Hi, folks.
First of all, apologies from me and my dog as we have been away for a spell
visiting sick relatives back home in the Blue Mountains. Mind you, we did get to
see a fair spring flowering of wild violets up in the hills which cheered our
hearts some and got us thinking of all of them folks out there who complain
about having violets and such wild flowers in their yards and lawns.
All I can say to them folk is "enjoy what the good Lord gave you and stop
complaining!" There's some folk out there who would give a whole lot to
have what you consider to be a nuisance and just remember the good Lord smiles
on the fortunate and the way I sees it is that flowers are all part of his smile.
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Violets In The Summer Garden
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Well, we are well into summer now and the violets should be planted out in the beds.
The single flowers should be about 18" apart and the doubles, 14" so they have room
to grow and send out runners with plenty of room. When the weather is hot, the violets will
need plenty of water to keep them cool, though remember, to get the water under the leaves
to stop that varmint, the spider mite from taking hold.
I like to get down among the rows every now and then, and weed between the plants, remove dead
and dying leaves and stir up the soil some, and at the same time check to see if
anything is eating the violets, and take action to stop it.
For those of you who prefer to grow violets in pots, well, all your plants should have been
moved to good sized pots by now. I prefer a 10 inch pot to allow the roots to
grow, which gives me nice, big healthy plants, and that way, the next season I
get lots of bloom to give to the ladies 'round and about.
Through the summer, feeding should be done about once every ten days. I don't use
chemicals. What we do instead is see the local grocer and get an old onion bag. Into
this we put a couple of shovels of stable manure and hang it in a good 50 gallon
barrel filled with water, then after a couple of weeks, we take out about a pint
at a time, put it into the water can and fill up with water. The violets love
it! Although remember to feed AFTER watering...that way, it gets right down to
the roots.
Me and the dog will be back in a few weeks time for advice for the fall. Take care and look
after them violets.
