Two Days Off.

It's good to have goals. Today, I will focus on getting the rest of these containers planted out. A couple are for people at work or customers that have asked for specific things. They'll be moved and one or two items need to be repotted before they split their containers. The rest will find homes in the beds around the backyard. I'm tired of looking at this mess.



I've already started this morning. About 7am, I made coffee and grabbed the shovel. The impatiens I sowed weeks ago were planted out. Hopefully, the squirrels won't dig all of these up. They've also eaten every nearly ripe strawberry.



I planted two rooted cuttings of Mystic Spires salvia in the perennial bed where I think I could use some purple. I can always use more purple.



If you've got purple, you've got to have orange.



The ditch lilies along the bottom of the retaining wall are about to explode.



The show is already starting near the mailbox where the concrete and asphalt create a warmer microclimate.



It's 59 degrees. The sun is out, but hazy clouds keep it from shining full force just yet. There's a chance of afternoon thunderstorms so I need to get a lot done this morning. Today is my day. I plan to spend it doing what I enjoy most, gardening. I'll also be doing some weeding in various parts of the yard as the mood strikes. I've already cleared about 8' of crabgrass from the edges of the driveway along the perennial bed. Feels good to have my hands in my dirt.

12:22pm - Done. The rest are just started seeds like coleus and some items for others. Only 23 more holes will be dug for those that are staying with me, assuming germination comes.



While planting out and watering, I noticed my first cosmos bloom. I like it.



And some pictures from around the perennial bed.







Can't forget the hot pink hybrid tea rose. It's so pink it's tacky.



It's 77 degrees. The hammock calls.

More planting out.

Pineapple sage
Rudbeckia Prairie Sun
Achillea Summer Pastels
Culver's root
Pink Obedient plant
Four kinds of sunflowers
Monarda - annual and perennial
Sage
Milkweeds

and plenty more. From this



To this



Maybe 200 holes dug this morning going through 2 full charges on the cordless drill. The remainders are either too small or their locations aren't decided. I'll get around to them.

A bicolor California poppy has opened near the street.



The Mountain Bluet is going to seed. I scattered five seed heads around the backyard in beds that need early blooms.



Red hot poker.



Dianthus. It just glows in the garden on cloudy days.



A single white gerber daisy survived the winter.



Today's been just about perfect for working in the yard. It's 79 degrees. Mostly it's been overcast with a breeze. There is some humidity in the air, but it's tolerable. The first mosquito bites are itching.

It's too hot.

It's 84 degrees and the sun is baking everything. It's too warm to plant out as much as I had hoped. Many of my wintersown seedlings still aren't ready. I did put out some echinacea Harvest Moon, Columbine, Painted Daisies, and a few others I forget. The majority are just sitting there still. Maybe next week.



I did mow the yard again. The wild onions and clover were getting out of control. In the backyard, I found this little blue flowering thing. I'd love to know the name.



On the front slope, the violets have taken off.



Around the oak tree in the front yard, the Purple Queen is returning. All those little green sprouts are Dayflower. Ugh.



I did a lot of weeding in the perennial bed. It's presentable now. Along the privet hedge, I planted some ferns I collected from Robert's property yesterday. They're just starting to unfurl.



The red clover went into the upper potager bed.



I tilled it into the existing leaves and soil. There's still some cardboard that hasn't broken down. I also built teepee trellises for pole beans and put my metal trellis back up for the cucumbers I'll sow in a few weeks.



The long view.



I used UV safe nylon clips to finally attach the concrete wire trellis to the four posts. I've got plans for a few vines this year including Morning Glory.



Near the swing, I noticed cosmos seedlings. There are lots of datura seedlings too.



Self sown Four O'clocks are popping up in the Shady Corner. A few more weeks and I'll stuff that area with brugs. A few hydrangeas that were rooted last summer survived. No sign of the variegated one yet.



I've had a nap in the hammock and have the sunburn to prove it. I've eaten lunch and am thinking about dinner. I'd like to do some more in the yard, but there's laundry that is calling my name right now. I'm tired, ya'll.

Spring Cleaning.

I spent this morning cleaning up the hoophouse and storing all the pieces in the basement. The cardboard under the concrete pavers has nearly disintegrated. The pavers were used to create a makeshift path through the upper meadow around the fruit trees and down to the lower area of the back yard. I also used a few to provide a walkable surface between my three lower beds. In a couple of weeks, I'll be getting a truck load of compost for the two beds that still need more soil. It's good stuff, made by the neighbor of a coworker.



