Round and Round.

I don't remember what prompted me to check on the eight Foster Holly plants I bought this winter for 1 penny each. They were mostly dead from the cold we experienced in January. I didn't expect them to survive. They're putting out new growth. I pruned all the dead stuff away yesterday before work. I really have no idea where to plant eight shrubs that can reach 25' tall and 15' wide.



Only one of the tea olives survived. It's planted in the crook of the driveway under the oak tree.



Wintersown in 2008, sweetshrub has returned. Down the street, the flowers are holding tight, nearly ready to burst into bloom.



May Night salvia is blooming already.



The lilac at the end of the driveway is just starting.



Scattered clumps of pink dianthus from Jim at the Gaudy Garden are tossing up little blooms here and there.



Sunflowers have germinated. These are the mammoth variety. They were over 10' tall last year. I'll plant them behind the potager in the upper meadow.



It's 45 degrees. Sunny and 84 is the forecast.

On my hands and knees

I did some weeding today in the perennial bed. It felt good to get my hands in dirt, even if I was wearing gloves. The soil is extremely wet. I lost a few things over the winter. The guara, for one, just doesn't tolerate wet feet. The soil hasn't dried out since the fall.

I collected a wheelbarrow of weeds and a few leaves with them.



That was just from the border along the edge of the street. I dumped it into the compost bin twice.



The most exciting thing that happened to me all day was finding the first crocus bloom. Spring really is coming, but not before a cold rainy weekend passes through.



Anise hyssop "Golden Jubilee" is coming back. This is a self sown plant that popped up last year.



Lots of rudbeckias are hanging around.







Coreopsis "Full Moon" is doing great. I planted 12 of my divisions in the backyard today.



Coreopsis "Moonbeam" has new growth too. I didn't see any along the retaining wall. I paid a whole dollar for those 15 plants last year. They'd better come back.



I saw new growth on a few clearance rack mums too. Ditch lilies are ready for spring, like me.



Montauk Daisy



Purple columbine



Rose campion. These were wintersown last year. I thought they were lambs ear for a few months. I was wrong.



Dianthus Pinks are holding their own. These are clumps I rooted from a bag full that Jim at Frogview Cottage sent me.



All over the yard, daffodils are popping up. I even saw the tip of one on the front slope where I planted 200 back in December. As usual, those around the oak tree in the front yard will be the first to bloom.



It's 45 degrees. The rain will be here soon. Plenty of wood has been hauled into the basement. Lunch has been eaten. It's time for that nap. The rest of the weeds can wait.

4:42pm - No nap yet. I just had to check on the hoophouse. The seedlings survived the cold nights last week just fine. Not much growth, but plenty of sprouts. They know what they're doing.

Rudbeckia hirta. I think I may have overdone it with these. I have 125 of these little cups and every seed sprouted.



Like little soldiers. Dianthus and several others have already sprouted. In another month, it should be a sea of green in there.



Behind the hoophouse, the sedums I rooted this summer are coming back. The variegated sedum was shy. Here's the red.

The woman is bi-polar

Mother Nature is at it again. 87 on Friday, 66 on Sunday? No wonder my sinuses are going crazy.



I woke up this morning with a burning desire to spend more time outside. There's a heavy dew coating everything. At first I thought it had rained. I could hear the steady drip drip drip in the downspout outside my bedroom window. The roof was coated with moisture. It's 54 according to my thermometer. The sun is bright. The sky is cloudless.

Helianthus



Datura



Rudbeckia



I'll spend this afternoon in the kitchen finishing the beadboard, I hope. But this morning, I plan to spend some time in the yard moving a few perennials, cleaning up a couple areas in the perennial bed, and taking a few minutes to stand still watching the last of the hummingbirds before they head off for warmer climates.

12:42pm - I cleaned out more of the perennial bed. It's seed swapping time and I need to know just how much real estate I have left or else I might overdo it this winter. Ok, I'll overdo it anyway, but at least I'll know by how much.

I chopped back all the coreopsis and bee balm. That bee balm is a spreader. From each plant, I have runners spreading out 18" or more from the original planting. Next year it should put on a wonderful show.







I cleared out some more melampodium too. Lots of it had powdery mildew. I've already collected seeds and scattered some throughout the summer. It'll be popping up everywhere next spring.



