Joys of Holiday Garden Lighting ROUND 1

From: Pooreplace@aol.com

Evening all...

You probably don't want to hear all this, but I need an outlet.  Actually I
need several more outlets---electrically speaking...   Although I have
absolutely no clue as to where all of October went---just know it's about
gone---I finally got started on halloween lighting around the garden...  Got
about 5,000 lights hung but only out front.  Not one to the side or the back,
in fact not any on even one tree or to the far side of the front...  Usually I
can whap that much out in a couple of hours...  My INTENTION today was to get
all the irises & daylilies potted up!  After a half day or so (JUST got back
inside) of halloween light hanging here's the current tallies...

Mice...1
Kitty...3
Ma.....2
Iris.....0
Hems.0
Me....-6

As for the mice and the lights, so far so good.  No chewed to smithereens
light strings yet...  However they apparently completely gorged themselves on
a heavy duty 80 foot long & NOT cheap emerald green landscape extension cord.
It was the green light strings they hit hardest last year. They didn't touch
the white, black  or orange ones...  Perhaps my mice need to join Kathy
Guest's ANYTHING BUT GREEN group!   EIGHT 3 to 4 inch holes in the landscape
cord with nothing but bare wire shining out.  Ma says electrical tape will fix
it but I'm skeptical.  I don't wanna see the PooreHouse (let alone my gardens)
go up in smoke...  

As for Kitty, that little thing hasn't eaten a morsel in 3 days now but is
feeling fatter than ever!  She was under foot all day.  Then when I finally
decided to collapse into my comfortable shiny green oversized decorative lawn
chair--- Kitty was sprawled out and refused to move!  Not even when I sat down
on her & folks I may be 5' 1" tall but I'm also 5 foot 1 wide!  Suffice to say
if I sat down on you---YOU'D MOVE!   

Upon going for more orange lights that I had carefully placed in the middle of
the SIB & SPU sections, I discovered Kitty had grabbed the ends & run around
the maze bed several times entwining the cords around just about every single
metal iris & daylily marker I had in place...  Even though it was only 5 til 6
dark had fallen & it took me forever to untangle and gather the lights back
up.  Then they wouldn't light...  All lights there...  Fuse the problem???  Ma
can't remember where she put all the fuses from last year...  It should be
noted Ma likes to keep everything packed & put away in their place...
Although at 76+ she is beginning to lose track of exactly what "in it's place"
means... I knew immediately where she had put them.  Same place where I found
the thousand mini silver jingle bells I use for crafting a few years back...
YEP!  Found em... Right there in the fishin' tackle box! 

Last year I had all the orange & clear light sets I could ever hope to need,
but was very short on solid orange ones...  So I hit all the Hydes Drug going
out of business sales as well as Treasury Drug (Eckerds & Walgreens continue
to stage take overs  by putting new huge stores on every corner).  I even hit
the AFTER HALLOWEEN sales and emptied Garden Ridge Pottery as well of Hobby
Lobby of all they had.  So THIS year the orange & clear ones seem to have
disappeared...  Remedied by hitting the Christmas stash for solid clears to go
with my new solid oranges.  So far so good until NONE of the clear ones lit!
You don't wanna know the rest...

Now I commented on how fall hasn't really hit us yet...  In fact our 75
degrees today felt more like 90 with the sultry conditions, lack of wind &
high humidity.  NEVER have I had the problem of tromping down blooming balsam
(touch-me-nots) and stands upon stands of mint (IN THE WALKWAYS YET)...  I
promise you I smell like a mint julep!  Not only did I never get around to the
side or back to hang any lights I got NOT ONE iris or hem potted!  And that
was my #1 weekend goal.  

I am giving up for the night...  I'll spare you the rest of the gory details.
I'm hot, tired, sweaty although minty, mosquito bit from head to toe, and holy
all over from all the skin pricks the oversized "dwarf holly ma planted" that
has reverted to the full blown 4' X 16' X 8' chinese holly from hell...  Next
round I shall don protective leg & hand garments.  I even got a couple of skin
gashes on my nose from the thing!     

