Bending and Clipping

Lots of bending, stooping, stretching, and clipping in the garden this morning.  Thanks to the good turnout of willing helpers.  They created two huge piles of cuttings as vines were pulled from the roses, and most of the shrubs were pruned and the beds weeded.  The garden really looks good but it does take constant effort by those who really care.

Work Day - Thurs 13th - 8:30 AM

Hoping for a cool down in the weather?  Got to do the work anyway and plant Mamie's seeds including Larkspur, Milkweed, Poppy, Rock Rose Pavonia and Texas Bluebonnet's.  These will go go in the bed with the bird bath and should provide a nice spring array of blooms.  Yes, I will scarify the Bluebonnet seeds.

 

The vines are back from the August workday and will need to be removed.  Lots of dead heading on crepe myrtles and vitex. Pruners and gloves will be needed.

 

Please remember to sign up at Kroger and Randall's with their reward programs.  These monies help to provide continuing support of the Butterfly Garden. Randall's is a one-time sign up. Just provide their service desk with our charity number:  # 1969

The Kroger program needs to be "renewed" beginning each June.  Have checkout  or service desk scan this bar code or ask them to enter our number:    #  1 00000 82607

Passion and A Bit of History

We stopped at the garden this morning.  The passion vine is really doing well, although most of it is on the east side of our fence.  It is the host plant for the Gulf Fritillary which are in abundance. 

 
This area is rich in history, as are many in Texas.  The Cypress Historical Society has begun to collect and capture some of that history.  They now have a library building for collecting information on families in this area and have hours when they are open to the public.  The vintage photos and cemetery maps interesting.  They have two albums of unidentified photos also which have been donated and some are being labeled with help from visitors.

Our ABCS board member Martin Hemmer has a lot of knowledge of this area as he was raised on family land on the north side of Norchester.  We will see if we can capture some of that history in the next couple of months."

A link to the Cypress Historical Society may be found HERE

Work Day Tuesday, Aug 13th at 8:30 a.m.

Tuesday Aug 14 at 8:30 AM will be a work day.  While a lot of trimming was done last week, we have to spray the replanting area once again and the garden is still in need of trimming, and dead heading.  There were lots of butterflies this morning at the park. They appreciate the dense foliage. 

You might have noticed all the Day Care programs this spring and summer at Matzke Park. A big shout out of thanks to Joan for increasing the awareness of the park to all the day cares she had contacted this spring.

 I am looking forward to connecting with the Garden Club's Butterfly Garden Director.  ABCS continues to view the Butterfly Garden as its main project.

The county continues to work to connect Cypress Creek Greenway Project to Matzke Park. When that happens there will be trails for miles that begin for us just behind the bank at Jones and Grant.

Words for the Day: " It is what it is--but it will become what we make it."

A Tough Morning

We are most grateful for the faithful support of Cathy C, and Joan as we spent this morning on on vine removal and trimming the overgrown plants.  This is hot nasty work, requiring tugging, pulling, and grubbing amongst the roses and the overgrowth.  The milkweed is covered with white flies due to the lack of air circulation.  Thankfully, Pct 4 staff Roger and Dustin  helped remove the piles of cuttings we created.  Thank you guys!  

 

Please note the picture of the 2 1/2 inch spider that was resting under the Betty Gonzales Roses.  He may not be poisonous but his bite will certainly hurt.  So gloves are good and always look before you put your hands into the beds. 

Some contrasting pictures, starting with what a nicely maintained garden area looks like. This was taken on Saturday at Mercer Arboretum.  Things are beautiful there.  It is worth the trip.

And these are before/after from this morning's work.  Things are starting to look reasonable again. July 31 is not an ideal date for this kind of work but it badly "needed doing"

  

Maintenance and the lack of volunteers willing to do it continues to be a significant issue.  In other words your help, short or long term,  time or money, is needed to keep this public garden going.  If you would like to receive emails regarding work days, have questions or comments,  please email...    ABCS.Park@att.net

Tackling Vines at Park

On Tuesday July 31st at 8:30 a.m. we will be working the first step in vine control.  A small test patch will be cut and sprayed in hopes of eradicating that area of vines and ready the soil for planting in September.  Please wear a long sleeve shirt and gloves for rose protection.

As a reminder, this is a public garden, funding is through individual support with time and money.  These are tough times but you can help by signing up with the Kroger Program.  See the June 14th posting for details.

Current Condition

I turned off the irrigation system following the heavy rains on July 13.  And stopped by again this morning to turn it back on.   This time I took some pictures in case others of you might not have visited in a while. The bench can likely be repaired by the park guys, eventually.

The flowers are certainly "healthy" and spreading.

And, once again, the weed vines are choking out what is left of the roses.