In one bed, the wintersown cabbage are doing great. I hope they have time to head before it gets really hot. I never have much luck with spring cabbages. I need to remember to do them again in the fall.



Ahh...feels good not to see all that "trash" in the backyard.



Now it all resides in the driveway. It'll be gone in another month or less. The high temperatures in the 80s this week should cause some rapid growth with my seedlings.



More "trash" will soon become lattice and trellises for pole beans and cucumbers. These came from a grove behind a coworker's house. She told me to take all I want and come back for more if I need it.



The figs have been repotted.



Lots of planting out this morning. I'm taking a chance on no more frosts, I know.



It's 57 degrees, up from a low of 52. The high should reach 70 shortly after lunchtime.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

And I'm off from work. I have to go meet my sister again today, but this morning, I'll be in the yard in half an hour. I've got some plants to move, rooted cuttings to plant, and I want to do some general cleanup.

In the 10 day forecast, there's still no freezing temperatures. I'm not about to believe that our last freezing day will be March 9. It's a really nice thought, but I know better.

It's currently 45 degrees and clear. Last night it rained, and then rained some more. The clocks need to all be set forward an hour. Welcome to Daylight Savings Time. It'll be nice to have the extra hour in the evenings.

10:54am - I've gotten a few things done.

I stuck some cuttings. Left to right, top to bottom: unknown spirea, unknown spirea, yellow knockout, burning bush, burning bush, row 2; unknown spirea, unknown spirea, yellow knockout, white spirea, burning bush. The lower tray: top row, Carla's current fig, possibly a Celeste or Brown Turkey. Bottom row: black missions from Carla's former house. I don't label when I do things like this because they're more likely to die. I've put them on the seed rack by the woodpile on the shady side. The leftover fig cuttings were stuck here and there in the yard.



I planted out eight quarts of wintersown dianthus "Depford Pink". They're along the top of the wall below the lavender and knockout roses.



Blue Spruce sedum was divided and planted along the top of the wall below the butterfly garden. That's where I have the 200 daffodils.



To delineate the end of the butterfly garden, I moved the three clearance cotoneaster plants from the upper meadow to the front slope. Beyond this, I'll let the vinca, violets, and whatever else run wild. Maybe.



A few feet from the edge of the "lawn" at the top of the same slope, parallel to the street, I planted six rooted gardenias. I also moved an Endless Summer Hydrangea to the very end of the line.



Forty-eight wintersown Rudbeckia hirta were planted in various spots in the yard. They're still tiny, but I know lots of the plants will survive. Mother Nature will cull the weak ones. I may have to intervene at some point.



Eight calla lilies, purchased for 25 cents a piece went into the perennial bed near the ever blooming camellia. It's drier here in the winter than elsewhere, so they might return. I had them in a yard in Charlotte on Country Club Drive when I rented a house there.



I also pruned the neighbor's rose bush, planted out a couple of Arizona Cypress "Carolina Sapphire". These trees reach 30-40' tall and 20' wide. They have a bluish color and grow almost as fast as Leyland Cypress. They were developed by Clemson University for use on the East Coast. In front of these, I moved two rooted cuttings of Elaeagnus. They're really well rooted, so I expect them to thrive in the full sun. I've sort of left a path to the stream back there. I know in the next few years, things will grow in and block it. I'm okay with that.

I moved some sedum from last year's clearance sale to the front slope, now known as the Butterfly garden. In the next couple of weeks, I'll be rooting more of it and the Blue Spruce. The dry soil should work well. I've got a few overwintered cuttings of a taller sedum that I need to plant today. I don't know. Somewhere. Why?

It's 52 degrees. I've got a few more things to do and about an hour and a half to get them all done. I have to be in Cheraw at 3pm. The third cup of coffee is cooling off.

12:12pm - I'm going to stop for the day. I planted some rosemary in the bed at the end of the driveway on the sunny side.



Along the bottom of the retaining wall next to the driveway, I divided and planted Coreopsis Full Moon. I moved these from the perennial bed. I pulled back the leaves and cut back the dead foliage from Coreopsis "Moonbeam". There are Stella D'Oro daylilies and orange ditch lilies in this bed all along the wall. I planted out 12 more wintersown Rudbeckia containers here too. Let's see if all this yellow and orange clashes with the blues and pinks above them in the front beds this summer.



