Sidetracked again!

I hope you enjoyed your Fourth of July holiday weekend. We relaxed with friends, our favorite way to celebrate.
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On Monday I got back to work, digging and planting the lily garden. Three cheers for Walmart's 50% off sale. There are three heights of lilies. The shorter ones in the front are a pale pink, but they're finished blooming already. The low plants in back and in the front are hostas. When they fill out, this corner should be green and blooming nearly all spring and early summer. The garden is framed by the little Japanese maple on the left and the crabapple tree. Very pleasant, and the cranes look right at home here. Next season I may plant a vine on the trellis, but for now, the cranes rule.

This morning, Tuesday, I went out to finish spreading the mulch but got seriously distracted by the startburst pavers. I bundled off to the farm store for paver base and a tamper and got to work. This is how far I got ... the stones in place on the paver base. I need to get sand to fill in between, and Lloyd promises to stake the frame so it won't shift.
By the time I finished this much, it was getting too hot to mess around outside, so I came inside to work on the kitchen. I got most of the cabinets, ceiling, and woodwork washed, so tomorrow we can begin painting.

A New Look

Every day in the garden brings a new look, but the new look of the title refers to the blog background. It comes from Hot Bliggity Blog free blogger backgrounds for the cool peoples. You can reach the website by clicking on the little bar in the upper left corner of the screen.

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The new look in the garden today includes many plants. Two rectangular planters were added beside the front steps. They were intended for a baker's rack on the screened porch but turned out to be too big. They are planted with dusty miller and cardinal flowers (lobelia x speciosa) "Fan Scarlet". I used Miracle Gro's soil with the moisture beads, as this area gets hot sun every afternoon. I'm hoping the moisture beads will keep them from drying out too quckly. Just below the steps, on the left side, is a salvia "Eveline"; it is replacing one of the plants from Michigan Bulb that didn't make it.

On the left side of the porch, where the hollyhocks are, I added an echinacea "Pink Poodle" (red circle) and nepta "Blue Dragon" (blue circle). Inside the yellow circle are three hollyhocks. The larger one is from Michigan Bulb; the two smaller ones are from seed. I have no idea what the tall leggy flowers in the center are. The ID stick was missing from the pot. They have lovely white flowers. [Click on the photos to enlarge]

To the right of the porch I planted two baptisia "Carolina Moonlight" (red arrows) and three amsonia hubrichtii "Bluestar". I'm not familiar with these, but they should grow to about three feet tall by 30" wide and effectively block the gas meter from view. Inside the red box is the butterfly bush. It still doesn't look like much, but it has added some new leaves.

Moving to the back yard, I finally planted the four lilies I got on sale at Walmart weeks ago (red arrow). The only ID on their little tag said Lily, pink. In the foreground are three heucheras (coral bells) I got at the nursery sale last Friday. From left, they are: "Miracle", "Berry Smoothy", and "Lime Rickey." The stick in the background (yellow arrow) is one of the witch hazel bushes from Michigan Bulb. It's leafing out nicely. The other two aren't as robust; one has some leaves, smaller, and the other seems to be dead, but I'll leave it where it is for a while, just to be sure.

In the peninsula end of the Maple Island, I added a columbine (yellow arrow). I don't know its proper name, but I'm sure it will be lovely all the same.

Have you noticed something depressing about these pictures? The flowers seem to be awash in a sea of gray: dried dirt, dead grass. I think I'm going to have to break down and start mulching the areas that are planted. I was hoping to avoid mulching, and maybe I can cut way back on it next year, as the plants get their growth, but this year I think it is a must. I hope I can find enough mulch so that it can all be the same kind. It's getting a bit late in the season and the stockpiles at the farm store are dwindling.

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I added eight sweet basil plants to the little kitchen garden bed. They're lined up along the soaker hose on the backside. I don't recall if I mentioned the four yellow pepper plants just to the right of them. They came from Walmart and were planted a few days ago.

Despite all of this planting, there are still a few in their pots. I took the begonia out of the turtle planter and put in a creeping phlox plant. The other small plants will go into the crevices of the wall itself. I'm going to stuff more of the Miracle Gro potting soil with moisture beads into the cracks in hopes that they will be able to root into the dirt mound behind the wall before they dry out and die.

