When I get started...

I never know when to quit. I weeded a large portion of the slope out front this morning. It took several hours of working on the hill with my feet straddling tiny plants I didn't want to crush. I left a part of it the way it was. Too many cosmos seedlings and rudbeckia to remove the weeds without damaging the plants.





I scattered seeds from Sweet William dianthus and my three columbines. The loose dirt should help with germination and growth. More weeds will sprout as soon as it rains. I did find a bunch of plants I had forgotten about.

Lavender, grown from cuttings over the winter.



Lantana from cuttings.



Divided bee balm. I don't remember which one I took this from. It could be the red. It might be the pink. There's supposed to be a purplish color out there somewhere too.



From all the seeds sown, only one of the annual monarda citriodora made it. I probably weeded out a few today that were just getting started. I'll have lots more next year as these reseed heavily.



I moved on to the red dogwood next. It's been dying for a couple years. I really hate to cut down a dogwood, especially one this old, but it needed to go before it fell into the street. This year, only half of it leafed out. The other half has been falling into the yard and street whenever the wind kicks up. There were very few blooms.



The stump shows the center has already been eaten away. Carpenter ants scattered when the chainsaw passed through the center of the tree.



Now, if I could just do something about those things on the neighbor's property. Next time I see the mowers, I'll ask them who pays their bill. I'm going to need to get permission before hacking those back.



From the street, the house seems more inviting for now. Along the top of the slope, I've planted gardenias that I rooted from Carla's shrubs last year. I think six survived the month without rain. Another two were planted this morning along the stone retaining wall that borders the property. Two dogwood seedlings were planted between them. I consider it penance.



It's 82 degrees and muggy. The clouds haven't disappeared like we were promised. Instead, the chance of rain has been extended through midnight. I had hoped to spend some time today at a pool in Charlotte.

Late start.

I'm getting a late start this morning, my day off. I spent the night in Charlotte at the home of two friends. As soon as I arrived, I noticed a few things.

There are more blue flower on the Mountain Bluet, wintersown in 2008.



The purple azalea I remember in the backyard next to the a/c unit isn't quite as purple as I recall.



The two year old tea olives are getting big.



Snowball viburnum is about to bloom.



A one year old cutting from Sharon's gardenia bush is growing again. Sharon passed away this past winter from cancer. Her husband still walks her little dog down the street. He says she loved to walk past my house last summer before the disease forced her to stay inside.



I finally have ladybugs. I also have lots of aphids.



And Brown Avenue is gone. At least for a few months.



I'm going to spend a few hours planting some containers out. I'm thinking of mowing the grass again, but it could wait a few more days. I need to transplant my tomato seedlings into individual cups. Their growth stunt may be caused by the nutrient starved seed starting medium. I don't want to lose this second batch. I have very few seeds left. I might even spend a few minutes getting reacquainted with the hammock. It's sunny and 64 degrees. The high today should reach the mid 70s, back to normal.

In other news, Dixie Carter passed away at age 70 last night. The lights have gone out in Georgia.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

And I'm off from work. I have to go meet my sister again today, but this morning, I'll be in the yard in half an hour. I've got some plants to move, rooted cuttings to plant, and I want to do some general cleanup.

In the 10 day forecast, there's still no freezing temperatures. I'm not about to believe that our last freezing day will be March 9. It's a really nice thought, but I know better.

It's currently 45 degrees and clear. Last night it rained, and then rained some more. The clocks need to all be set forward an hour. Welcome to Daylight Savings Time. It'll be nice to have the extra hour in the evenings.

10:54am - I've gotten a few things done.

I stuck some cuttings. Left to right, top to bottom: unknown spirea, unknown spirea, yellow knockout, burning bush, burning bush, row 2; unknown spirea, unknown spirea, yellow knockout, white spirea, burning bush. The lower tray: top row, Carla's current fig, possibly a Celeste or Brown Turkey. Bottom row: black missions from Carla's former house. I don't label when I do things like this because they're more likely to die. I've put them on the seed rack by the woodpile on the shady side. The leftover fig cuttings were stuck here and there in the yard.



I planted out eight quarts of wintersown dianthus "Depford Pink". They're along the top of the wall below the lavender and knockout roses.



Blue Spruce sedum was divided and planted along the top of the wall below the butterfly garden. That's where I have the 200 daffodils.



To delineate the end of the butterfly garden, I moved the three clearance cotoneaster plants from the upper meadow to the front slope. Beyond this, I'll let the vinca, violets, and whatever else run wild. Maybe.



A few feet from the edge of the "lawn" at the top of the same slope, parallel to the street, I planted six rooted gardenias. I also moved an Endless Summer Hydrangea to the very end of the line.



Forty-eight wintersown Rudbeckia hirta were planted in various spots in the yard. They're still tiny, but I know lots of the plants will survive. Mother Nature will cull the weak ones. I may have to intervene at some point.



Eight calla lilies, purchased for 25 cents a piece went into the perennial bed near the ever blooming camellia. It's drier here in the winter than elsewhere, so they might return. I had them in a yard in Charlotte on Country Club Drive when I rented a house there.



