Garden Activities: September 1, 2026
I was a bit under the weather so wasn’t at the garden Tuesday, but the crew did a fine job in my absence. Volunteering were: Krystyna Bacik, Steve Davis, Dale Harshberger, Beverly Kemmerling, Susana Mac, Daryl Stutley, Nancy Taylor Walker, Marna Wensil, and Ann Wright.
Steve proposed revisiting a job we tackled earlier in the year - cutting out root sprouts/suckers from the flowering plum trees in the Trail of Trees.
This is the before picture with the bright green sprouts coming up all around one of the plum trees. There are several possible reasons for this. Some involve stress (lack of water e.g.) which causes the tree roots to send up sprouts as a survival mechanism. Or if a tree is grafted, it could be the root stock trying to establish a “tree of its own” rather than the grafted tree (grafted roses do the same thing). There are other possible causes involving planting depth and/or damage, but these trees have been in the ground a long time so probably are not responding to those factors.
While in this area the crew cut out the sprouts at the base of the crepe myrtles which assures that, for the time being, these will remain single trunked rather than multi-trunked small trees.
Before leaving this area, the team did some cleanup of a patch of bee’s bliss sage overflowing onto the path.
One last shot before heading up the hill.
Finally the jacaranda tree, of which there are a few at CVBG. A bloom at this time of year could be a late bloom of the late spring/early summer flush or a secondary bloom in the September/October time frame. Timing for both are partly dependent on environmental conditions in their particular micro climate.
Jacaranda mimosifolia. Note the species name that harkens back to another tree in the Trail of Trees, the mimosa. Both have similarly structured leaves that are bipinnately compound meaning that the leaf is composed of smaller individual leaflets as shown in the image above.
Warning. There are currently biting insects in the garden, and some volunteers experienced bites during Tuesday’s workday. We don’t know what they are but some guesses have been oak mites, gnats, ants, and others. Take the precaution of spraying insect repellent on the clothes near your ankles, waist, wrists and anywhere else insects could reach your skin to avoid the discomfort of these itchy bites. Also, try wearing socks that can be pulled up to cover the cuffs. Seems like some people are more attractive to these insects than others, so judge for yourself.
With the above in mind, enjoy the garden!
Many thanks to Nancy, Marna and Beverly for their images. KMM