Sunday Morning ... a Surprise!

The heat wave broke last night. We should be in the low 80s today instead of the mid 90s. I'm happy about that. I got out this morning and planted the daylilies along the north fence. The shadows in the early morning pictures make it difficult to see, but there are four clumps of lilies spaced along the board fence. The three nearest are the same, a burgundy color. That large clump broke into three pieces. The other clump is much smaller. I could have divided the clumps even more, but the grower suggested planting them as is for now and separating them in the fall, when the plant begins to go dormant. I'll do that after Labor Day, when we pick up the other daylilies from the farm. These are the hybridizer's didn't-make-the-cut rejects. This is the burgundy lily. Its petals are narrow and star-like. It shows up a bit red on my monitor. The petal touching the bottom of the photo at the right looks to be nearest the right color.

This is the yellow one. This photo is a bit green. In real life, the blossom is a beautiful clear yellow. The blue tape is how the plants are marked for digging. You go up and down rows and rows of plants to choose the ones you want. They're marked by one person with your name on the tape and dug by another.

You may have noticed a bunch of greenery in the first photo, along the fence at the right. I saw it for the first time today for what it is: poison ivy! I did a round of weed killing before I started planting this morning, and this puppy was hit with both RoundUp and Weed B Gone. Last year there was a small poison ivy vine on the big oak tree, but Lloyd managed to kill it off.

The main reason for the killing spree this morning is this vine. It has heart-shaped leaves, grows about 6 feet a day (it seems) and seems impervious to RoundUp. I'm hoping the 2,4D in the Weed B Gone will do the job on it.

This is the infected part of the yard. The main body of the vines is on the other side of the fence, so I sprayed all of that, too. I want to plant decorative grass along the fence here, but there's no point in doing that until the vines are gone.

This is the grass that will go in that corner so that something else can go here, beside the shed.

Lilywood Farms Adventure

It certainly was an adventure! Check out this blurry photo of the GPS in NJ's car. See where the bridge is? See where we are? If you didn't know there was a ferry at this point, the image would be pretty scary! This 1933 something-or-other was ahead of us to board the ferry.

Here's the reason for the temporary ferry service in Glasgow, Missouri: a new bridge is being built to replace the decrepit one. I was used to White's Ferry at Poolesville, Virginia. The boat is called the Gen. Jubal A. Early. The fare there is $4 one way/$7 round trip. The Glasgow ferry is $8 one way! I was amazed at the price difference. But, that said, any day with a ferry ride in it can't be all bad. :)

We wended our way through Glasgow and out into the countryside to Armstrong, Missouri, the home of Lilywood Farms. I was surprised to see how hilly the land is south of the river. Some of the roads were like roller coasters. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee! NJ was a good sport about waiting while I stomped around in the lily patches. She was waiting in the car for me to get my purchases wrapped up and snapped this shot of me in the side view mirror. It really doesn't tell you much about the day, but I think it's a cool shot.

Here are some of the many workers trimming and bagging clumps that have been purchased. The deal was, the landscape clumps that normally sell for $30 were on sale for $15, cash and carry. These are plants that are quite nice, but didn't make it into the gene pool of the hybridization program. They aren't registered, don't have names. I got one that is a pretty clear yellow and another, taller one, that is deep burgundy.

Here I am with a lily clenched in my teeth. I think the sun was getting to me by that time. Thanks to NJ, my foolishness was duly recorded.

Some of the registered lilies were on sale at 50% off for double fans. I bought 7 or 8 different kinds. These won't be dug until the plants begin to go dormant toward the end of summer. I can pick them up Labor Day weekend. That gives me time to decide exactly where each one will go, and I won't have to worry about them while we're away in August.

When I came home, I found the flowers here all gasping for water. It was 98F. I spent an hour giving them a good soaking. About 7 pm the cold front finally arrived. Now, at 9 pm, the temp is down to 81. Tomorrow should be a good day for planting.

You Load Sixteen Tons ...

