The Color Purple

The scent carries through The Wild from the neighbor's property.

The ground is littered with blooms.

The sunlight highlights just one.

Every river of muscari starts with a trickle.

I think it pisses God off
when you walk by the color purple in a field
and don't notice it.
Shug Avery in The Color Purple

It's 77 degrees. A lazy day was spent in the hammock. Planting out can wait. Maybe God's trying to tell me something.

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.

Bloom Day

I was reminded this morning why I don't drink. The dizziness and headache that got me out of bed at 4:30am was uncomfortable to say the least. After a shower, it's a little better, but I'm still not feeling 100%. I still managed to get outside as soon as it was light enough to gather some blooms for Carol's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

Daffodils, wood hyacinths, and crocuses have their usual spot.



Mahonia is in full bloom all through the gully.



Periwinkle in the edges of the woods are showing their namesake color.



A clump of violas are striking. I'm going to leave these in hopes of reseeded plants next year.



The tea olives are just getting started. Over the next few days, all five in the yard should release their fragrance.



One plant I don't have, but considered purchasing when I returned the cherry tree this week is Daphne odora. They're just starting to bloom and the fragrance is outstanding. I've read they can be a bit difficult so I'm not sure I want to invest the money in something so temperamental. Yes, I returned a dead plant. I did pay full price last spring. So there will be no cherries in my yard any time soon. Instead, I picked up the two Arizona Cypress trees in one gallon containers and a couple of Emerald Green Arborvitae. They were planted yesterday in various spots around the back yard.

It's 48 degrees and partly cloudy. The high today should reach 65. Upper 60s will arrive later in the week.

English Ivy and Vinca major

Some time ago, when another gardener had possession of this yard, she planted these ground covers. I'm sure she never expected or intended them to take over the entire neighborhood. In the almost 20 years since she's lived here, it has spread to cover more than an acre of woodlands. When I purchased the house, I knew it was there. I should have turned and run. I thought I was up to the challenge. Over the past two years, I've done a good job of slowly moving the edge of the yard back to where it may have once been. This coming week, I'm hoping to take another large bite out of one, possible two areas.

The first is the area behind the meadow. If I'm to plant anything along the "path" I've created there, I have to remove the Vinca major that covers the ground. I'd like to plant my Miss Huff cuttings. This area receives nearly full day sun in summer and dries out considerably without normal rainfall. I'll scatter some of the 125 rudbeckias here too.



Here's a closeup of the full area. Already, there are some shrub cuttings that were rooted and planted last spring. Butterfly bushes from wintersown seed have struggled here. I doubt I'll save any of it aside from the one rooted gardenia. I may move it to a more hospitable place.



The second area that needs to be tackled is the gully proper. I've already removed considerable privet from this area. Euonymus and English Ivy take up most of this space. There's a row of nandinas that grow in and out of the broken, stacked concrete retaining wall someone built ages ago. Bats make their residence here in the summer. I don't want to disturb them, in case they are hibernating.

I know I can't tackle all of this area, given that the Ivy covers everything all the way to the street, but I want to get a start on it. I might need to bring in the heavy chemicals for this one. We'll see how the other area goes first, since I'm not even sure what to do with this space yet.



Whenever I run across someone thinking of planting this in our area, I always advise against it. I beg them to come take what they want from my yard rather than purchase such a significantly invasive plant. They just laugh. Give them 5 years. They'll be back asking how to kill this stuff.

The Snake Pit

I'll get to the snakes later, but first a list of what I did this morning.

I built a compost bin. Sort of.



I put it in an out of the way place. I need two more regular sized pallets instead of those small 3/4 pallets.



I moved the crape myrtle. I know, I just couldn't stand it any longer.



I laid out a rough area for the recycled brick and concrete patio I plan to build this winter. I'm doing it now because I know I'll change my mind a few times during the process. It's inevitable. I can't wait to get rid of that dead oak tree. Three more weeks, we should be chopping it up.



I moved the pink brugmansia to the hydrangea bed. There are more brugs here now than hydrangeas, but that could change any day. They're rooted and ready to plant. Kongmansia has lost all its leaves again. If it survives the winter, good for it.



I planted a couple more white crape myrtles and mowed the front yard. That's where the snakes come in.

The snake pit. It's periwinkle and weeds. I thought I would like it, but this stuff is a thug. It's already 4' into the lawn and is just over a year old. I've got to get rid of it. I mowed it all down today.



The lawnmower claimed another victim. Don't ask me what kind of snake it was. I don't know. I don't care. It was a snake.



I'm looking for suggestions of what to do on this sloped bank. It's shady, gets about 2 hours of summer sun along the driveway and none along the street. It's dry, heavy clay and stone. Against the house, I have hucheras, gardenias, tea olives, knockout roses, lavender, artemesia, some grasses, and bluish salvias. I'm thinking shrubs would work well on this slope, but the mulching...oh the mulching.







Other items worth mentioning today:

Spider lily.



Miss Huff and Yvonne.



Just waiting for the seeds to ripen. It went quick this year.



81, mostly cloudy. A good chance of rain this evening and overnight. Muggy, again.

Sunday Morning

It's a beautiful day already. Large puffy clouds are rolling by. The wind is picking up a bit, but that should help dry out the soaked ground. We got a lot of rain in the past 4 days. But today should be mostly sunny and 70. It's already 61 degrees.

I had my second cup of coffee in the yard. I wasn't able to stop myself from doing a few things as I walked around. I pulled more nutgrass from the front bed. This stuff is going to be the death of me for sure. I spread the sheet over the hoophouse and rolled the plastic cover back. After many days without sun, the tomatoes and sprouting seeds will need a little protection. I took cuttings of the three lantana plants I bought on Friday and stuck them in the cloner. I also stuck some more pineapple sage. It roots so easily, I can't help myself.