Hanging holiday lights enables me to get up close and personal with all my
perennial plant materials, especially a little later once frosts have taken
their tolls.  Although we've been threatened with a possibility of frost I
don't think we've dipped below 46 yet.  Hopefully we're still 3 weeks away at
least.  As for all my irises in the newer front beds:  The SPU's obviously
weathered the heat & drought, are quite green & standing as tall as me!   Wish
I could say the same for the older LA's.  They are having extreme prostate
problems.  Few are standing upright.  They are spread eagle down in the midst
of the sprawling overwhelming mint stands.  

The newer LA's (most went in last fall including Farron Campbell's '98
ATCHAFALAYA) in the christmas stocking shaped bed look faboulous!  The bed is
weed free, the plants are tall, green, full of increase, & healthy.  When I
expanded this LA bed fall before last I included the Harry Lauder Walking
Stick in this bed.  Harry had been growing very slowly for 3 or 4 years a foot
or two away with it's own border.  Didn't think the extra waterings the LA's
get would bother it.  MY LORD!  It has doubled in size this year.  I usually
have it covered in lights with 100 or 200 max.  It took 1000 solid orange ones
to get it good & I could have done more!    It is one of the loveliest Harry
Lauder's I've seen in a while and it's full of tiny buds all over which I
think will be the fruiting gizmos (considering this time of the year).   

I've got to get all that wild perennial ageratum (lovely as it may be) ripped
out tomorrow (in the few remaining daylight moments I shall have after work)
to check on my SIB's and a big section of rather new and pricy daylilies.
Houttenyei, balsam & 4 o'clocks have also gone rampant over them.  I could see
tips of SIB's sticking up out of the flush of blue lavender blooms, but they
need rescuing!  I have yet to cut even ONE bearded iris fan back yet &
although mostly standing upright in the front beds they are screaming out for
trim & thin jobs.

Tomorrow night I hit the green light section (side yard) and MUST get the hems
& irises potted!  The PATSY Show (off-Broadway touring company) hits town this
week and one of my best friends (Steve's been performing PATSY & FOREVER PLAID
in Battle Creek MI & on road since March) starring as 1 of the 4  Jordanaires.
Considering my $32 Thurs. night seat, (plus the fact PATSY only hits 1 night
each in Bartlesville, Tahlequah, Alva & Del City) I guess I better go---which
will consume one entire evening albeit the planting season is not waiting for
me...  

The mums outside really are gorgeous this year with NO help from me.  For the
first time I can remember I have not bought ONE new mum to put out!  As for
kale, cabbage & pansies?  Haven't bought a one of them either!  Thankfully
kale and cabbage from years gone by have seeded fabulously not to mention
conveniently and are awaiting transplant in various pots around the work in
progress areas of my garden and oversized driveway.  Good friend Kelly, who
gave up being a policeman to build greenhouses, grow & sell plants is holding
several pansy flats for me.  It's only cooled off enough the past few days to
even start putting them out!  Still have not a single yellow, gold, red or
other fall colored leaf on anything here.  Not on my amur maple or anything
subject to fall color.  I suspect I will be missing the flaming reds of all
the burning bushes this fall as the leaves burned badly during our long hot
dry spell.  My neighbor's Washington Hawthorne (3 blocks west) is really
beautiful and loaded with glorious red berries.  Although my front Nandina's
have all grown & are thriving I see no berries on them or on my Possumhaw
(Ilex decidua-deciduous holly) which really should be on by now...  We really
could use more rain which would help conserve my time as everything is
appearing to be in need of another good watering.  Temps predicted to be 78
tomorrow with more sunny skies.    

Have a good week.  November is nearly upon us!

Kath in OKC...  
AIS Region 22,  USDA Zone 7             

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