Well, not exactly sixteen tons, but Tennessee Ernie Ford would have been proud of the way I carried the 22 bags of pond pebbles from the farm store to the back yard. I shoveled the pathway smooth, put down weed barrier cloth, and dumped, pushed, and shoved the rocks to form a walkway between the Shed Garden and the fence. The brown lump is part of a flower pot. I cut the bottom off and am using the ring as a protective collar for the trumpet vine planted there. A trellis will be added to the fence for it to climb on. I used the larger pond pebbles with the thought that they won't migrate as fast as pea gravel when stepped on, and won't start sinking as fast when the weed barrier rots away in a year or so. This was done a few days ago. I'm playing catch-up in the blog.
We're in a HOT spell this week ... upper 90s and humid. My friend NJ brought over four crape myrtle sprouts from her yard. I planted the biggest one in the front of the house, where it will get some morning sun and a lot of afternoon sun. As it grows, it will screen the length of the yard to create some privacy. I can't think of any other place in the yard for a crape myrtle, so I've listed the remaining three on Freecycle and the Midmogardeners lists. I marked it with an arrow, as it blends into the shadow. It was 82F at 7:30 am, when I finished watering it.

While I was outside the fence taking the photo above, I snapped this one of a daylily. It's one that I got at the master gardeners sale. I have no idea what its name is, but isn't it pretty with that little ring of orange in its throat?

On the way back into the house (where I plan to spend the rest of the day in air conditioned comfort!), I snapped this picture of the gladiolus bed. They were planted June 3, so they are 19 days along. You can almost watch them grow!

A Quiet Sunday

No photos today, but progress was made with planting. In the front yard, purple salvia seeds were planted just inside the front gate, and hollyhock seeds were planted next to the house, where the hollyhock plants were put in yesterday.

In the back yard, most of the remaining plants found a home. I didn't tackle the big area in the rock garden. My muscles rebelled at the thought of digging and turning all of that dirt and peat moss. Tomorrow.

The Great Wall of Marshall

Before we get to the wall, let me share some photos of the Grand Entrance in its current incarnation. My friend Norma Jeane came over today with a bag of pachysandra from her garden and shovel in hand. It's so much more fun to have a kindred spirit in the garden, and as an experienced gardener, she helped a lot. She gave me a certificate for a day's work for my birthday last January; today I cashed it in. When we were finished, the front entrance had been reworked. The square tubs with the hibiscus are now on the ground instead of hanging over the lower step. When they start blooming, their red blossoms will really pop against the black shutters.

Here's a closer view of the left side, part of NJ's planting. The red lines are pointing to hollyhocks. I'm going to plant hollyhock seeds behind them, so next year there ought to be a grand display of hollyhocks there. The blue lines point to some to some lavender grass. The orange arrow is pointing to pink pampas grass that is hiding behind the planter. The brown arrows indicate the chocolate chip ajuga that she planted all along the front walk. When it starts to fill in, it will be better than mulch and won't have to be replaced. It's a good place for it, as it doesn't mind being stepped on once in a while. I just wonder how it will fare when we put deicer on the walk next winter.

Here are the pachysandra plants under the magnolia. You can maybe make out the half dozen variegated plants that I put in a few days ago. All the rest are from NJ's yard. They'll make a nice neat carpet when they spread. This bed is ready for edging now.

While NJ was working in the front yard, I was busy in the back. I planted the three reblooming azaleas; I love their delicate light green leaves. I also planted the three witch hazel bushes. That stick with the white tag on it is one of them. I put an arrow on it so you can find it! [Remember, you can make these pictures bigger if you click on them.]

Continuing along the back fence, I also planted the Lenten Roses (hellebores). I've never seen them in bloom, but the pictures are lovely. They bloom in early spring. The arrow in the upper right is pointing to another witch hazel. I'm having a hard time imaging these sticks growing into real bushes -- they look like willow switches.

