Chilly morning.

It's 36 degrees and sunny. The high today should reach the mid 60s. I've got a full day planned, of course. I'll start with a load of laundry, installing the two fence panels along the end of the driveway, and moving some more firewood. What else gets done, who knows. I'm just happy to see sunlight.



9:59am - Laundry has been started, coffee has been consumed, the fence panels and copper rods are finished. I'm not sure I like the offset heights of the fence, but the ground slopes quite a bit along this end of the driveway. I'll live with it a while before I make a decision to do any adjustments.







I don't plan to buy any more panels at this point. Instead, I want to increase my evergreen plantings where the pineapple sage currently resides. I remember vaguely planting the sage here to get an idea about enclosure with plantings rather than fencing. I like the effect, but need evergreens or at least shrubs.



12:12pm - After a quick trip to the supermarket, I returned home ready to focus on the basement. I have piles of materials in the back corner that need to be gone. The fence panels were one big issue. I also have leftover wood from the removal of my kitchen cabinets. What to do? Birdhouses!



With all the painted surfaces are on the exterior, I rather like the patterns that came out from not paying attention.



I modeled them on the only other birdhouse I had ever built. I had a family of Bluebirds in there this spring. I hope to increase residency in the yard.



It's never smelled this great!

730 days, 20 hours, 52 minutes ago...

I signed the papers that made me the owner of a 1946 fixer-upper. That was two years ago for those with poor math skills. On June 22, 2007, I moved into my "new" house and started remodeling the next day. Just like the gardens, this thing will probably never be finished.

Right on schedule, the A/C went out in the wee hours Sunday morning. After talking to several handymen, I've determined that it's the start capacitor on the unit outside. Turned on, it just hums. Using a long screwdriver and a quick flick of the wrist, the fan starts up with a little nudging. It should be a relatively cheap fix. Last night, I slept with all the windows open. A box fan in the bedroom window gave me a cool breeze. I'm wondering now why I will bother to repair it. When I am home, I'm usually outside or asleep. In the office, a window fan keeps the room cool enough. My body has gotten used to 90 degree days and lots of sun. 81 is more than comfortable for me. Still, I'll fix it later this week when I have more time.

Today, it was more important that I dig two holes and set the next two posts for my arbor at the edge of the driveway. It seems I bought another problem. I'm curious why there's a concrete slab 6 inches below the ground back here. I'm not curious enough to dig it up, but it did make setting the last post a real chore. There's metal mesh in the concrete, so I know it's not just waste concrete from when they built the house. Could it be a foundation for a building long gone? Or a patio?



1/2" metal conduit will span the two posts. I need to drill parallel holes once the concrete cures. I'll use small screws to hold them in place. The rose cuttings I received last week from Jim will grow over the arbor I'll start building next week.



I also moved a lavender crape myrtle. Not the best time to move it, but it wasn't getting enough water where it was.



In it's new home, I put the hose on a slow drip and filled the hole a few times. It's starting to come back. I'm not expecting it to flower much this year.



Beside the basement door, I've finally had enough of the dying yarrow. The last one was removed. If anyone wants it, it'll be sitting at the end of the driveway for the next few days. Come get it.



I planted two yellow knockout roses and another rescued hybrid tea in that spot. Hopefully these will do better than everything else I've tried in that bed.

The grass has been mowed, phone calls made, waiting for Carla and a client to come by. I may have a side job coming up soon. She wants me to design the landscaping for her yard. I plan to show her what I've done and offer suggestions for no-spray vegetable gardening. So far, still no major pest problems. The ladybugs are eating the aphids. Predator wasps are taking out other problems. Japanese Beetles are squished upon sight.

It's 81 degrees and sunny. No rain in the forecast. Maybe I'll sleep in the hammock tonight.

Two Days

Two days off and I got almost nothing done. Two more days and summer will officially be here. The next two days are promising to be hot. 95 today. 97 tomorrow. Let's do this!

I managed to get the first two posts set for my picket fence along the driveway yesterday. Big plans for this area over the winter when things go dormant. Some plants need to be moved. I hadn't planned for a fence or posts when I planted the Burford Holly that is right where I need to dig a hole.







