The Worship Committee meeting claimed this morning. As long as I was in town, I went to Lowe’s for more Preen mulch. The difficulty may be that it is intended as a pre-emergent weed killer. Removing all of the invasive weeds from the Circle Garden at the barn is near impossible.
On my early morning rounds I noticed a pool of water by the back yard sprinkler nearest the citrus box. I dug out the sprinkler and Mike diagnosed that the nipple was broken off from the connector. He will replace it in the morning.
The potato shrub in the triangle garden will survive, thanks be to God. I saw the first signs of new growth since I pruned away all the frost damage.
I cut back the Martha Washington geranium in the large planter box and found green stems underneath. Warmer temperatures this week will hopefully bring it back to life. I pruned the dead berries off the deep crimson crape myrtle and trimmed away the lower growth. I see may crape myrtles with a kind of balloon shape, a bare stem directing the energy to the top of the shrub.
At Mike’s suggestion, I trimmed away some of the dead growth on the aptenia. The branches underneath show green and may be budding. I am cautious because I killed a cluster of aptenia in Oakland by overpruning.
I dug out most of the ivy from the planter with the camellia, to allow more water to the primary plant. The camellia was disappointing this year. The blooming season was profuse, but the blooms were short-lived and browned over quickly.
A Year at the Snake 
Well, February was too dry. But also consider:
“Camellia Flower Blight: This serious disease of camellia causes the flowers to turn brown. Flower blight appears in early spring when moisture is present and is caused by the fungus Ciborinia camelliae. Symptoms begin as small, brown, irregular-shaped spots on the flower petals. These spots quickly enlarge to cover most of the flower. The entire flower turns brown and usually drops within 24 to 48 hours. *Only the flowers of the plant are affected.*
This disease can be confused with several other problems that can damage camellia flower petals. Slight browning at the edges of the flower petals may be caused by sun or wind. Suspect a disease problem if the brown area rapidly spreads to the center of the flower. Cold temperatures can also cause browning of the flowers. Dark, brown veins in the petals distinguish flower blight from cold injury.”
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