Besides the planting, which was almost incidental, I managed to complete two major projects. Below you're looking at the backside of an L-shaped wall. Yesterday I built the stone part, and today I made a wall of bricks along the patio side of this island. It took six trips to the front yard to dig dirt for the backfill. It's a big wheelbarrow, and I can only roll it when it's 2/3 full. I did take a good sized chunk out of the berm in the front yard that needs to be removed anyway. The flowers in the foreground are primroses bought on sale at Walmart yesterday. The little tag identified them as annuals, but I know they are perennials, as I've grown them before.

Here's the front of the wall. The bricks, like the stones, are dry stacked. I turned some of them at a 90-degree angle to sort of anchor them into the dirt. If the little wall (it's only 4 courses high) starts to wobble, I'll take it apart and add some Liquid Nails for stability. I don't want to mess with mortar. The lilies in front of the wall were half price at Walmart. I like sales.

I did say two major projects. The other one was clearing out one end of the rock-bordered garden. This is what it looked like early this morning. The holes were left when I lifted the mums and moved them to the front. In the course of clearing out the weeds, I found two more mums, very tiny. I moved them up front, too. If they make it, fine. If not ... well, they can always be replaced. Note the rocks in the lower left corner. They were messed up with the fence installers rolled over them with the mini Bobcat and had to be reset.

After several hours of labor, the bed was cleared of weeds and six bags of topsoil and a bag and a half of peat moss had been spread. The topsoil bags leaked, so the soil was very wet and weighed more than the 40 pounds marked on the bags. I broke it up with a hoe as best I could and then spread the peat moss over the top. Tomorrow I'll get in there with a spade and do some mixing. Some of the rocks are still a bit cattywampus, but at least they're lined up again. I got some herbs and tomatoes at Walmart yesterday. This is where they'll go. I may put a couple of flagstones in the middle, a continuation of the center line in the next bed for easier access to the inside of the square.

Rain Delay Bonus: A Living Wall

Before I explain that cryptic title, let me show you the plantings done yesterday from Michigan Bulb. This is part of the Grand Entrance garden. I must admit, the plants look nearly twice as big today as they did when planted yesterday. I may want to get some close-out annuals and poke them in between for some color. Or maybe not. We'll see.

This little number will be a black butterfly bush about 4-5 feet tall. It's meant to grow up and overhang the sump pump well at the left. It has a pile of growing to do!
These are the plants yet to be put into the ground. There are three witch hazel "bushes" in there, lying down. Each one is a thin whip about 3 feet high. It will be interesting to see how these become bushes. I hope it will be dry enough to plant tomorrow (Friday), but the ground is so soupy that they may have to wait until Saturday.

The gladiolus bulbs are sprouting!

Over the past few days, a plan has evolved for what I'm calling the gateway to the back yard. It's a transition area from the colorful, flowery front yard to the greenery of the wooded back and spans the area between the back corner of the house and the place where the pickets meet the privacy fence. The two tall arbor vitae will define the area; they're not quite where they will be planted. Xochitl pulled up all of the bricks and stacked them neatly. They'll be used elsewhere, eventually. Something will replace them -- an anniversary present Lloyd got for me -- but I'll keep that as a surprise. I knew there was some reason why I was reluctant to dig up the stepping stones.
Since it was too wet to plant (the rain delay in the title), I lugged a number of rocks from one side of the yard to the other and built a living wall. Lloyd has been wanting one, but I didn't see a place for it until today. It is an element in the gateway to the back yard. I left spaces between the rocks for soil and will be looking for plants to fill in. I put a couple of Lloyd's cactus saucers on top, but I'm not sure they'll stay there. The location of the cactus garden has yet to reveal itself to us. I think a tall ceramic pot will go where the bags of peat moss are stacked to anchor the patio end of the wall.

I don't recall if I mentioned it earlier, but that saucer in the middle island marks the spot where the fountain will go. The solar-powered fountain pump arrived today, so Lloyd can now start work on the ceramic bowl that will be the fountain.