I'll work on this project as time allows over the next few months. I'm in no hurry. Certainly don't want to move new shrubs in this heat. It's not good for either of us.

Yesterday, my first cucumber.


My first beans.


More squash.


Strawberries.


Castor bean blooms.


Malva?


Malva zebrina.


Lots of datura buds out there.


Cardinal climber has reached the top and continues to grow. About 1' per day is normal this time of year with sufficient water. The first blooms should appear in a week or less. The hummers will be all over this thing.


My last attempt at growing hollyhocks. I pulled them yesterday.


Doing laundry before work. Need to wash a couple of dishes from last night. Trying to reserve my energy for the day ahead. I need a new hat.

Productive Morning

Got to be brief as I am about the leave for work. At the crack of daybreak, I headed outside. All the plants in the hoophouse were moved out and the structure was taken down. It's laying in the basement right now, but I'll put it up for storage in the joists later this evening.

The tomatoes are looking good. Planted out some more indoor grown plants and got a load of leaf mulch from the landfill. Seedlings are filling out too. Now for the pictures.

Pink Knockout Rose I picked up yesterday. The benefits of unloading trucks are unimaginable.


Yvonne's Salvia


Brugmansias




More wintersown containers to empty.


More cuttings and seedlings to plant out.


Pineapple sage along the driveway bed.


The driveway bed is done. Bamboo will become teepee trellises.


Blue Spires Salvia rooted from overwintered cuttings planted in the front bed.


Lantana in the front bed on the slope.






Wintersown Artemesia planted in the same bed.


Hoophouse seedlings.


TOMATOES!!!!!!!


Look at those roots.


Leaf mulch where the hoophouse was.


Good black stuff. I'll till it in tomorrow.


Peas are up and growing.


The White Bed is done too.


That's all I got done this morning. Another hour and I would have gotten wood mulch for the driveway bed. The landfill is closed Saturday because of Easter, so I hope to have some time next week to get that done. Off to work now for a very long day. 22 racks of flowers and assorted plants should be delivered before 4pm.

1:56pm - lunchtime. 64 degrees and light rain. Thunderstorms are in the forecast. It should taper off this evening and move out by morning. The garden center is jumping today. Half the store is out there working. It's our busiest weekend all year.

A Change in Plans

It's 46 degrees and extremely windy. With freezing temperatures in the forecast, everyone decided today would not be a good day to plant out annuals. My manager has decided instead to donate 1 hour of my time tomorrow to the school.

So what did I do instead? I decided to work on the beds at the end of the driveway. I wasn't really happy with what I had done. Too many euonymous plants and not enough variety. So I took my employee discount card and bought $50 worth of real shrubs and evergreens. I said I wasn't planning to spend any money this year on plants. I knew I was lying when I said it, obviously.

So what did I get for my money?

3 Dwarf Burford Holles
Calamagrostis x acutiflora Karl Foerster - which I promptly divided into several clumps
Blue Point Juniper (Juniperus chinensis)
Hoolywood Juniper (Juniperus chinensis)

I removed a couple of the plain green euonymous and moved some of my other grasses into the beds too. I have a few varieities now that I think work better. The peonies are planted on the sunny side of the opening to the backyard. Black Eyed Susans are planted in two groups. I'll add more flowers as I begin planting out my wintersown seeds now that I'm not working on a model project in my spare time.

Sunny side


shady side


Hollywood Juniper


Blue Point Juniper and Karl Forester Grass


Miscanthus sinensis 'Variegatus'


Calamagrotis acutiflora "Eldorado"


Against the back of the house, I moved some nandinas from the woods. I really needed something for foundation plantings. I'll add some perennials in these beds later. I've got some dwarf crape myrtles that have germinated to put in these beds in the next few weeks.



One of the hibiscuses is coming back. I have no idea which one it is. I moved all of them without keeping track of who was who.



An odd daffodil that bloomed yesterday.



Finally, I took some cuttings from the petunias I purchased this weekend.



Here's a petunia of my own that I stuck in the cloner last weekend. It'll be ready to pot up in another 2 days.



I couldn't pass up these blooms.



I'm curious what the seeds from these will produce next year.

It's only 3pm. I mowed the grass this morning. I really wonder if I could plant out some more perennials even with frost in the forecast.