Emme and I took off yesterday after she and Bob finished their second performance of “The Great Kapok Tree” at the Falmouth Arts Alive! festival (photos here)
We stopped at Coonamesset Farm for lunch, then went back to my house for a short visit, during which time we edited the photos and did a spin around the gardens.
Emme enjoyed the flowers, but she noticed something was wrong with a clump of larkspur, which are among my favorites – “They look dead!”
She was right, and I hadn’t noticed, but the plants, top-heavy with buds, were drooping. Since they’re in a spot that the soaker hose can’t reach, I figured they needed watering and gave them a separate dousing.
This morning, they look a whole lot healthier. Thanks, Emme, for your sharp-eyed observation!
Meanwhile, I’ve been trying to do a better job of keeping this year’s pansies from getting leggy and out of control. Last summer, I was WAY too late in pinching them back, so I started earlier this time, figuring to do this in stages, rather than having to remove all the flowers at once.
It’s interesting that cleaning up through pruning and dead-heading actually makes plants look fuller and more colorful. Less does seem to be more.
And I’ve finally figured out that the Miracle Gro feeder really DOES work, and it saves a tremendous amount of time and effort.
Which helps, because even in small gardens, there is always so much to do.