Early Morning Edits.

The alarm went off at 6am. I made a full strength cup of coffee to gather my thoughts with. By 7, I was in the yard. For an hour and a half, I pulled plants (Dusty Miller, bee balm, cosmos, Rudbeckia hirta, Veronica spicata, cosmos, Mystic Spires salvia, cosmos, asters, cosmos, and shasta daisies). The remnants went into the gully. I can't even see the compost bin due to the pokeweed in the gully.

Simplifying the plantings and redesigning the beds is necessary. Intentions did not survive the summer. The Crape Myrtle Bed will be replanted this fall with butterfly bushes from the shrub island. When they were only 4" tall, I planted them 2' apart. Oops. In the Crape Myrtle Bed, they'll have room to expand.



The "meadow" is just a patch of weeds with a few cosmos and coreopsis blooms. The weedwhacker will flatten this area soon.



The succulent bed can stay. For now.



Between the potager beds, ornamental grasses will transition into Knockout Roses and Coreopsis Full Moon. The roses will need to be moved. Hybrid Teas and I do not get along. They're being donated to a customer who brings me things each week from her yard. Other perennials like Joe Pye Weed and agastache will be repurposed for the perennial bed.



It's not much, but it is a start. Three years in the making, I'm giving myself until April to "clean it up a bit". It's 79 degrees and sunny.

Muggy Sunday

It's 72 degrees and muggy. It looks like rain. Monday, they've promised us a whole day of rain. I'm going to have to spend some time today planting out a few things I picked up at basement prices thanks to my boss and Carla.

Orchid Primrose. Primula vialii



It looks best in mass plantings. I have a shady spot in front of the fence along the driveway that's perfect for it. I have 18 of them to plant. I spent less than the price of lunch at McDonald's.



I've also got Salvia leucantha. A customer promised me this last fall. She brought it in on Friday with a bunch of other things.



Daisy Gardenia is blooming. This one is on the rear corner of the house. I can smell it through the open windows of the back bedroom.



Wintersown impatiens. The first to bloom.



The crape myrtle bed is coming along. Pink, white, and purple.



Miniature roses from a Winterswap participant. I'll find somewhere to plant these over the next few weeks.



I'm supposed to help Carla with some wood from a tree taken down this winter that's still in her yard. It's her Birthday too.

1:55pm. Still no word back from Carla. I called her when I got home this morning.

All the plants are in place. Just as I finished, it's started raining. Passing showers should be common the next 4-5 days as we get back to normal weather. The soil is nice and wet. The transplants should get their roots down in no time at all. It's 81 degrees, humid, and raining. I love it.