" AND NOW, IT'S BACK TO THE WEEDING"

Every week I listen to Gardeners' Question Time on BBC Radio 4 and hear those words spoken at the end of the show. So, after 6 weeks absence from my garden those words are ringing in my ears. Despite the lack of rainfall, only .2" in the whole six weeks, things had run amok. The absolute worst offender is one variety of ruellia. Generally, I like the ruellias because they seem to tolerate the worst heat and drought, sending out new flowers every day. They are stalwart performers in the rocky gravel.

Pretty when in flower but once gone to seed becomes quite ugly.

It was to this plant that I turned my attention first. Removing massive numbers from the areas around the sunken garden;  a total of 2 bins of gone-to-seed plants, in all.

The next plan will be to tackle the blanket flowers. Some have died and some require a good prune back so they will flower again in the fall. They are mainly smothering the stones in the lower part of the garden, making it impossible to walk down there.
Ruellia had taken over this area along the walkway and I had just laid these rocks a couple of months ago, planting with narrow leaf zinnias and skullcaps. A tall ruellia I had missed can be seen at the front of the photo.

This area is under drip irrigation from small spray heads but I think I may be too generous with the supply.

One of my big problems which I have been unable to solve has been in the vegetable garden. The water will just not stay in the beds seeping down to the bottom and into the pathways. (I have 1/2" line with emitters staggered every foot.) Plants grow better there than in the beds. I have made a start at removing all the gomphrenas that have seeded there. I just need to bite the bullet and remove them all to save my own sanity. Maybe by the end of the week. And as there is nothing much left in the vegetable beds I am going to cut off the water.

Not much work is needed in the front garden although there have been some losses. A few of the grasses need pulling and skullcaps cutting back. As there is no irrigation here I may have to water by hand if we don't get some rain soon. I would hate to miss the flowering of the liatris and sennas.

The brugmansia in the corner must have lost all of its leaves because there seem to be just a few tiny ones starting to regrow. I think a boost of liquid seaweed may be in order.

The Brugmansia looking very sad

The trough of paddle plants is looking really sad. The hard veins have become very prominent as water was lost from the leaf. Hopefully they will recover and I hope all my shrunken cactus will find a new lease on life now that I have watered them.

I need to get the garden back in shape as soon as possible as I have returned home with many garden ideas which I am excited to try.