Sunflower and Peaches.

It's 79 degrees. The temperatures have been much cooler the past couple of days. By the end of the weekend, we'll be back into the 90s with no rain in sight. We did collect about an inch or more over the past two days. It was nice.

The Orchard.

The fruit trees are producing this year. The Morris plum, planted last summer, has a few tiny fruit developing.



The Thundercloud plum. This tree was originally installed in the perennial bed. As it grew too large, I moved it last fall to the backyard. There are tiny plums forming on it as well.



There are peaches on the Belle of Georgia.



Figs on the rooted cutting from last spring. Probably a Celeste.



Strawberries are forming. Let's hope the critters let me taste a few.



Tent caterpillars. I saw their nests, high in the trees out back a couple weeks ago. They're all over the yard.



The blueberries are just starting to bloom. The blackberry should be next. Fruit will begin ripening in mid summer. My seedless grape vines are growing again, but have never produced fruit. Last year I did find a few tiny grapes, but they disappeared long before they were ready to harvest. Maybe this year.

It's 52 degrees. The high today will only be in the mid 60s. I might need long pants.

The Tradition Continues.

When it's warm enough, I like to take my coffee outside in the mornings. It's 60 degrees and the coffee is warm.

Red clover in the meadow is starting to show blooms. A little rain on Thursday will send it over the edge.



A better shot of my baby peaches. It's going to hurt thinning these, but I know the tree isn't strong enough to hold all the peaches that are growing. I'll probably start thinning them in a week. 35 leaves per peach is the recommended amount of fruit a tree can support.



Baby figs on last year's plant. This is the breba crop. I'm going to leave them to see how they taste. I already know what the main fall crop is like, sweet and golden.



Mr. Lincoln.



Golden Showers. I have this free blooming rose planted on the arbor at the perennial bed. From what I've read, it should grow 12' - 15' at maturity. I've paired it on the other side with Carolina Jasmine for yellow blooms during a good portion of the year. A clematis vine on each side should intertwine and make for a stunning display in a couple of years. I can't remember which is which, but both should bloom this year.



A gerber daisy made it through the winter. I'm surprised given the cold and wet weather we had.



The backyard is filling in quickly. The neighbors' houses are disappearing. Brown Avenue is becoming a distant memory.



The high today should reach 91. Tomorrow, the chance of rain has been downgraded from 80% to 50%. Everything is yellow, including the cat.

Horse poo.

I made the 15 minute journey into the countryside for a truckload of poo this morning. I arrived about 8:15. Thirty minutes later, I was on the road back to the house. I was back home shortly after 9am.



It's good stuff, well rotted and aged since last fall. They use pine shavings in the barn for the horses, so there was plenty of brown to go with the greens when they tossed it into a pile.



Before I left, I had moved some soil from two of the beds to the third bed at the top of the picture. I pulled the cabbages. With the temperatures ranging above 80 for almost a week now, even the stone head cabbage was starting to bolt. I'll try again in the fall. The snow peas never had a chance.



I put six cubic feet of the manure in each 4' x 8' bed.



In the larger, 4' x 16' bed, I put twelve cubic feet. My wheelbarrow is 6 cubic feet. This stuff is very nice and fluffy. Before planting next week, I'll borrow a small tiller from Carla and use it to till the stuff into the soil. I also built 2 more teepees for pole beans. I think I have 6 varieties, so I'm not sure where the others will go just yet. Maybe on the fence to the backyard.



The remaining poo was spread in the area of the new fragrant garden. Yes, there is a joke in there, but this stuff smells great. It's got an earthy, woodsy smell. No hint of the original origin.



I pruned the peach tree a bit. I transplanted a few datura seedlings to the fragrant bed. I pinched a few butterfly bushes. I took pictures. Before it gets too hot, I plan to mow the yard. The view from the hammock will be decidedly better this afternoon than last week.



It's only 77 degrees.

3:39pm - The yard was mowed. The hammock was stretched. I planted out a few things in the shady spots. I sowed my sunflower seeds. I'm about to stretch the hammock again. Right now, it's not the humidity. It really is the heat.

Figs, peaches, and ginkgo.

Rooted last spring in an outdoor sandbox, the unknown Sixth Street fig is showing signs of producing a nice breba crop.



