Many hands ... or at least a few more

As I age, I pay attention to what my body is telling me, and the day after the mowing it told me I needed some help. I put out an announcement on Nextdoor.com seeking garden help -- no experience necessary --  hoping to get a student in need of some summer cash. I got three responses.

• One was from a high school girl who disappeared as soon as she learned she was expected to be here by 8 am. 
• The second was a guy who would have done a good job but couldn't get to it for at least 3 weeks. I had looked at his Facebook page and was impressed by the remodeling he does. While he was here, we talked about screening in my little back porch area.  I'm waiting for an estimate.
• The third was a general handyman who said he could come on Wednesday and with his crew get the whole yard weeded and mulched. I thought he might be overestimating, but he was eager and able to come quickly so I hired him. This was after he quoted me $80 for the job and I talked him up to $120.

Bobby seemed eager to put down some kind of barrier cloth under the mulch, but I ixnayed that. I've used the cloth in other gardens. It does not prevent weeds, as the mulch provides a nice growing medium for seeds that fall into it, and when it comes time to take up the cloth or plastic, it will have rotted or decomposed -- in short, a hot mess. He told me about Preen, pre-emergent granules that are sprinkled under the mulch. I searched it out and read glowing reviews, so off I went to Home Depot and bought some. Also bought Roundup to spot kill any weed stupid enough to poke its head up.

So Bobby and Johnny (his partner) and a young man showed up at 8 Wednesday morning. Bobby told me he couldn't stay because he had a house to paint but that Johnny and Brennan would get the job done. I'd edged several areas the night before, so I showed them how I wanted the ditching done and they got to work. In an hour they had weeded and mulched the two forsythias. Then Johnny disappeared. That left Brennan the high schooler who, I learned as we chatted, was working with a finger on his left hand jammed and swollen and an injury to his right shoulder from a fall at his second job at a pizza place. Plus he hadn't gotten a good night's sleep and missed breakfast. I ended up making a sandwich for him as he hadn't brought any lunch.  To shorten this long story, the day ended with Bobby and Johnny rushing through the last third of the flowerbed along the fence. Johnny allowed as how Bobby tended to promise more than they could deliver.  No kidding. I'm happy to have a good bit of the work done but not really thrilled about the quality of the end-of-day efforts. Brennan was far more meticulous.

Here is the little mob of bushes behind the island BEFORE.

Here is the same area AFTER weeding, Preening, and mulching. It looks much better. You can see the messy edging and haphazard mulch placement along the fence. This was part of the end-of-day effort. At least the weeds are gone, the Preen applied, and some mulch in place. I can use my trusty edger to clean up the edge. And truth be told, there are more weeds than grass back here, so there won't be the precise edge that's possible nearer to the house.

With the bushed mulched, the island is a more pleasant place to sit.

While the work was being done on the rest of the yard, I continued my efforts along the fence.

This is as far as I'd gotten before the rains came. Hard to see, but there is a forsythia bush hiding in that patch of weeds.

When the day was done, the forsythia (left above) had been liberated and the five calla lilies that had originally ringed the statue were planted in front if it. Digging those holes with a hand trowel was a challenge. I dug out some rocks that were as big as my fist. (Click the pictures for a larger image.)

There are still about 10 bags of mulch to be spread, but I can handle it. I want to add to the fence bed where the mulch is a bit thin, and the dogwood, paulownias and Emerald Green arborvitae still need to be mulched. If there is any left, I'll spread it along the right side fence, where there is currently just a strip of slightly weedy bare dirt.

This is now the view from the porch. I can almost ignore the overlooking houses. The brown patches in the foreground are dead poa annua. It finally succumbed to the heat. The grass is quickly filling in, so it should be green pretty soon.

The bare fence on the right side of the yard looks bleak compared to that on the left. I've had an idea that will add color to the right side. I'm still pondering just how it will be done. Stay tuned. :)

After the rains ...

After nearly three weeks, the rains have ended. We're promised a week of sunshine and climbing temperatures.Jody and his crew came by to mow on Tuesday, June 5. They did not have time to spread any mulch as they were still several mow jobs behind.

Three weeks of rain and the grass grew! It looked so much better after its trimming.

The three paulownias are growing, some better than others.

This is the paulownia (Empress Tree) tree that came from Fast Growing Trees. It is doing well. I was concerned that it might be the wrong kind of paulownia because of the initial leaf shapes, but the new leaves are shaped more like the ones I expected, so all is well. 

This paulowna and the one pictured above it are the two that came from a different online nursery, which shall remain nameless. I didn't check the business reviews and am kicking myself for the oversight.  These two are not growing as well, although they were in the ground about two weeks before the healthy one. Note the curled leaves on the top one and the limp leaves in the bottom photo. Research tells me that these trees are not happy with extreme drought or extreme moisture. The ground they are planted in had soil amendments added but comprises more clay and rocks than where they healthy tree is planted. Perhaps it does not drain as well.

These two are also putting out leaves in the expected shape, so all is good. My concern was that one kind is invasive and hard to control. This kind behaves. :)

The three lavender plants are growing well. They have begun to put out buds. Can't wait for the lovely, fragrant flowers to open!

The ground is still pretty wet. I'm going to give it a day before I start the weeding and edging and mulching routine. My garden muscles are telling me they like the 3-week respite and will no doubt complain once I'm back outside.

Two new birds came to visit. I think they were a male and female Baltimore oriole couple. I haven't seen them since. They were too big to fit into the caged seed feeder and found nothing on the ground, so they apparently moved on.

Sorry for the poor photo. I took it through the window. Didn't want to startle him. His colors were much more vibrant in person. His wife was a more muted version.