where and been just fun to read. There are lists of which plants discourage which pests, which plants attract which beneficial insects, and which plants help each other thrive. I love the garden design ideas, such as the wheel garden and the front yard salad garden. The information is organized in a user-friendly way so that it's easy to find what you want, and you will want to read more than what you came for. I highly recommend this to any gardener who wants to avoid chemicals.

The California Weeds You Need to Pull Now!

One Unpulled Thistle Leads to Lots of Work

One December afternoon I was pulling the result of letting two bull thistle plants reseed last year. One grew up amongst the roots of a grape vine. (See photo below.) You can see a fraction of its babies in the picture to the left. We were never able to pull this parent weed because bull thistles love to infest hard to reach places.

Small patch of bull thistle weeds near a grape vine.

 B. Radisavljevic, ©2012 All Rights Reserved

You can see the bare branches of the grape vine among the baby thistle patch. There are even more on the other side you can't see. I pulled all of this clump in one afternoon. Note: I finally pruned the vine and donned gloves to reach inside the enclosure to remove not only the pesky plant in that corner, but also the rest of the dead thistle stems and heads remaining inside.

This is the cage that supported and protected the now
 dormant grape vine. You can see the dead thistle
 heads which have reseeded both in and outside the cage.
I pruned the vine to get my gloved hands into the cage to
remove these.  

B. Radisavljevic, Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved

This grape vine was planted before we got this property, and it was protected from deer with a wire enclosure around it. The thistle that grew up in the middle of the vine inside this enclosure has been there for about three years because we couldn't figure out how to pull it. It's dead now, but it still took a lot of effort to get it out.  Its dead flowers are still at the top.

You can see how the thistles have worked themselves into places that make them hard to pull. Some are half in and half out of the cage. Some have roots buried under the rocks.

Source: B. Radisavljevic, Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved

Last year's flowers, carrying seeds, are dead,
but the plant is very much alive.
I will not compost the seed heads.

 B. Radisavljevic, ©2012 All Rights Reserved

I decided to weed this afternoon because we had our first really big rain storms last week. It completely soaked the ground, and it had dried just enough to be ideal for weed pulling. When it's too dry, you can't get the roots of perennial plants, and they will simply grow back. I had a few slip away from me today, even so. The roots are slippery, and the outer skin of the bull thistle will come off in your hand with the top of the plant, and you can't always grasp what's left. That's why it's so important to get them young.

This picture shows the thistle in bloom in the midst of my herb
 garden. I didn't pull it in time last summer, and I pulled
about 25 of its children out this afternoon.

 B. Radisavljevic, ©2012 All Rights Reserved

Why did I decide, with all the weeds in my gardens and orchard, to attack the bull thistle first? Because, in my opinion, it grows the fastest and can do the most damage if it gets big enough to reseed. It's dangerous when it gets big because of its very sharp thorns. Think cactus, because it hurts almost as much if you touch it. Although its flowers are beautiful, like most other thistle flowers, it's a beauty you don't want in your garden.

These are the roots of some  baby bull thistles.You can see their
lengths as compared to the size of the leafy part of the plants.
 This is why you need to get these out while they are small.

Source: B. Radisavljevic, ©2012 All Rights Reserved

Above you see the roots of some thistle seedlings I pulled. Near the middle, you'll see one that is forked. The roots often go off in all directions to help their growth and anchor them firmly. I often pull plants with roots divided into two or three parts.

Note: I am not positive these are bull thistles. They might also be California thistles, since I live in California. Bull thistles can be found in all Pacific states. They look very much alike in the books, but whichever it is, you want to pull it right away while it's small if you see it growing in your garden.

The bull thistle's habit of mixing it up with other plants is shown here.
 It almost looks joined to the milk thistle beside it (white in leaves),
and they are surrounded by wild mustard.

Source: B. Radisavljevic, ©2012 All Rights Reserved

Next Pull Coyote Brush Seedlings

I have previously written on HubPages about the coyote brush, which blooms in the winter. I took additional pictures to help you recognize it while it's small. If you let coyote brush mature, you will not get it out. It will become a forest or a hedge. If that's what you want, at least make sure it's not given a chance to grow up where you don't want it.

Baby coyote brush seedlings close-up. Notice the notched, sawtooth edges, an identifying mark. It is easiest to pull at this stage while roots are only a few inches long.

