I took a break from this blog and the related newsletter, since I realized I was heavily involved in writing, taking pictures, reading articles and visiting the GreenWise Twitter account, while neglecting actual gardening that needed to get done. So I've re-ordered my priorities a bit, spending more time in the yard and less on the computer over the past 2 weeks.

I've completed tasks such as cutting back overgrown ivy and tradescantia vines and weeding grass out of the hanging fuchsia containers. I saved handfuls of dried fuchsia blooms for potpourri, and discovered purple berries on one plant as well. I'd not paid much attention to these before; they seem larger this year, almost grape-sized. Apparently they're edible!

I'm finally managing to stay aware of which plants tend to get eaten by insects (coneflowers, violas and nasturtiums in particular) and am spraying the leaves with repellents frequently. I've removed some leaves that had holes chewed in them and I deadheaded expired blooms. It will be a while before some of the slower-growing plants fill out again with new leaves and buds. Which is okay, since so much else is verdant and blooming in every area of our yard: yellow roses, all colors of daisies, white dipladenia, magenta bougainvillea, and red begonias are looking particularly nice at the moment.

The privet hedges are unfortunately a victim of my former neglect. I hadn't been watering them often enough, which made them more susceptible to fungal disease. Lots of leaves have turned spotted and brown, and fallen off four of the hedges. I hope they'll recover with proper watering, fertilizer treatments, and neem oil spray.

Below the privet hedges, in markedly better condition, is the pineapple sage plant I brought home in early July. It's now eight times the size! Rarely have I seen such fast growth in any plant. I moved it into a gallon-size ceramic pot when I bought it, but will likely need an even larger one. I'll enjoy seeing it bloom, perhaps in a month or so.

Also growing really well are the new snap pea seedlings. After harvesting the first crop of these, and pulling out the expired vines, I enriched the soil with fertilizer before sowing. It seems to have helped not only the previous pea plants, but additionally the radishes and spinach in nearby planter boxes have fared better than in years past.