Final Week Begins

Getting ready for Hurricane Irene. I have my fingers crossed the plants will still be standing after the high
winds blow through. If they don't here is at least proof that I got the plants this far.

Jerusalem Artichoke will be in the wedding flowers too.
The yarn is for tying plant tops to help resist bending in high storm winds.

Dahlias doing well stored in dark cellar space, proving
they can safely be picked three days ahead
of zero hour as long as I do the drill. I set them to condition
in cold water at least two hours, then heat the stem bases
in boiling water and then put them
in water mixed with Floragard
(less than the instructions on the bottle suggest however).

Wedding decorations coming out of the studio: I LOVE BUNTING!

The first year our peach tree bore fruit -
what a fitting good omen for the wedding,
the colors of which revolve around peach!

Peach tree harvest in before the hurricane.

Note: Monday August 29 Hurricane Damage Assessment
I checked the garden this morning. Two large Dahlia stalks were broken at the base and some of the Cosmos Sonata Mix had to be pulled up from the roots and removed due to broken stems, browning and rot. Four Otto's Thrill Dahlias were bent over and needed retying. The Zinnias looked sad and a bit brown about the gills. The soil was very wet and muddy, but luckily we have black plastic and ground cloth which really mitigated the mud problem. Overall, I am very pleased and relieved that the damage was so minimal. All plants for the most part are standing and look green and strong. The Cosmos get the lowest score  - they really don't like to be so wet.