This morning we had a visitor. I always say "we". What I really mean is "me". If there comes a day when I continually say "we", please somebody stop me. When I say "we" and it's truthfully just "me", well, I'm either lying, or I am referring to the bulbs and myself. Either way, it would not be good.

I had a visitor come by today, two actually. Yes, I had two lovely people stop by who happened to be newly weds. They were married on the 4th of July. That is a sure way to have fireworks at your wedding! Although Jan and I hit it off in a wonderful way, it was his lovely bride, the Dr. Clydette Alsup, who was the inspiring, bright, traveling horticulturist on a sabbatical from Missouri State University that was the reason for the visit.

She shared my passion for flowerbulbs, and our mutual enthusiasm for gardening could have kept us chatting away in the cabin for hours. Actually, all three of us could have chatted away for hours, especially when we settled upon the topic of Dr. Alsup's idea for an easier gardening method. She is still working on it, so I do not want to let the cat out of the bag, but maybe you can figure out my slight twist of tongue by joining Dr. Alsup for a few garden thoughts down by the lake:


After the guests departed, work on the farm resumed. It seemed another comedy of errors today as everything that could possibly delay me from harvest continued. But, after all of my emergencies were taken care of, knuckles busted on stubborn farm projects, and phone calls returned, I once again hit my hands and knees to begin harvest in my squirrel like manner.

Tomorrow, I have companion squirrels joining me! A very special and very large thank you to the Rains County Garden Club in Emory and the Wood County Master Gardeners for their support for the rest of the week! Having the extra hands and shovels will be a saving act of mercy. I would also like to thank my sister-in-law for the six enchilada dinners, one large lasagna dish, and chocolate chip cookies.

Elephant ears are now being watered.

One word-happiness.

Today in the field we get into the thick of it! Time to drink lots of water.

Philippine lilies (Lilium formosanum) around the state are blooming. This picture of nice, perfected Philippine lilies is from a top horticulturist cottage home near Houston. The one below that is of one of my Philippine lilies that has been ravaged by the grasshoppers that are so bad this year!

We received a little rain last night (0.04 inches and are thankful for it), but the clouds would not open up and give us the amount of water that we really wanted or needed to revive the land. We remain dry. Here is a nice picture of today's sun!

The Byzantines are selling fast, as we just launched an e-mail campaign. Be sure to get them while you can.

The crinums are surviving the drought, but they have looked better! This burgundy Crinum Ellen Bosanquet is blooming, but you can see how it is not in it's peak condition.

The Crinum 'Summer Nocturne' is doing much, much better. The fragrance is out of this world.

The wax myrtle shrubs we planted for a natural screen seem to be doing the best. They are a native (Myrica cerifera)and explains their adaptation to this long dry period.

Grasshoppers are a problem this year, but we have some natural controls. I would like to formally thank the cardinal society for their contributions to our ongoing efforts to keep our streets clean of overeating grasshoppers.

It was another day of harvest and clean up around the farm, with a fresh batch of Byzantine gladiolus corms coming in.

Perhaps really the only exciting thing to happen was the killing of the brown recluse that was hiding in a box I had in storage. I posted the picture in case any body ever needs to identify a brown recluse (I have other angles if needed).

Again, no rain today and the elephant ears could use some.



Below is the row of Byzantines I've been working on. Below that picture is the video explaining why the field is "dying" and an answer to the UPS man's question"What's happened to all of your bulbs?" The UPS man has always been a nice break during the day. They have a show called "Taxi Cab Confessions." I think I'll start a newsletter for small business owners titled something like "UPS Driver Confessions: What a UPS man can tell you about business."





The end of the day is always nice, and here are some pictures of the pond at the farm and the cabin from today.

So far July 9 and July 13th are the only days that we have had rain here. Yes, we are in the middle of harvest, but we could use some rain. That is especially true for our elephant ears, which unfortunately have suffered severely. I have changed my mind on what I said about rain in an earlier video. If you live in a rural area long enough, you will always here farmers say there is too much rain or not enough rain...very few times is it just right.

Byzantine glad harvest continues. Another 120 were dug yesterday evening and about three times that yesterday morning.

The harvest continues with more Byzantine glads. It's going to be 103 on Monday! We could use some rain.

Another 104 Byzantine gladiolus are out of the ground. The moon was blood red coming up over the field last night. I do not believe the picture fully captured it. The sun rise was fiery red coming up this morning.
And in case your wandering how a bulb farm looks in the summer (minus the crinums and elephant ears) here is a picture for you. I would not come and visit right now.

In case you missed out on the first sell of Byzantines, we had another 108 come out of the ground today. Here is the link to Southern Bulb product page.

The moon was rising over the Southwest corner of the field as I was finishing up today and though that it made a nice scene.

The Byzantine gladioli are available and for the first time this year, and we are letting you have the chance to purchase them, AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE. I dug them myself today and will continue dig bulbs over the next three weeks. As I dig them, I will let you just how many we have for sell, and customers will be allowed a first come, first serve purchase option. We sell out every year, so now is your chance to get them right away. Plus, during harvest you can get them for only $10 a piece...that is the cheapest this rare bulb has ever been offered!



We planted the gladioli in wire this year to deter the gophers from eating them. Below is the progress of harvest.I took some video today and some pictures so you can watch the progress. The AC is out on the office trailer, and that is where I am staying tonight. After working in the field all day, I feel as if I am becoming acclimated to the heat though. Our AC has been out for a couple of weeks but it should be fixed tomorrow which is wonderful news!