Source: B. Radisavljevic, ©2012 All Rights Reserved

Coyote Brush not dangerous, poison, or prickly, but it spreads and grows fast. Pull it out when it's small, as in the  picture above, when it's hard to even see, or it will suddenly show up where you don't want it, as in the picture below. Today I found some baby coyote brush plants in the place where I park my car in front of my warehouse. Not good. I pulled any big enough for me to see and grip.

If you don't see that baby seedling in time to pull it small, it might grow right through the asphalt on your driveway, as this one did.

Source: B. Radisavljevic, ©2012 All Rights Reserved

This is a patch of coyote brush seedlings.
 It probably grew up in an environment like the one below.

Source: B. Radisavljevic, ©2012 All Rights Reserved

These are mature coyote brush plants. Some are male, some female. The white on the ground between them likely contains the seeds that will produce what you see above.

Source: B. Radisavljevic, ©2012 All Rights Reserved

These are the relative root sizes of some coyote brush plants I pulled. If you follow the link to Coyote Brush, Blessing or Curse, you'll see even longer roots.

Source: B. Radisavljevic, ©2012 All Rights Reserved

To pull these weeds you need the right tools.

Working on my garden kneeler

© B. Radisavljevic

Weeding can be a tedious job, often done on one's knees. It really helps to have the right tools. I could kick myself for not getting my garden kneeler sooner. I love my garden kneeler and reviewed it here.  Being able to kneel comfortably really helps in getting those tiny, hard-to-see weeds that are so tedious to pull but which have roots a bit too long for hoeing. 

  Flexrake1000L Hula-Ho Weeder Cultivator with 54-Inch Wood Handle  If you run into a very large area covered with baby seedlings with undeveloped roots, this is a marvelous tool. In a matter of a few hours you can prevent a patch of weeds that would take days to spray or whack away once their roots are developed and a foot or more long. This hoe will scrape away all those seedlings which have almost no roots.

 Radius Garden 10202 Green Ergonomic Aluminum Weeder. This tool is just right when you have to pull weeds with roots several inches long that do not have tops of longer than about a foot high. (Unless it's coyote brush, in which case it might take the fork spade, or, in the worst case, the pick. )

Collins Pick 2-1/2 Lb. 36 " Bulk If you let the coyote brush get more than a foot high, this may be your only solution. You need this if you have long thick roots to get out. This pick is light enough for me to use. Men might prefer a heavier one. Where I live this would be needed for even shorter roots if the rocky ground is dry. I have often had to use it even to dig a planting hole where a shovel won't work.

Rose Pruning Gloves for Men and Women. Thorn Proof GoatskinLeather Gardening Gloves with Long Cowhide Gauntlet to Protect YourArms Until the Elbow (Medium) If you are dealing with any sort of thistle, you need long gloves, especially if the plants are mature. These gloves are ideal, since they are heavy enough to keep you from getting hurt and they also protect your forearms. These are for women, but you can click through to find the men's model.

Tommyco 34110 Garden Bucket Bagger Plus (Bucket Not Included) I love having something to carry my hand tools, phone, camera, water bottle, etc. in. I normally use a bucket, but I'd prefer to have the caddy to fasten to the bucket and use the bucket to collect all those seedlings I'm pulling. This is on my wish list.

Get Rid of Poison Hemlock, Mallow, and Milk Thistle Next

Learn to identify poison hemlock in this article. I have it pictured very small here. You need to pull it next because it's evil. It is a lethal, though beautiful, plant, that can easily be confused with other plants in the same family. It has a long tap root. It grows quickly.

This is a new crop of poison hemlock for this year. If you think it might be carrot, smell it. Carrots and parsley will have familiar smells. Poison hemlock smells musty/sweet and evil. These are already too big for the cultivating hoe. Pull them.

Source: B. Radisavljevic, ©2012 All Rights Reserved

These are baby milk thistle plants struggling
to see which of them will survive. The largest one
shows its milky vein markings already.
 These are still small enough to get with a hoe
or the weed cultivator shown above.

Source: B. Radisavljevic, ©2012 All Rights Reserved

Poison hemlock often grows in company with milk thistle-- in fact it almost always does in Paso Robles and Templeton. Milk thistle can be tolerable, and if you don't want it, it can wait a bit longer, since it's not too difficult to pull even when it's big. Let poison hemlock get big and you'll have a poison forest to deal with. You'll see what I mean if you check out the two articles linked to above.

The largest plant here is a mallow. It's probably still
 small enough to pull. Behind it is the beginning of a
poison hemlock plant. See the frilly leaves?   The tiny plants
in front of the mallow appear to  be milk thistle.
Get them with the hoe or cultivator.