What I still think are Black Mission cuttings (maybe?) have nice large leaves. I took one of these to my mom on Easter.



The tips from Black Mission cuttings are rooting just fine. I potted these last week after leaving them in the hoophouse most of the winter.



Shy baby peaches are afraid of the camera. The tree is absolutely loaded with swollen growth at the base of many flowers.



The ginkgo seedlings were moved about a month ago from the spot at the end of the driveway. I had tossed an unsprouted container into the edge of the woodsy growth there last spring. I was able to move 3 plants. All three have leafed out in the gully where I planted them.



Finally, Dogwood seedlings are up and growing in several containers. There's also about 20 sprouts in the winterberry container. We'll see if they're actual winterberry seedlings or if some weed made its home there in a few weeks.



It's 59 degrees. The high today, 94. Yes. 94. Let me say that again. 94. I'm going to see a woman about some poo for my beds this morning. Horse poo.

Thundercloud

It's 45 degrees. The temperature will slowly rise to the low 60s this afternoon as the storms move in. We've got chances of thunderstorms and rain all evening and night.

In honor of the rain, the Thundercloud Plum has decided to bloom.





This plum tree has purple-red leaves and pink blossoms. It was transplanted in the fall from the perennial bed. It's about a week late in blooming this year. I suppose it could be the cold winter, or maybe the move. In any case, another few days will show it completely in bloom. Only a few scattered branches are showing any color yet.

The Belle of Georgia peach is still blooming away. The blossoms have turned a darker color. The leaves are coming on nicely.



Before work, I'll dig out the Lagerfeld rose in the Neighbor's Corner. I'm giving it to Marty, a customer at the store. She brought me beautyberry starts in the fall and seeds for a blue milkweed, Tweedia caerulea. I've already sown them. Soon, I'll start giving away the brugmansias to people who have asked about them. I also plan to sow the rest of my datura seeds in the new fragrant bed outside the basement door. I need to spread the broken bags of soil that have been sitting in the basement for weeks first.

9:11am - I've spread three bags of topsoil and a bag of pine mulch over the newest bed. For two weeks, I've been spraying the weeds and grass here with RoundUp. I'm sure the wire grass will continue to pop up through the season. It has in all the beds I've created along the retaining wall and basement door. I'll spot treat and pull whenever I see it. Datura, marigolds, and four o'clocks have been sown here.



A splash of rain passed through as I was digging the Lagerfeld for Marty. There was a bit of blue sky a few minutes later. The sun is shining now.



The "dead" Loropetalums are blooming.



The Eastern Redbuds are opening. They're pink. I don't know why they call them redbuds.



The first of 100+ muscari has pushed up a bloom stalk. There was supposed to be a blue stream amongst the daffodils on the front slope. So far, only a handful have pushed through the soil. This one is in the crape myrtle bed.



Peonies at the end of the driveway are up. I transplanted these from Virginia last March. I really hope they bloom a bit better this year. They don't like to be disturbed.



Larkspur by the perennial bed arbor.



It's still 45 degrees. We should start to climb soon. It's going to be a rough afternoon of storms from the looks of the radar.

Wind day.

I'm off for two days starting just over an hour ago. It's been a long day. I left piles of things for others to get done while I'm not there. I don't expect much to be accomplished in that time. They're going to be too busy with temperatures in the mid 70s and sun in the forecast.

Out back, the red clover in the meadow has burst forth.



The peach tree is still blooming. I got buzzed by a couple of bees this afternoon.



The redbud is about to put on a show.



More periwinkle. The whole backyard is covered in blue flowers.



Out front, the daffodils are looking good. Over the next few years, I will add more each fall, either from purchases or through digging my own from The Wild. One day, I'll rebuild the ugly steps. I'm waiting for a sale on concrete.



In the perennial bed, lilies.



Clematis



The dark maroon tip of a stargazer has emerged from the leaves.



Green and variegated sedum foliage is holding up fine to both wind and cool nights.



Bloody Dock.



The only brown patch left in the yard is designed to be that way. Compost and leaf mulch will be spread soon over cardboard to create the new fragrant bed.



It's 64 degrees and sunny. The wind has been blowing all day. Tomorrow, 75. I can't wait. I already need a nap.