Ducking Tornadoes

We're under a tornado watch until 1 am, but this post could also be titled "Weather for Ducks" for all the rain we've had. The plants arrived from Michigan Bulb today. I've ordered plants by mail before, but I always forget how small they are until they arrive. About half got planted; the rest will go in tomorrow. There are no photos yet. I don't want to embarass the poor scrawny things, especially in this gloomy weather. If the sun comes out tomorrow, maybe.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho

When I take the shovel out of the shed in the morning and head off to work, I think of the seven dwarves and start humming "Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go." This morning I worked on the entrance garden. I managed to get one side of the gate turned over and a little bit of the south edge done before the sun got over there. I need to get out earlier.
I planted the coral bells. I like the one with the bronze leaves. It will be a nice accent in that little peninsula.

I also broke up some more sod clods with the trusty hoe, but I didn't photograph it. You really don't want to see yet another pile of dirt, even if it is watered liberally with my sweat.

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Tomorrow we're going to the Scott Joplin Music Festival in Sedalia, Missouri, so there won't be much gardening happening. I'm glad that all of the plant purchases are in the ground. One day next week another batch will be arriving, this one from Michigan Bulb. I couldn't resist their "up to 67% off" sale.

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Have a great weekend. I'll see you in a day or so.

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P.S. Adding this later in the afternoon. I took a little break and then went back out and finished up the one side of the entrance garden. The ground is turned. The clods need to be broken up, and some of the excess dirt will be moved to some low spots in the yard. I'm happier going into the weekend knowing that at least half of this garden is dug.

Planting and dying ... the cycle of life

Today we hit a high of about 72 F, a great day for the garden. The first step was to plant the corner with the electric meter. The grass here has been dead for a good long time, and with all of the rain we've had, turning over the sod and breaking up the clumps was almost fun.

My first father-in-law, a farmer, told me that it's better to leave small clumps of dirt rather than break it down and rake it until it's nearly like sand. The clumps and the little spaces between them accept water easily and hold it longer and don't tend to form a hard crust as it dries out.
The candidates for this little bed were the lilies-of-the-valley I bought at Powell Gardens and a piece of a hosta that I took from beside the screened porch. There was a nice little pup on one side of the mother plant that was just ready to leave home. I think the meter is read electronically from the street now, but I put a stepping stone there in case the reader has to come into the yard to do it.

The next project was dealing with the clumps of sod from the front yard that have been piled in the low spot near the pink dogwood.

The rain broke them down a bit, but it took some serious chopping with both a pointed hoe and a rake to break them down the rest of the way. But the tufts of dead grass are gone and it's smoothed over. I think something will be planted there tomorrow, and those two little coral bells can get out of their pots at last.

Next up were the six caladium bulbs that have been waiting patiently for release from their bag. The label says they are mixed, so we'll be surprised by the colors when they come up. They're spread out in the area indicated in yellow.

Another small step was to get out the hammer and drill and hang the wind chime on the fence and put up a hook for the bougainvillea. The plant may need a couple of links of chain to lower it just a bit so it doesn't hit its head on the rain gutter.

Then came the dying. I sprayed Round-Up in this back corner to try to kill off some vines that have been a problem for years. Last year they nearly tied up the Bradford pear. When I'm convinced it's really dead, the ornamental grass near the shed will be moved against the fence. I think it will make a nice background for a fairy village. It doesn't seem to be as invasive as some grasses. It has pretty much stayed right here for the past four years. This will clear the area by the shed for something special ... a secret for now.

While I had the Round-up out, I sprayed along the two sections of fence that flank the gate to get the grass out of the way for planting the mums that are taking up space in the garden. It's about time they got out on their own. And I sprayed a larger profile for the Maple island and sprayed a fourth island, to be known as the Tear-shaped island between the Big Oak island and the Maple island. The fountain will go in the Tear-shaped island.

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While I was in search and destroy mode, I also sprayed the few weeds in the brick sidewalk up front and the area under the picket fence along the south side, where the mower can't reach.

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And speaking of mower, I found out that American Lawn Mower Company sells a sharpening kit for their reel lawn mowers, so I ordered one. Using the non-motorized push mower is really relaxing. No noise or fumes! And when the lawn is reduced to pathways of grass, it will be a pleasure.

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That's it for today. I'm going to hit the shower and then work on my garden notebook. I'm really trying to keep track of what's planted where, where it came from, when it was planted, etc.