I pulled out the sweet potato vines at the top of the stairs. The green tuber weights almost 5lbs. The black one was 3lbs. I know there were others in the dirt, but I would have had to dig out Purple Queen to get to them. They might resprout next year if they don't get too wet this winter. Below the rocks, I planted 7 of Jim's pinks.



I know I should be in the kitchen right now, but it's a nice day outside. It's 66 and sunny. I'm going to move some dirt from this year's potager. The meadow area is solid clay and very hard. I had hoped this wouldn't be necessary, but I'm going to need at least a 1/2" of soil in some areas for the seeds to grow into. I expect an hour or two of work, then, maybe, I'll come inside.

5:58pm - I spent the whole day outside. It was wonderful. After lunch I went to work on the backyard. I wasn't content with just moving some soil around for the meadow garden. I decided to remove a few stumps that will be in the way of my future patio. One, I set on fire. The other, at the bottom of the picture, I decided to remove the hard way.



It only took me an hour. I used a lot of words I wouldn't say in front of my mother.



After all that, I've changed my mind about the patio location. The ground here is really unstable and sloped. I'd need to dig down about 18" or build an 18" retaining wall, or some combination of the two. So I'll use this space as my potager again next year. I should get two beds here, each 4' wide x 16' long. Just down the hill, I'll have another bed 4' wide x 8' long. I could probably stretch it to 12', but I'd have to build up too much to do it, I think. Still, that's plenty of space to grow tomatoes, squash, okra, and beans. Right? I laid the first bed out with landscape timbers. These were purchased weeks ago.



I had a visitor over for supper that I can't identify.



And my hairy balls (Gomphocarpus) are getting larger. This one is bigger than a golf ball. They're hollow and very thin skinned. I was surprised. I hope to collect seeds before frost. Several Monarchs paid a visit today too, but I was too busy cursing to get their photos.



Back to work tomorrow. We got up to 72 degrees today. Perfect.

Checking the mail.

I'm home for lunch. I checked the mail, knowing that Jim over at the Gaudy Garden had mailed the dianthus cuttings for my retaining wall near the chimney. A rather large package was stuffed into my standard residential box.



Inside, there are three huge ziplock bags filled with dianthus. From what I can tell, he sent not just cuttings, but bits of plants too. I'll spend some time this evening in the basement potting everything and sticking cuttings.



There was also another bag full of what I assume to be bulbs. He claims they're prolific and spreading. He posted about them the day Michael Jackson died. Alstroemeria The card he included shows the foliage, as he writes, "Taken by my neighbor last year." Gardeners are great people. Thanks so much, again, Jim.



It's 81 and partly sunny. We got a bit of rain last night, though my impatiens by the front walk didn't seem to notice. When I get home, I might try to water them. I might not. The leg is not happy today. They've given me a stool to sit on while I run the register, so my butt is sore. They don't even complain when I put my feet on the counter to help with the swelling. The customers, for the most part, are understanding when I can't pick up something heavy without toppling over. For some customers, I pick up the crutches before I stand up, as a hint. I could whack them over the head with it, and I doubt they'd notice.

ps...I didn't ignore the comments on the kitchen cabinets post below. I just haven't had time to respond yet.

6:55pm. - Got off at 4. Managed to get home around 4:40. It takes a while to walk back and forth to the break room, parking lot, etc. I came in, poured myself a huge glass of iced tea and propped my leg up on the desk. I put an ice pack on it and felt almost human again. About an hour later, I headed downstairs. I forgot to take the camera. Oh well.

Out of the three zippies, I got 18 quart sized containers stuck. Lots of the pieces of dianthus had roots, so I collected those first. Then I did it the way I have been shown. I pulled a nice green piece from the pile. I stripped off the bottom leaves, cut the root tip down to about 1/2", and stuck it in well draining soil. Broken bags are still free. I also stuck two containers of the bulbs Jim sent. Let's hope they make it. It's a beautiful plant.

I put the three trays on my handtruck, laid down with the tiny wheels and handlebars upright. I wheeled them out onto the driveway through the garage door. I gave them two healthy drinks of water and pulled them back inside. They should get enough light for the next couple of days in this spot thanks to the windows in the door. With our humidity so high, I don't even need to worry about a covering. Remember the hydrangea?

Back upstairs, waiting on my pizza, about ready to head to bed and lay down. More ice expected this evening with the occasional thunderclap of pain when I roll over in my sleep. We got a bit of rain today. A passing shower dumped enough to turn the asphalt into steam. At least it was something.