No such thing as a small miracle

All miracles are the same size. And a plant growin' from a seed is always an awe inspiring miracle. Add to that the prospect of cross-breeding two plants, such as roses, with the intent of makin' a unique, new creation of your very own and you have somethin' mighty special indeed. 

I spent all last season (summer) pollinating my different roses by hand and  stressin' and prayin' and fightin' hungry deer and I thought I was completely unsuccessful until...

my very own miracle! Also my very first rose grown from seed. We all here at the farm are just stunned. We have extremely  special feelings about this little guys future. We honestly feel like we are like Moses when he confronted the burning bush, like we should remove our shoes for we are on Holy ground. Like we were given this gift by His grace for a reason.

The cross was between a double 'Knockout' and the seed parent was my wonderful 'Apothecary's rose' or r. gallica 'Officianalis'. A rebloomin' gallica type or a fragrant 'knockout' type is what I was attempting, but this miracle and it's purpose for our nursery and my journey will be a progressive revelation. God is the great gardener. Thank you Father.

Tangible history

This year is goin' to be an amazin' one for growers like me. It has been such a one already; my peonies almost beat the redbuds to bloom! They are a month early. And the good news is that they will bloom and be done and safe to face our last frost.

So now the roses we grow on the property.

This is 'Sally Holmes' newest to the rose garden and our lineup.

The ubiquitous 'knockout', this is the double red, although a dark pink.

Another 'Knockout' double pink, which I got for breedin' purposes.

'Dorothy Perkins'

This is an heirloom plant given to me by my grandmother, confirmed to be almost 200 years old. Also from her that day I got a black hollyhock.

We live in a place where history can be reached for and actually touched. Tradition is handed down to family and neighbors and taught like old songs.

I left out photos of the hybrid teas, but they will not be propagated and offered except by special request.

Also, I moved 15 'Annabelle' hydrangeas into pots as well as right oakleaf hydrangeas and seven R. gallica 'Oficianalis' or 'Apothecary's rose'.

Notice too that we use leaves as mulch, unless the plant wants acidic soil then we use pine needles, in our continuin' efforts at sustainable farmin'. 

The hillbilly's hydrangeas

This past winter season was not as brutal as what a lot of the country experienced the winter before but, a measure of anxiety has been creepin' up on us leadin' to a fair bit of dread regardin' this growin' season. Now that it's here we take a deep breath, a hard swallow and do our rounds. The rounds are mine, specifically, but I usually walk hand-in-hand with one of my girls. The plants I worried over all winter were new. When I say new I mean plants that I grew, either from seed or vegetative propagation. None of them were purchased with anything but sweat. And after losin' my entire supply of roses last year I wanted to make it with every hydrangea I could.

A lot is ridin' on the fate of our stock. The end result will define us as a farm and nursery. The plants that make it will have proven their hardiness and suitability for our area and they will decide for me what we specialize in. I have my druthers but as a farm we can not waste time growin' somethin' that will not be happy growin' here. 

So, the day has come...

This unknown hydrangea is the one that started my obsession. A nurse friend gave me part of her large bush and I thought I killed it. I planted it during a week long streak of 100 degree heat out in full sun! Needless to say I was ignorant to the way of the hydrangea. So after it was dead I googled it to see what I had done wrong and the rest is history. I learned about somethin' called propagation and obsessed over photos of hydrangeas, went out and bought all that this small town had to offer and relocated this plant just to see. The tough little princess came back the next year. This year it will bloom and we will have a better idea which hydrangea it is. Big leaf, mop head  is all we know for sure; and apparently not remontant.

Forever and ever 'Early Sensation'

Upon purchasin' this one, a love affair had officially begun. 

Panicled hydrangea 'Limelight'

Pretty sure this one is 'Limelight'. All the landscapers use this one, almost as much as crepe myrtles. And, praise The Lord, this one likes full sun!

