"One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it brings."

Friday, August 20, 2010

The Pond in August.

First I wanted to thank everyone who stopped by to comment on my last post.  We went on a vacation to Southern California about a week ago and the sun and the beach were relaxing and made me excited to get back in the garden again.  I did love seeing the gardens there and was surprised at how many plants I recognized after seeing them on many blogs that I follow.   I took quite a few pictures at the Mission San Juan Capistrano and will share them on another post. 
When we returned home the temperature was up in the 90's so it was a little hot to garden, but while I watered I saw how things were doing and realized that a weed that used to appear in one area of my yard seems to be taking over everywhere.  After doing some research I found that it's called Oxalis corniculata.  My Mom told me to try plain old vinegar on it.  Has anyone tried this?
I also realized I hadn't taken any pictures of the pond this month and thought I share them in this post.

Water Lily 'Charles de Meurville' has it's first bloom of the year!  The water lilies have really been slow this year and I'm beginning to think they may be done for the season already.

The girls were playing behind the pond while I watered.  Sweet Pea made them crowns of ferns and Hosta leaves to wear.

Fuchsia magellanica is blooming like crazy and has spread up towards the waterfall.

Turtlehead (Chelone) is a little past it's prime, but I thought I'd take some pictures anyway.

Clematis 'Ville de Lyon' is still blooming, although the flowers are much smaller.

Hydrangea 'Limelight' was added right before we went away and dried out a bit, but it looks like it'll be fine.

Bugbane (Actaea racemosa) was moved again earlier this year and seems to like it's new spot behind the pond.

This view is similar to the one at the bottom of my blog.  I did a lot changing since then.  The flowers that were here before didn't bloom until the end of summer leaving not much of interest the rest of the year.  I'm hoping the Japanese Blood Grass will keep filling in between the Heucheras.

I'm hoping to get out and do some cleanup on the front yard this weekend and am looking forward to going plant shopping soon.  
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37 comments:

  1. Catherine, Glad you had a nice vacation! Your water lily is so delicately pretty. Love it! I have turtlehead too, and mine hasn't bloomed yet but it is getting ready to. Summer is winding down; not quite as hot here. Have a great wknd!
    Beth

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  3. Are there pond weeds? I mean, do you have to weed ponds?

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  4. Hi! Catherine... I had to re-post the computer was having a little Coo-coo issues, it kept running all my words together..

    So glad that you enjoyed your vacation.

    Love the photos of your garden and pond in august everything is so pretty and neat..

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  5. Beautiful as always! Glad you had a nice visit to sunny Southern Cal, but sounds like you're getting your share of the sun and heat too. Love the pond and water lily. I'm looking forward to the rainy season when I'm there in Oct/Nov. Have a nice weekend. :-)

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  6. Hi Catherine, Glad you had a nice vacation and I look forward to reading posts about it. Your pond is so very nice and I like the way the sun is shining in some of your pics. Here in GA we have had about 60 days of temps above 90. It has been hard to get out long enough to take photos. I will be happy for cooler temps to get here!

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  7. So nice to have you back, Catherine! Glad you had a nice, relaxing vacation that brought back some enthusiasm for the garden. Thanks for posting pictures of the pond, I always like looking at them.

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  8. Good to have you back. I hope the garden did not suffer while you were away. My garden became so bedraggled when I was away for only 5 days, in spite of my lazy gardener.

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  9. Great to have you back Catherine. I loved your last photo of the pond - the reflections in the water are lovely - and I like the thought of the fushia flowers dangling over the edges of the water.

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  10. Glad you are back.....it all looks very nice....wishing you a happy gardening weekend....love and hugs from me....

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  11. Dear Catherine, Welcome back. I am so pleased that you had a lovely holiday and that you have returned refreshed. It is important to go away and experience other things but it is so good to be back at home I always find.

    I do love the Japanese blood grass and am pleased that yours is doing well. In any other garden in which I have seen it, it has been painfully slow to increase.

    Your garden has stood up well to the extreme heat and is looking very pretty as you move towards autumn.

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  12. Dear Catherine ~ So nice to have you back. Glad you had a great vacation too. Now you've given us a lovely little tour of your pond area and what a nice tour it was. In spite of the heat and things being a tad past their prime, I think it all looks great. You've really created a wonderful, peaceful oasis.

    Enjoy working in your gardens once again.

    Hugs ~ FlowerLady

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  13. Your pond is looking great.... regarding the oxalis, it seems to be having a great year here as well... the problem is keeping it from going to seed. Luckily it pulls very easily but unfortunately it's a task to keep up with it... it's even in my lawn this year, but pulls easily there as well. It can be controlled by staying in top of the situation and not allowing the seeding. L

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  14. Catherine, welcome back! I also have that oxalis and will try your mother's suggestion. Nothing else seems to work, even pulling it is right back and has multiplied.

