Daffodils and muscari

I spent most of the day planting bulbs. It's currently 69 degrees and, um...breezy. It feels like spring. I had 400 daffodils to plant and 150 muscari, or so I thought. Here's the final tally, so I can be disappointed in the spring when nothing comes up.

Daffodils:

* 200 on the front slope
* 100 scattered in the shrub island, rose garden, and around the lilac.
* 35 in the shady corner where a frost killed brugmansia still stands.
* 33 around the legs of the swing.
* 35 behind the upper potager/hoophouse.
* 6 in the neighbor's corner.

That's more than 400, right?

Muscari:

* 90 on the front slope.
* 10 along the backyard fence
* 60 in the crape myrtle bed.

Yes, I can add. Along with the bulbs I planted last year in the perennial bed, the bulbs that pop up here and there, planted by someone else years ago, and whatever spring flower plants I may or may not have, it should be a colorful time in the yard in just a few months. Christmas is just around the corner. Then there's New Years Day. I'll be busy all through January sowing and planting out early sprouts from my wintersowing. In February, it'll be really cold for a couple of weeks. Then there's my birthday. Peas will be planted in the lower potager about that time. Next thing you know, it'll be spring. It's like 2 weeks, tops.

I also spent an hour moving pavers from the driveway to the hoophouse. I laid down cardboard then three 16' long rows of pavers. These will heat up a little during the day and radiate heat back at night. At least that's the plan. They might not be thick enough to really warm up. Still, the roots of tender perennials not yet sown should be okay once it's closed up.



I've got a few left. The ones in the hoophouse will be stacked to create a couple of resting spots in the backyard when the hoophouse comes down. I'll reuse them again later. The patio idea is on hold indefinitely for now.



The front slope area where periwinkle was killed. Here's where I planted the majority of the bulbs.



I found a few sprouting daffs in a spot I thought would be perfect for some spring flowers. Guess I was right.



I collected moonvine seeds from the back of the house. I was surprised to find 8 seed pods. I don't recall seeing but a couple blooms all summer. Must have been while I was laid up with my leg.



Mr. Lincoln.



The "orange" rose.



Sunny Knockout.



After all this, it was time to have a sit...



and watch the clouds race by.



It's still 69 degrees. A gorgeous day.

I guess someone will be expecting me in Atlanta soon, and a bit further Southwest after that. I'm not sure my back can handle another 200+ bulbs.

Yellow

My garden has a lot of yellow. I need more red and orange next year.

Sunny Knockout is reblooming after being sheared back a few months ago prior to a move.



Stella D'Oro is also blooming.



The Maples in the wild are very yellow this year.



After work yesterday, I used the leaf blower/vac to shred all the leaves along my side of the street, in the driveway, and the front yard. They became mulch for the Neighbor's corner.



It's 55 degrees and threatening rain. Weather.com says we have a 75% chance all day and night. I hope it comes. We've been teased too much with cloudy, damp weather and very little rainfall for months. I'd like to see it rain 24 hours nonstop.

This afternoon, after work, I'll stay inside and clean the house. I've got bits of leaves, straw, and dirt all over the place. I've been thinking about returning to the kitchen, but I've just about decided to wait until it's too cold this winter to work outside. I've got paint to scrape, walls to repaint, a little more beadboard to finish, and countertops to install. I still managed to pickle and can 5 pints of green beans (purchased) and 2 pints of cucumbers using a recipe I found online. In three weeks, I'll find out if it's any good.

Rock and Roll

In the back yard this spring, I dug two large rocks out of the ground. I don't know why I did it. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. For a while, they sat next to the hole they came out of. At some point during the summer, I moved them to the edge of the "lawn" to make mowing easier. The lavender crape myrtle lived there for a couple of months. The hole has been filled in with dirt. Red clover has germinated well there.

This morning, I decided to move those two rocks to the perennial bed. I couldn't have chosen a home any further away without putting them in the street. I used the hand truck and a lot of cussing to get them where I wanted them.

#1



#2



I actually moved three large stones, but one I was able to lift and place on the hand truck. They now reside along the new path I built a couple weeks ago around the back edge of the perennial bed. I probably destroyed the new grass seedlings. It won't be long before clover takes over anyway.





Consistency in design is something I have been taught by my instructors when I was in college. In architecture, consistency is necessary to help people understand movement, form, and texture. It can also be used to define spaces. Private and public spaces can be differentiated using different materials, lighting, or even color. So in my beds, I want some sort of consistency as well. All the tended beds will eventually have stone edging as I find it and place it. Along the edge of the former white bed, now known as the neighbor's corner, I picked up all the stone and finished the perennial bed as well as a good chunk of the gully bed. I'll explain later what I did this morning in the neighbor's corner and why I no longer need stone edging there.



Wheelbarrow #1



Wheelbarrow #2



Wheelbarrow #3 and done.



When I started, there was only about 6' of edging in place. This stone was dug from planting holes all around the yard.



From the upper yard behind the house, you can see the stone I laid around the edge of the gully bed.




Just about where the stone ends now, I transplanted the White Profusion butterfly bush from the neighbor's corner.



I also planted 4 purple Speedwell plants that I got for 50 cents each. The purple should go well with the echinacea and Icicle speedwell already there. Lots of baby echinacea from scattered seeds were seen.



As suggested, I made lots of changes to the neighbor's corner this morning. I won't go into detail now, but there are lots of shrubs there now including five Howardi Ligustrum (evergreen), two loropetalum, several rose of sharon seedlings, a couple of azaleas, two dwarf burning bush, and a couple snowball viburnum cuttings that I rooted months ago. It should provide color, interest, and privacy as it grows together. The only plants I purchased were three clearance ligustrums. I got them for less than $12 for all three. Woot!

I plan to let this corner become semi-wild again. When I cleared it out, I envisioned a beautiful corner with lots of white flowers and flowering shrubs. It hasn't turned out that way. It's too hot and dry in the summer for most perennials and the annuals I wanted there. I still lack privacy in the backyard from prying eyes, and a patio will be built somewhere someday. These shrubs and trees will be mulched with leaves. I'll allow the vinca minor to regrow, and let it spill softly into the edge of the yard where the lawnmower can keep it in check. Naturalized planting areas in the yard won't have stone edging. Only tended beds will need that treatment, cutting down on the amount of stone I'll need for the borders.

This afternoon, now that lunch is done, I plan to move a lot of the split firewood into the basement to continue drying.



It's 57 degrees, cloudy and cool. The wind has died down for the time being. No sign of the promised sunlight I was hoping for today.