Endless summer 'Twist and Shout'

Lace cap variety which switched to blue last season on it's own.

We got this one at a big box store and it was poorly marked, to say the least. It just said, 'Premium Hydrangea'. It has the largest blooms I have seen to date. Luxurious.

I suppose everyone has one or more of these 'Annabelle' hydrangeas. We have plenty if you are lookin'.

Peegee hydrangea 'Pinky Winky'. Another that tolerates full sun, and that's good, because that's about all we got.

'Invincibelle Spirit' was a Father's Day present. Now I have more than enough for everyone. 

Endless Summer 'The Original'. In my experience, the Endless Summer rebloomers are better performers than the Forever and Ever brand. Probably depends on location.

'Nikko Blue' is a classic.

'Beulah' is actually an unknown hydrangea that my mamaw could not get to bloom. So I made a bunch of them and they are comin' right along.

I always do this; I say they don't need tags and I always forget. 

Oakleaf hydrangea 'Ruby Slippers' is the only oakleaf we offer, but we hope to have more soon. 

These are just to show the plants hardiness. I made cuttings last season and put them in the ground to protect them from fungus gnats and they survived the winter just fine.

Endless Summer 'The Original' is vigorous and gets full size quick.

'Merritt's Supreme' is almost purple so I could not walk by it and not pick it up. Most of these were rustled not bought. I mentioned the size of where I live; options are few. Like the rose rustlers of yesteryear I don't leave home without my clippers. I have brought home quite a few roses that way but more hydrangeas. Bad thing is, I'm tapped out. Now I am collecting old garden roses or antique/heirloom roses. 

Pictured was just an example of each variety of hydrangea we stock. Not indicative of actual numbers we have in the field. Next post I will show the roses and how they handled the winter, and our own, farm-bred and cultivated azaleas and crepe myrtles.

this is what plants look like in magazine layouts

Strange phenomenon occurring in the garden currently. The plants are unprecedentedly healthy and entirely bug free. Not a blemish on anything.

 The cleome is impressive in its perfection, this is just one example.

The cotton is so unique and beginning to bloom. Now how do I go about saving the seeds?

 This big dahlia has remained untouched since I dead headed last, odd but completely awesome.

 The glads are mostly erect which is in itself a small miracle and completely out of the ordinary.

And lastly, my teddy bears. Flawless. 

I have never experienced this. The Japanese beetles are always the dominant force in the garden this time of year. But it seems the wave of destruction has passed. But why? Increased bird population due to enhanced habitat? Sudden cold front and unexpected I may add? Combination of factors known and unknown?

But that is not all, everything on the farm remains pristine.

Have I achieved the mythical balance that results in the crowding out of "bad bugs"?

I don't know yet, but I love the thick, fleshy, veiny leaves that surround me and mine.

And by the way, I already have the first rose seeds stratifying in my fridge. Can not hardly wait. And again, we are working on next year's garden/collection.

'Earworm'

My daughter is currently three years old. All last summer, while I practiced and learned the art of plant propagation, she busied her little self with collectin' seeds. She saw me fussin' with the plants all the time and she was dragged along on all the seed gatherin' jaunts around the town and neighborin' counties. Naturally she assumed seeds were mega-important (which of course they are to some of us). Most accessible to her were the spent hostas. I suppose I never considered them for growin' from seed, and in order to satisfy my curiosity about it I commenced an impromptu hosta breedin' program. Very intensive - put the seed in dirt and wait.
Here are the results of a two year old explorin' the world around her and the limited portion within her reach_

Very hosta-like indeed. But the last one, on the bottom, is very strikin', very different from what she started with. I told her she should probably consider what she will name it. Without a moment's hesitation she said " 'Earworm' ".

Malachi 3:10

" Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. "

                                                   - Malachi 3:10-11

I added verse eleven because of the reference to gardenin'. Agricultural symbols are quite common in scripture. Some say we, as workers of the land, are closer to the Father than anyone.