    The pond always looks great to me.

    Eileen

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  15. Things are still looking good there. I just love seeing your pond each month. I need to get up that way while you still have nice blooms so I can take pictures this time. Did you ever get any Dahlias? Strange summer, I had 3 coming up but don't think I'll see any bloom. Glad you had a nice vacation but also happy you're back!

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  16. I love your pond, I want one, but Maxine would destroy it chasing the goldfish and mosquitoes here in the Deep South would thrive beyond belief in there, glad you had a good vacation, take care, Gina

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  17. Welcome back Catherine!!! The water lily is amazing, such a darling beauty!!!
    Your garden looks very pretty even though you were not around. I miss so much my garden when in holidays, bet you too!!!!
    cariños,
    maria cecilia

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  18. What a gorgeous lily!

    I'm new to your blog but am enjoying reading about a garden in my area. :)

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  19. Sounds like your garden was ready to greet you when you came home despite the weed.

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  20. Welcome back! Oxalis, I don't have any. Kidding! I try to rip it out by the roots. I've heard you have to have hot weather for the vinegar to work well.
    The water lilies are beautiful, especially if confined to a garden pond. But they are a noxious weed here on the lake.
    I love the hydrangea 'limelight'. Where did you get yours?

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  21. Hi Catherine. I hope you all had a great vacation. It is good to get away for a while and get rejuvenated again.I have been going through all of the new catalogs that are coming in for spring. The pond looks lovely this time of the year and the waterlily is so pretty. We will be looking forward to seeing some of the pictures you took on vacation.

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  22. Catherine,

    You could add a little Oxalis to your salads. Once the plant realizes it is growing for your consumption it will surely die away! Don't eat too much though it can make you sick when eaten in large qualities.

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  23. Catherine, Glad you had a relaxing holiday. The pond is looking wonderful, so full and lush. Take care and enjoy the rest of weekend.

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  24. I'm new to gardening and to your blog. Wow! You have such a beautiful garden!

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  25. Thanks for the welcome back! I'm slowly making the rounds trying to visit everyone. I really missed all my blogging friends new and old :)

    Missy - Yes, there are some pond weeds depending on the zone you are in. Luckily after cleaning my pond out this spring I haven't had any issues other than the string algae.

    Linda - No Dahlias other than some leaves coming up. It makes my garden feel sort of empty this time of year without them. Guess I'll be planting some next year.

    Aerie-el - I decided to just dig the oxalis up today, guess I should've tried the vinegar a few days ago when it was hot. I found the Limelight at Molbak's just a few weeks ago.

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  26. I know that vinegar kills grass! Oxalis is such a pest here..

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  27. I love how you move your plants about until you find a spot where they "like it and flourish." You give them so many second chances! I look at your pond and wish mine were bigger. But then your yard is bigger than my garden home yard. Love the pink water lily. Can you show the "weed" so I'll know it if I see it?
    Brenda

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  28. Our ponds were looking a little tired when we left on Friday - we need a good hard rain fall to freshen everything up. Once again, you're ahead of us - our turtleheads are still closed tight in bud.

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  29. Catherine - great to see you back. Lovely photos, priceless 'garden princesses' in your 1st pond photo! :D

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  30. That bugbane is my favorite of yours from this post. The turtlehead in my garden is only now opening up. Odd huh? The pond looks so peaceful and lush. No wonder the kids love it.

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  31. Hi Catherine, Beautiful, just beautiful. My favorite is the hardy fuchsia!

    This is off topic but I found it and thought of the littlest gardener.

    http://www.miniaturegardenshoppe.com/content.html

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  32. Glad you had some time away Catherine. I've never heard of putting vinigar on weeds before. You are lucky your garden is still so beautiful ~ mine is water logged. :(

    Have a nice week!
    xo Catherine

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  33. You have wonderful blog. Great photos!:)

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  34. Great pictures! Your pond & plants always look so lush & healthy. I get the impression that the pond creates a bit of a microclimate, is that true? Your clematis is stunning. :)

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  35. Catherine so glad you realised that Robin was also Puck - hope it was fun for the girls to see what he's still up to around here !

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  36. The water lily and clematis are breathtaking, Love that beautiful reflection in the pond as well. I took care of your garden while you were gone :D

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  37. I love, love, love it when you post about your pond. :-)
    The fuchsia photo is awesome. I wish I could grow them but they just flop here.
    My Chelone hasn't opened yet either ~ it's close tho. Funny how the same thing blooms at different times in different climates. Glad you had a nice vacation and that you're glad to get back to gardening. We missed you too! :-)

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