The half price fern whose pot was smashed when it arrived at the store was transferred to a terra cotta container for the front porch. I'll move the small indoor ficus outside in a few more days to keep it company. I need to get a new coconut fiber shell for the hanging basket I plan to put up there too. Not sure what will go in it just yet, but there will be some flowers and some trailing annuals on the short list. Maybe red verbena if I can find it.

Today is a great day for starting seeds according to Farmer's Almanac. I'll sow the rest of my veggies and put them in the hoophouse. I'm done with starting seeds indoors with the temperatures remaining above freezing for the next 10 days.

I also plan to work on the front slope. I need to transfer about 200 plugs of periwinkle now that the ground is soft enough to work. I've got my batteries charged and the auger is ready to go.

This evening, I'll finish the drawings for the new project. I had hoped to do some work on that today, but scheduling conflicts between me and the subcontractor doesn't allow it. So, I'll be heading to Charlotte on Monday and spend most of the evening working on the model. It's due no later than Monday, April 6. That gives me a week. It's a much less intensive model than the previous one. I'll have plenty of time.

I'll update later with some pictures. It is Sunday after all. I want to record all the beds today now that we have some sunlight. The grass needs to be mowed too, but that can wait until another day. It'll be too wet to do more than beat the blades back to the ground.

If anyone needs me, I'll be in the yard.

12:05pm - 64 and very windy. Not a cloud in the sky.

Let's see, what have I done? I got the hill planted with 200+ plugs of periwinkle.



I moved all the rocks that were around the oak in the front yard to the white bed border. I want to let the periwinkle do what it wants.



I planted out 9 pussywillow cuttings that were rooted in January. The giant whites went down into the gully. The red, black, and coral embers went along the top edge of the wall that lines the gully. In between this summer, I plan to sow sunflower seeds and hope to keep the squirrels and birds out of the garden.

I found the Stargazer from last week. It's about 6" tall today. It has a tiny friend coming up behind it.



The purple queen is coming back around the oak tree. It should grow into a huge mass this year.



I also planted my datura inoxia next to the basement door. It should smell really nice this year since I use that door more than any other coming and going.

And then I checked the wintersown containers. Lots of progress.



Dogwood seedlings


baby hostas


Unknown daylilies, probably from Stella D'Oro.


A baby white crape myrtle. It's been this size for two weeks now.


Black gum, dogwoods, rose of sharon, and mock orange seedlings.


Cherry Laurel seedlings. Originally, I had planned to use these to create the living hedge at the edge of the driveway. Instead, I will use them in the gully. The birds love the seeds and they will sucker if pruned too hard. I need to pot these individually, but with frost coming tonight, I think I'll wait.


That's all I had planned for today. I would like to plant out some more wintersown containers, but most of what I see looks really tender after 5 days without sunlight. I'm going to wait. I need to run to Lowe's to pick up a couple bales of straw for the tomato bed. With the hoophouse being way too full these days, I can use the bales and a couple of old windows to make a cold frame. I'll only need it for the next two nights, I hope.

As I said in the comments, the sunset last night was amazing. I was laying on the sofa watching tv when the living room got really bright. I had to walk outside and then went to grab my camera. The colors are a little washed out in the photos, but there were just that many colors as the sun began to go down below the horizon.

Back to Work

This time, it's not in the yard. I've got a meeting this morning at 10:30am with a new client for the project I bid on a few weeks ago. I'm ready to work. It's been a long break. At least I got lots done in the yard. I could have used another week, but not having worked since Thanksgiving, funds are running low. The money will be nice. I'll still find a way to get outside an hour or two each day between now and the end of March when this one will be due.

In case you're curious, I build architectural models. I have a degree from UNCCharlotte in Architecture. I graduated in 2000 after 6 long years of no sleep, too many cups of coffee, and a lot of learning. In May 1997, I went to work for a model maker part time. I really enjoyed the work so by the time I graduated, I had no plans to become an architect. Instead, I found that working with my mind and my hands was a better path. In October 2004, I left that company and started my own. Here are some examples of work I have done in the past.

Yesterday was a very good day for playing in the dirt. In the basement, I had started seeds for Yvonne's Salvia, Zinnias 'Purity', hot pink trailing petunias (collected from my own plants), and an assortment of tomatoes. Last fall, I started a few varieties of echinacea and rudbeckia. They have been in the hoophouse all winter and really haven't put out much growth. I still transplanted all of them to individual containers and put them back in their sheltered homes until spring. The indoor seedlings were also transplanted into single containers. They're under lights right now since a sudden hard freeze or frost would send them into the netherworld. I'll need to make a new inventory list of all my plants during the coming week.

I did not transplant the tomatoes. I want to wait until they have at least 2 true leaves on the seedlings. I need to add a little more soil to the container they're in. This will allow them to put out more roots along the buried stems. Not sure where all of those plants will go. I haven't even begun to germinate the cherry varieties yet. I might wintersow those and hope for the best.

In the yard, I found several new crocus bulbs blooming. These are in the perennial bed. Last spring, I was already cutting grass at this point so I probably mowed them down before they had a chance to bloom. There's foliage all throughout the bed. I can't wait to see what else pops up over there this year. On the side slope, a single periwinkle bloom caught my eye. I'll have to get a picture later this afternoon when it's open again. For now, here's the crocus.



Last night, the forecast was for early morning snow. It did rain a little during the night, but now the sky is clear and the sun is peeking through the trees. It's 34 degrees.