Anyway, I have had an epiphany; it all makes sense. You know, losin' a crop is often a head scratcher. I mean, what else can you do except stand there and scratch somethin'? 

I carry two coins on my person at all times. One is inscribed with the verse 1 Corinthians 10:13, which was mentioned in a previous blog post. The other is has engraved on it 'The Prayer of Jabez'. "And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, 'Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that I may not grieve me!' And God granted him that which he requested."

All he had to do was ask.

Carryin' this coin on me is my way of continually askin' for my coast to be enlarged and for more to be responsible for, for my endeavors to be blessed. 

Thinkin' of this today, as I stood there lookin' at the stack of empty pots towerin' over the water jugs in my greenhouse, I understood. I had given the first fruits to whom they belonged. 

My new hydrangeas have been untouched by the infestation overall, but last year's hydrangeas were the first to be sacrificed as well as bein' the first plants I had commercial designs for. That makes them first fruits. So my share of the tithe is in the storehouse! If two hundred roses , an entire collection of hydrangeas, examples of each different cultivar as a matter of fact, is my 10% that some say is the correct amount to tithe then watch out David Austin because I am comin'!

If it's not the bugs it's the deer.

Oak leaf hydrangea

Sunflowers are already goin' to seed

'Lemon-queen' stunted by insect damage

 I had no plans of growin' tomatoes this year, but this rogue plant changed my mind. I needed to nurture somethin' and this plant is beautiful. Not a spot on it; perfect. I was always told not to talk about them or they would get blight, but she is gorgeous.

'Beefsteak'

These volunteer plants were answers to my prayers, I believe. I don't even eat tomatoes but I needed somethin' to cultivate. I know you gardeners understand.

fungus gnats

At this point I am on the verge of callin' it an unmitigated disaster. Game over, you know? I am lookin' for small victories now and any one of them would sure feel like a major breakthrough. 

Worse than the temperature and wind chills this winter (if you can believe anything was worse) and a source of even more devastation was the fungus gnat.
I had researched and read and googled my brains out and finally got a couple of grow lights I thought were sufficient for my needs. It was October maybe or November and I wanted to see green things growin'. With a rudimentary set-up I embarked on a flight to destiny. I was gonna have my own nursery and it all began with there, under the sink in my bathroom. Then the other bathroom. January and the Japanese maple seeds had been stratified long enough. And I brought dormant hydrangeas and a Japanese maple in. All of which I had rooted by takin' cuttings the very first summer I learned about the miracle and magic of propagation.
I wanted an advantage. I wanted to have my hydrangeas bloomin' before the local big box stores. In my fervor I and inexperience I over watered all the plants we spent the winter steppin' around. Enter the fungus gnat. Resemblin' a mosquito, he deposits the next generation in the wet soil so that generation has some organic material to feed on. The wormlike larvae mutilate the roots of standin' plants. Needless to say I lost everything, even some mature healthy plants.
Neem oil is the preferred treatment for fungus gnats. Problem is I live in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. There is no neem oil here. I remember when my hometown got its second traffic light. Before that, someone would shoot the first one out every weekend, or every time it was replaced.
Winter stretched on and the formidable fungus gnat multiplied exponentially. In my innocence I assumed once I took the plants outside the problem would just take care of itself. Now I know how naive that was. I built my hoop house, unheated polytunnel, and moved the plants and effectively ended my season with that action.

I read about the rose breeders usin' a layer of perlite on their pottin' mix to thwart dampin' off. When I ran out of perlite I used sand from my daughter's sandbox, hence the pink topdressin'. But, it works on the dreaded fungus gnat. A lot of times they will escape in winged, adult form out the bottom of the pots. They can not penetrate the sand to re-enter their snug, preferred environment. As far as the damagin' larvae, I don't know. I have tried peroxide, vinegar, all the organic cures found on the internet. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is let the soil dry as much as you can and just weather the storm.