I also pruned the neighbor's rose bush, planted out a couple of Arizona Cypress "Carolina Sapphire". These trees reach 30-40' tall and 20' wide. They have a bluish color and grow almost as fast as Leyland Cypress. They were developed by Clemson University for use on the East Coast. In front of these, I moved two rooted cuttings of Elaeagnus. They're really well rooted, so I expect them to thrive in the full sun. I've sort of left a path to the stream back there. I know in the next few years, things will grow in and block it. I'm okay with that.

I moved some sedum from last year's clearance sale to the front slope, now known as the Butterfly garden. In the next couple of weeks, I'll be rooting more of it and the Blue Spruce. The dry soil should work well. I've got a few overwintered cuttings of a taller sedum that I need to plant today. I don't know. Somewhere. Why?

It's 52 degrees. I've got a few more things to do and about an hour and a half to get them all done. I have to be in Cheraw at 3pm. The third cup of coffee is cooling off.

12:12pm - I'm going to stop for the day. I planted some rosemary in the bed at the end of the driveway on the sunny side.



Along the bottom of the retaining wall next to the driveway, I divided and planted Coreopsis Full Moon. I moved these from the perennial bed. I pulled back the leaves and cut back the dead foliage from Coreopsis "Moonbeam". There are Stella D'Oro daylilies and orange ditch lilies in this bed all along the wall. I planted out 12 more wintersown Rudbeckia containers here too. Let's see if all this yellow and orange clashes with the blues and pinks above them in the front beds this summer.



Five butterfly bushes were transplanted to the butterfly garden. I placed them at the top of the slope. Between them, I planted 6 overwintered clumps of tall sedum. Milkweed, lantana, and other butterfly plants will be scattered through this bed.



I've got a follower in the yard. This robin went everywhere I did, plucking earthworms from the dirt I was disturbing. It came within 6 feet of me several times.



On the agenda for my next day off, the front bed. The pansies will be done in a couple more months. Heucheras are putting out new foliage and the Japanese Maple will be leafing out soon. I've already installed penny priced nandinas, rooted gardenias, and tea olives. For summer color, I'm going to plant echinacea and shasta daisies to brighten up this bed. It gets a little sun in the mornings and evenings, so these two should do okay. I may root some more Montauk Daisies for late summer blooms.



It's 54 degrees and sunny. I need lunch and a shower.

Editing.

First, there's a poll on the sidebar. I'd like to know how many people are reading my blog. It's just a curiosity thing, certainly not scientific at all.
_____________________

On the north side of the house, I planted 18 Carolina Cherry Laurel seedlings last fall. Surprisingly, in little sun and frozen ground, they've all survived, I think. I spaced them 18" apart, knowing that was too close at the time. I'll need to remove every other one soon and replant them elsewhere in the yard. As an evergreen, they'll work nicely around the borders of the backyard eventually reaching the height of small trees if I let them. Instead, I'll pinch and snip and force them to branch out into shorter, stockier plants.



A few feet away, I planted cuttings that were rooted from Carrie's Elaeagnus. They're in the Neighbor's corner. The plants I took cuttings from were easily 12' tall and possibly just as wide. They were huge. They're too large for the space I have them in for sure. They'll also be moved to the edges of the backyard, possibly in front of the dead oak tree as suggested by Tim from Atlanta.



The silvery foliage should play nicely with the vitex I recently installed. That particular plant has now been moved to three different locations since I purchased it last spring. It now has a full sun site and should bloom profusely for years.



Also in the Corner, I have another Leyland Cypress that will find a home around the edges of the backyard. It was originally installed in an attempt to block the view of a bomb shelter and garage that belongs to my peering neighbor, Cat. She was best friends with the woman that gardened here for 40 years. She's got mixed feelings over what I've done to the yard so far.



There's a pyracantha near the upper meadow that needs a new home too.



I've already moved two of these from shady spots along the top edge of the gully. I will probably transplant it soon into the same area near the dead oak tree.



Several rooted gardenias need a new home. I'm currently thinking about the hill along the street between the ancient oak tree and the dying red dogwood. I think a hedge of gardenia would be a nice way to block some street noise while providing for a more private front yard. It's a shady area in summer, with very little direct sun.

Two pampas grasses need to find a permanent home somewhere in the yard. One is currently behind the swing, just in front of the dead oak tree. I'm not crazy about these grasses, but I do love the plumes. Both have been moved multiple times and have never put down enough roots to make transplanting a problem. I was worried they wouldn't survive, but sure enough, there's new growth on both. As they grow very large and continue to spread, I need to give them a lot of room.



Along the end of the driveway, there are three cuttings of Snowball viburnum that survived the winter. I'll have to find new homes for them.



I've already moved the one that was along the edge of the gully, the parent plant for these three cuttings. Again, lots of space will be needed for these large shrubs.



I keep finding myself drawn to shrubs and plants that mature into large specimens. I blame the towering trees in the backyard. Trying to place a miniature shrub into a space that's currently framed by 100' tall oaks is not the easiest thing to do. Many plants will be overwhelmed by the scale of these trees. And yet, I still need space to plant the flowers I'm growing from seed.

