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.
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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.

I miss my shadow

It's another dreary, cloudy day here in NC. Overnight, it rained again. It wasn't much, but the ground that was soggy is now fully wet. Walking across the lawn leaves depressions. On the other hand, we're less than a month away from reversing the tilt into winter. Solstice will be here before we know it. The last of the fall color in the backyard is gone. The only remnants are the leaves covering everything that stands still.



Not everything is so bleak. Morning glories in the wild are still blooming. This one has entangled itself with the elaeagnus.



The orange rose is still blooming too.



These buds probably won't open with frost in the forecast for Friday night.



Up the street, Calycanthus floridus is still green and golden. I have several of these planted in the shrub island that I wintersowed last year. The largest one is about a foot tall.



Sweet gums are still dark red. I should try to locate some seed pods for the gully when I go home tomorrow for Thanksgiving. They grow all over the place at my parents' house.



Speaking of the parents', my mom wants two Leyland Cypresses for her yard. I planted these along the fence earlier in the spring. They need to be moved, so I'm taking them to her. Tomorrow is also her birthday. I bet she thinks I forgot.



Miss Huff (probably not) is lonely without Yvonne's salvia. With so many unripened seeds on the Salvia, I cut it down this morning and brought the flowers into the basement to dry. I won't trade seeds from this batch, in case they aren't viable.



Cold weather is on the way. I need to find a day to get out back and collect more firewood. There's plenty to be had. I just need to split it with the gas powered log splitter. Waiting for a cold day. Things that slither could still be moving under all that greenery.



For all of 5 seconds, the sun tried to peek through the heavy clouds. Then it disappeared. If the forecast is right, we should see some sunlight before it sets tonight.

The basement is dry.

For the time being, anyways. Ida has swept a large band of storms south from Virginia. At the moment, the largest cells are moving through the Triad area of NC. They should be here by noon. We've gotten another 2.5" of rain since yesterday morning. A roaring fire and a couple fans dried the basement floor overnight.

There's still some color in The Wild. It's been almost a month since I've seen hummingbirds, but the bees are still clinging to the pineapple sage.



In the cloner, the first roots are appearing. This one is Miss Huff.



This is a Montauk Daisy. I've never tried rooting these before. Looks like it works.



This morning, between rain showers, I hope to take more cuttings from several butterfly bushes. Yesterday I took cuttings of white. I know someone that needs some variety in her life. The new ones will go into the cloner. The white ones were stuck in soil and placed in a zip lock bag on the light rack. We'll see which ones do best.

Off today, no other big plans. Might do something on the kitchen. Might take a mid-morning nap. It's 45 degrees outside. It's windy.

4:03pm - I didn't do much. I planted a pampas grass I had bought a couple weeks ago. I also planted three cotoneasters in their temporary winter spot. I took cuttings, of course, and stuck them in the cloner. I also moved the Leyland Cypress I planted almost two years ago between the driveway and the basement door. It'll get much to large for that area. It now lives with the others behind the orchard. In its place, I put the Hollywood Juniper I bought this spring. I think the randomness of that evergreen will be more interesting in that area.

I also did a little work on the kitchen. I got the last piece of beadboard next to the behemoth done. I also installed the chair rail in the little vestibule that leads outside.



Two more pieces of each and that will be done. Maybe later. I need a nap. Must have been all the chili.



It's 50 degrees and has been raining on and off all day. I've got a fire in the basement and the house is comfortable. I've got to chop some more wood this weekend.