Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 16:28:00 -0400
From: “N.A. Booko”
Subject: Drought, Heal All and Oak Leaf hydrangeas . .
No rain on my property for over a month. With all the threatening thunder and forecasts, it hasn’t happened for me. First time in years, there is loose dust on my garden paths. I am at the point I must choose which plants to water and those that will have to die. Heartbreaking. Also taking into consideration that I don’t know how much water is in my well.
Years ago, the valuable and desirable wild herb HEAL ALL (Prunella vulgaris)- grew in one spot on the side of the highway near my driveway. With all the cutting, scraping and tree cutting in the past couple of years, it had completely disappeared. Out for a walk yesterday, I noticed some very tiny seedlings of Heal All struggling to survive the heat and dryness. It does seem to be a rugged herb.
I have grown and sold Oak Leaf Hydrangeas for years- enjoyed their white blooms and watch them turn green in later stages of blooming. Here and there looking at other people’s oak leafs, I noticed that the blooms turned pink at a certain stage- One place this happens is at Chatham Marketplace. That cultivar is ‘Alice’- but I have Alice too and it has never turned pink. But low and behold, for some reason, many of my blooms are turning pink this season. Dryness? Shock? Who knows.
And too, my old fashioned winter hardy Angel wing Begonias (Begonia grandis) have been very prolific this year. It is a plant you think couldn’t possibly survive our winters, but the potato-like bulb-root winters over, even in pots- and don’t forget, they say it got down to seven degrees- (some say five)-
Another plant that has shown remarkable vigor this spring is JET BEAD TREE- (Rhodotypos scandens) – A small multi-stemmed shrub/tree that has white dogwood-like flowers and the seeds that replace the blooms are shiny jet black.
I thank my lucky stars I got what I got. Many don’t.
N.A. Booko
N.A. Booko lives and gardens in Chatham County, seldom leaves it and spends 90 percent of available cash within. . . .
http://www.extension.org/