Bulbs galore

My last work of 2011 (early December): planting roughly 100 bulbs in the backyard in pouring 45 degree rain. Not the most fun way to spend a Saturday, but I was convinced by my Mom to go out and do it (after all she gave me half of them!) and that the reward in spring would be worth it, despite the fact that this is way later than these should typically be planted. So, since doing unconventional things comes naturally to me, I did it! This is what I planted (excuse the mud, they were taken after I planted them - many months later, in fact):

Daffodils

Tulips

Blue bells

Crocus

Allium

My Mom gave me all of them except for the Tulips (which I purchased at CostCo) and some of them are in memory of Calum: "Remembrance" Crocus and "Baby Moon" Daffodils (I can't remember if any of the others have a connection). Due to lack of space, I couldn't plant them in the memorial garden (but they are special nonetheless), so instead I planted them nearby in the backyard along the lawn in front of some trees. Not being anywhere near skilled at garden design, I tried to plant them in a logical fashion that might look ok (but most likely probably won't), so we'll see how it works (assuming they even come up)!

(Note: this is a back-post, posted on 3/20/12)

Last fertilization of 2011

I got a little eager for winter this fall and forgot (i.e. got lazy and let time slip by) to fertilize according to schedule. Following the guide, I should have fertilized the newly seeded areas about 8-10 weeks after germination which would have been around early November - whoops, here it is 3 weeks later. I fertilized the whole lawn with 1.5 lbs. N/1000 sq. ft. after the last mowing of the season (which is the appropriate time if I hadn't seeded) using the same fertilizer I used in the previous fertilization. I also decided to fertilize the backyard with .75 lbs. N/1000 sq. ft. which I hadn't fertilized at all since germination. Sorry, no pictures (wish I had taken some!).

(Note: this is a back-post, posted on 2/26/12, details subject to error)

Grass project update

Just an update on the grass project from earlier this fall (seems like a long time ago!). The grass has been filling in nicely; even the backyard is looking better. The disease or whatever it is seems to be at bay and I don't notice any more of it, although it is still present in some areas.

Here are some photos of the front yard:

And the backyard:

Still rather bare in some areas

But looking better in others

This area is the worst

Overall I'm pretty happy, especially with the front yard. I'm excited to see what it looks like come spring. I'm not sure what I'll do about the bare spots in the backyard - all I know is that there's nothing I can do now, so I'll worry about it next year :)

Black spot disease

This poor rose bush has been through a lot this year... from being transported in the mail, planted, becoming infested with bristly rose slugs (and having flour thrown all over it), and now this:

Black spot disease

Black spot disease

I trimmed off every leaf/stem that had it, which ended up being most of them, unfortunately. I hope it makes it (I feel like I say that about every one of our plants...).

What's this?

I noticed some yellowing areas of grass after mowing yesterday and upon closer inspection of the blades, this is what I found:

Kentucky bluegrass blade with disease

Kentucky bluegrass blade with disease

General appearance of grass

What is it? I don't know. I've been doing some research online and reading the Purdue publications on various diseases, but I'm still not sure. It looks like it could be either leaf spot or leaf rust disease. I can test to see if it's rust by seeing if it rubs off easily. I'll test for that when I get a chance. I could see it being leaf spot going by this description from the Purdue publication on the disease:

Leaf spot (caused by Drechslera poae) is a summer disease that requires long dew periods, warm evening temperatures, and ample precipitation to establish and spread. Close mowing can aggravate disease outbreaks by increasing stress on plants and allowing spores greater access to crowns and roots.

I have been mowing closely for several weeks since planting and have irrigated frequently (not so much any more). It also appears that only the old grass is infected, which also gives credence to the theory since the newer varieties are likely more resistant. I'll keep an eye on it, but I sure hope it doesn't get worse - that would make me sad...

Seven week post-germination fertilization

Today marks seven weeks after germination, which means it's time to fertilize according to the Purdue guide I've been following. Since we are forecast to get rain tonight and/or tomorrow, I decided to get it done today. I applied 5 lbs of 32-0-4 Scott's fertilizer (5.7% slow release Nitrogen, which I think is a good amount for this time of year since there isn't much growing time left) over the 1600 sq. ft. of the front yard using my little broadcast spreader which resulted in roughly 1 lb Nitrogen per 1000 sq ft. I didn't apply any to the backyard - I never know what to do back there...

As promised, here are some photos of the front and backyard taken yesterday.

The front yard is looking decent. There are some streaks of thin to no grass due to uneven seeding, but overall I think it'll turn out ok eventually... I hope...

Unfortunately, there isn't much to see in the backyard. Supina bluegrass grows extremely slowly and didn't appear to germinate very well. The few patches of grass that there are look pretty nice, but overall I think it was a flop. I don't know what I'm going to do...

I think I'm about ready for winter...

Heavy rain - September 25

Well, the good news is that we got a good amount of rain. The bad news is that it was heavy - frail new grass trampling heavy. As evidenced in the photos, the rain appears to have flowed and/or puddled over the lawn. Upon inspection, it looks like it may have trampled a lot of the young little grasslings in the backyard. The front yard grass is much more mature and didn't have any problem with the rain, but the supina bluegrass is growing much, much slower.

I'll post some updated photos of the backyard as soon as I get a chance.

Grass after 5 weeks

These photos were taken September 21st - a little over one week after the photos in my previous post.

Still crabgrass growing near the road.

A view from the street - looking greener!

 Then there's the backyard - still not much to see, but there is a little green fuzz visible, but it's patchy...

Grass after 4 weeks

Yes, I'm still alive and thankfully so is the grass I planted some seven weeks ago. I'm a little behind in my blogging...

These pictures are from September 12th, roughly four weeks after planting.

There's not much to see in the backyard...

Fourth bloom

Our hybrid tea rose bush planted back in April is in bloom yet again. I believe this is the fourth time this summer. Each time I am in awe of their beautiful colors, and am so glad that it's doing well where we planted it.