Five butterfly bushes were transplanted to the butterfly garden. I placed them at the top of the slope. Between them, I planted 6 overwintered clumps of tall sedum. Milkweed, lantana, and other butterfly plants will be scattered through this bed.



I've got a follower in the yard. This robin went everywhere I did, plucking earthworms from the dirt I was disturbing. It came within 6 feet of me several times.



On the agenda for my next day off, the front bed. The pansies will be done in a couple more months. Heucheras are putting out new foliage and the Japanese Maple will be leafing out soon. I've already installed penny priced nandinas, rooted gardenias, and tea olives. For summer color, I'm going to plant echinacea and shasta daisies to brighten up this bed. It gets a little sun in the mornings and evenings, so these two should do okay. I may root some more Montauk Daisies for late summer blooms.



It's 54 degrees and sunny. I need lunch and a shower.

A clean house

I'll be the first to admit it. I am not as anal-retentive about keeping my house clean as I once was. Part of it comes from having a house that has been in construction mode since the day I backed the U-Haul into the driveway. The third half of the excuse is simply that it's spring. I live with my windows open all day and all night during this time of year. When it hits 90 degrees, I'll close up the house and turn on the a/c. Until then, I'm saving money on my power bill and enjoying the sounds and sights of nature. The neighbor who plays Michael Jackson's "Greatest Hits" album at full volume is just icing on the cake.

I got up this morning around 7am. No alarm clock. No where to be and nothing that couldn't be put off til tomorrow. Still, I got up, got dressed, and made my first cup of coffee. While it was brewing, I went downstairs and started a load of laundry. Since then, the floors have been swept and mopped. The furniture was dusted. The ficus tree that I pruned too severely in the living room was moved to the kitchen porch. I'll bring it back in this fall. Hopefully, it will regrow into a more pleasing shape over the summer. I emptied my three trash cans. I scrubbed the tub and toilet. The sink was wiped down and the dishes were washed. The only thing left is laundry and it's doing its thing in the basement now.

I should be outside mowing the grass. I've let it grow over the past couple of weeks hoping some of the white clover and dandelions will reseed. I just can't put it off any longer. It looks terrible. The bees sure do love it though. I'll have robins all over the backyard this afternoon if I get out there and do it.

Too bad I just made another cup of coffee. Too bad I just took a shower and am enjoying the smell of clean in the house. Too bad I just don't feel like cutting grass right now. Who am I kidding? I know I'll be out there doing it just as soon as the coffee is finished.

It's 64 and overcast. Rain expected on and off all day. Heavy storms moved through yesterday afternoon while I was at work. The sun came out later for a nice steamy afternoon on the concrete of the garden center. Bad day to wear jeans.

3:37pm - 81 degrees, mostly sunny with a few clouds.

I got lots done. I transplanted some butterfly bushes into individual containers. I potted the Calycanthus florida (sweetshrub) into containers. I planted out 20-30 clumps of odds and ends. I moved a couple of things like yellow yarrow. I put it in a pot to recoup before sticking it out in the dry bed. I sowed seeds for a couple salvias, blue and white. I direct sowed a bunch of fragrant seeds in the white bed. I checked and I do have bean, corn, and cucumber sprouts. If it doesn't rain tonight, I will water them tomorrow with the sprinkler.

25 Butterfly bushes, mostly collected from Jackie's "Black Knight".


I have more left to pot up once they grow a little larger. All wintersown.


Sweet Shrub


Other rooted cuttings got planted out and added to those hardening off outside.


Giveaways. Hoping to get rid of them soon.


Still waiting: wintersown daylilies, coleus, impatiens, white crepe myrtles, and two trays of hosta.


My single Japanese Maple sprout has been transplanted into a container.


In the perennial bed, I have this area that's hard to grow anything in. So I planted some left over bush beans. I hope the extra nitrogen they add to the soil helps with the weird soil over here. Years of decomposing leaves have created a mat.


The red hot poker I started last spring from seed is about to bloom.


A single, tiny poppy has bloomed. The larger ones are covered with blooms.


With all that done, it's time for a nap.

6:22pm - THUNDERSTORM!!! Just tossed out some fertilizer on the hosta, potager, and the brugmansias. A good soaking rain is just what I was hoping for.