Thursday, June 23, 2011

Gardening Goes Wild

I was getting my garden ready the past few weeks for a Garden Stroll, clipping, edging, mulching, everything to make it looks as perfect as possible.


Persicaria Polymorpha

Then everything wild broke lose, 100 mph winds, crashing trees, the whooshing of the generator starting up again and large trees blocking main streets and throughout the neighborhoods.

It has been determined that it was a tornado that touched down which is unusual for for our location, but what isn't unusual this year!


Persicaria took a hit with many broken stems, I am probably going to have to cut down the whole plant!


I have trimmed it as much as I can for the stroll , but it is falling all over everything.

We have tons of toppled trees, but this one was dramatic because it is at least one hundred years old and just ripped from the earth.  You can see some of its branches across the street.

I had taken some photos before the storm and would certainly see the difference when assessing the damage.

All The Rage
Toppled over in the storm, now propped up with a stake

Cinco de Mayo
Difficult to get a realistic photo, very smoky color

Pink Meidiland

Rainbow Knockout
(My favorite rose for its long blooming habit and great succession of colors)

The storm is over but many are still without power and the clean up will go on for several weeks.  My garden escaped severe damage so it will be an unusual frame around the garden stroll with fallen trees everywhere, kind of like a war zone with little respites in between.

Many of the clematis are now blooming and even though I took these photos before the tornado, they came through just fine.


Comtesse de Bouchard
This is one clematis that does not disappoint (type 3)

General Sikorski (type 2)
I always worry about the algae in the birdbath but I recently read that it not a problem, only aesthetic.

Dr. Rupple (type 2)
This a a new one purchased this spring.

Hagley Hybrid (type 3)

Rouge Cardinal (type 3)

The Veggie Garden
I am growing a miniature eggplant and they seem to be doing very well.  The cucumbers are just about to climb the trellis.