One image I keep returning to for inspiration can be found on a blog header from my sidebar. I'm not unrealistic. I know that it will take years to achieve the look I want in my backyard. It's a waiting game. Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

It's 45 degrees. Rain will be coming again this afternoon, sometimes heavy. On Sunday morning, I'll start moving the plants I listed above.

Thinking about the kitchen

I decided this morning to spend some time cleaning and organizing the kitchen. Robert should be coming out next Wednesday afternoon. We'll spend a day and a half getting things ready for the cabinet install. There's electrical and plumbing work to be done as well. Yay.

Before pictures, after the hutch was moved into the little hallway off the kitchen.







I want to take up the floor. Under several layers of linoleum, 1/4" plywood, and some other things I dare not ask about, there are hardwood floors. I know there will be some damage, but I'm curious. I will take a few hours this evening to see if it can be done.

Outside, I planted the 12 clearance ferns on the North side of the house. The last 5 heucheras went in that bed too. Some of the hostas need to be rearranged next spring. I don't like the straight line I made when I planted them.



I also planted the two peonies in the new rose garden.



I watered the entire north side and the front bed. I planted three rooted forsythia in the shrub island.



I pulled everything but Jackie's spirea from the bed next to the basement door. I'm still not happy with that space. I'm thinking gardenias or letting the centipede take it over. No pictures cause I hate it.

I finished planting the Icicle Speedwell and scattered some fresh echinacea seeds from one of my own plants.



I want to do a few more things outside, but I know I shouldn't press my luck. Slowly, I'm getting things planted out. I want to go into winter with only new cuttings in pots and containers.

It's cloudy and 70 degrees. It's a nice day to be outside. It looks like rain. We did have a shower last night. Hardly enough to wet the bottom of the rain gauge, but I guess it still counts. There was a nice storm heading this way from Charlotte a few hours ago. As usual, it petered out just a few miles from here. I watched it on the weather.com radar map. Seems that happens a lot in the summer. Must be the lakes and hills.

I'm really starting to like the coleus and impatien bed out front. The tiny wintersown hosta are still tiny.

Twelve Days

It's been 12 days since we've had any rain. I feel like I'm making a confession. We had high winds and a thunderstorm warning yesterday around 5pm. To the North and South of us, there was a lot of rain. It skated right past us. But finally...



It's not raining yet, but it's coming. 60% chance of storms all day. It's cool and 73 degrees.

2:41pm. It's been raining for a couple hours. It's a slow steady rain. The gauge has registered only enough to wet the sides and bottom. If it does this for 4 days, we might get some accumulation.

In the basement, I reorganized all my tools, cleaned up from the mess I made potting the cuttings last week, and swept the floor. That took most of the morning. Normally I'd run around as fast as I can putting things here and there, not really taking the time to think about how I use them. Today I took my time and actually organized.

I transplanted the two Photinia growing along the stone wall. I pulled the two euonymus I had moved from the gully last year. They had scale and rust, as usual. In their places, I put the four gardenia cuttings. With the rain and cooler temperatures, I'm hoping they'll settle in over the next week and survive the winter in ground. I planted one Photinia at the back of the perennial bed to block the house next door. The other went into the edge of the potager to block a yard light from a house two yards down. It shines right into my bedroom window. Only a few more years and it will disappear.

No other plans. I might clean the house a bit, read a book, watch a movie, or just nap. No sense rushing to make up my mind. I'm off today. It's 75 degrees and cool.

Trellis

Today I built a trellis for the chimney. The wood members are a little thicker than I had planned. The 2x6s I had purchased weren't the best. I bought culled lumber for 1/2 price. You get what you pay for. The best pieces were used to build the shutters last Sunday. I painted the trellis white, designed, and built it as I installed it.





I think the white helps tone down the purple of the shutters and especially, the garage door. That's a lot of purple.



Last fall I moved a Star Jasmine to the base of the chimney. Morning glory volunteers that were supposed to be Scarlet O'Hara are coming up. The vine last year was purple, not red.



Along the wall near the steps, I have my knockout roses, lavender, salvia, and a few miscanthus.



It should be nice next month when everything is in bloom and the morning glories really take off.

Out back, the Magnolias are starting to bloom.







The photo is blurry because I was standing in snake infested ivy and periwinkle hanging onto the branch I had used a stick to pull down the nearest flower. Even though there are only a couple blooms on my side of the tree, I caught several whiffs of the lemony smell as I was working. Another week and it should be breathtaking when the smaller tree starts to bloom too. Removing trees last year gave it lots more sun and it has really put out some impressive growth with all our rain.

Speaking of rain, 2" collected in this container I left out yesterday. This container was empty except for a few styrofoam cups when I left for work.



When I went to Carla's this morning, her gardenias were in full bloom. I plucked a nice one and took more cuttings. I'll stick them in the cloner this evening and see if it works on semi-ripe growth. Right now, they're in water on my desk. The whole room smells of gardenias.



It's 81 degrees, muggy, and rain is on the way again. I've got to finish cleaning the basement. Lots of sawdust mingled with rain water from last night's storm needs to be cleaned. Laundry needs to be folded and put away. All my tools are scattered about. But first, I need something to eat.