Source: B. Radisavljevic, ©2012 All Rights Reserved

Mallow, often known as cheese plant, has its uses. You might want to eat it, for example. But it you don't want it, get it out early. It has grown higher than my head in the past. Nothing is less fun to face in your garden area in the spring than a forest of mixed mallow, poison hemlock, and milk thistle.

I happen to know, because I have faced it. Fortunately, I was able to hire someone stronger than I to cope with it. It was one of our wetter years, and there was not enough time between storms for the ground to dry out. You can't effectively pull weeds out of mud. By the time it was dry enough to pull the weeds, the forest had grown already and the weeds were literally over my head. If you hack off the tops, the plants grow back. About all that hacking does is prevent or delay reseeding for the season.

Every year I resolve to save myself this work by applying a heavy mulch of newspaper over the garden at the end of summer when all the plants have been pulled. Every year life intervenes and I don't do it. Every square foot you manage to cover with something that blocks light, but lets water through, will save you hours of work when the rains stop falling.

Remember, Get Them When They're Small

As I looked over my land a couple of weeks after the rain, I saw next year's milk thistle crop where that patch of green is. If I had a plow, I'd use it, but I don't. It will be a forest by summer, but I have to concentrate on the garden area. Too much to hoe.

Source: B. Radisavljevic, ©2012 All Rights Reserved

What weeds cause you the most problems where you live?

Related articles

• What blooms in December in Paso Robles?
• National Seed Swap Day
• The Life Stages of Lamb's Ears

Finally, an Early Evening in the Herb Garden

I finally attacked the weeds that have been overwhelming my herb garden. This pile shows what I accomplished. The picture below shows the bare ground the weeds were occupying. 

The bare ground shows where the weeds used to cover.

What's left is mostly leggy or almost dead calendula -- the yellow flowers. The blue one is the lily of the Nile I planted about two years ago, blooming here for the first time after I transplanted it. I also noticed as I weeded the distinct smell of mint, and discovered some had escaped the pot it was planted in and spread. I didn't care. If I'm going to have weeds, I prefer good ones. The yellow wave in the back of this next picture are the weeds I couldn't get to this evening.

Herb Garden

In the picture above, are some of the surprises I discovered. One was the tall plant left of the blue Lily of the Nile. I have no idea what it is. I planted it a couple of years ago, and I'd thought it was dead. When I first saw it tonight, I thought a tree had mysteriously appeared, perhaps planted by a bird. A closer look revealed it was in a gopher cage, so I must have planted it. I can hardly wait to see if it blooms. ( As I later discovered, it was a variety of yarrow I had not grown before.)

Right behind the blue lily is the clump of mint that's still growing in its small pot. To the right of the lily, in front, are two unlikely companions -- a purple bull thistle and a pot of lambs ears. The bull thistle is definitely a weed, but somehow it seems to fit and I didn't have the heart to yank it out. I think its flowers are lovely -- even if prickly.

To the right outside the picture I have another lambs ear plant in the ground. When I was weeding part of that side last week, I noticed it had numerous progeny -- even quite far from it. I didn't mind that, either, since I prefer it to the weeds that would displace it were it not there. I wish the little ones much success in their growth.

The oregano, marjoram, and thyme are lower plants and they are behind the taller ones that have grown up in front of them. I was delighted to see they have survived my neglect. One thing I've learned over the years is how much neglect members of the mint family can take and still thrive. 

Butterfly Bush

The butterfly bush I planted about three years ago has really taken off. It is surrounded on either side by different varieties of sage. It all needs pruning, but only after it has finished blooming. This morning I saw a hummingbird visiting the purple flowers, so I guess it's not just for butterflies. I planted a white version of it on the left side, but it doesn't seem to be growing much or blooming. I suspect it's hidden in the sage and / or the rosemary that has really spread.

As I was pulling weeds tonight, it was very difficult to avoid accidentally pulling up some of the calendula with them. Their roots often intermingled. Also, right near the inside edge of the gopher cage where the tall mystery plant is, was a large mustard growing part inside and part outside the cage. It was also very difficult to extract and separate. I had to cut it down on both sides with pruners so I could isolate the root. It reminded me of the sins that so easily become rooted in our lives and even intermingle with the good things so that they are hard to separate. It often takes drastic measures for the Master Gardener to remove them from us. The picture at left I took of the intermingled roots of weed and flower. The skinny weed stem is at the top of the heap. The broad green leaves are from the calendula plant.