in the mud

well excuse my little rant yesterday. I just feel bad having to take trees down . . . Today I got very tired and muddy- literally, my clothes were soaked- from planting in the rain. Finally got the mulch from the stump grinding moved to another spot, where it can sit to age, and raked up. Filled in some of the holes with rough topsoil, put better soil over that, planted some stuff in the area, gave leaf mulch surround. All on the top end of the slope where visible from the street. By the time I was done I needed to soak in a hot bath, and then it was dark, so no photos of the planting yet. But here's something before it went in the ground- gladiola bulbs! They were already sprouting in the bag.

There was one moldy and several felt dried out, but I hope the rest are okay. If even half grow and bloom, I'll be happy.

I also planted the salvia lyrata, clary sage and the new daylily. I replanted two of the hyssop that had been sitting in pots. Dug up all the turtleheads that were still by the garden, and moved them to surround the tree stump- or rather, the crater where it used to be, ha. The turtleheads made it immediately look like an established planting! Broke apart the old cherry stump by the garden where they came out- and disturbed a very fat skink that was hiding in there. I saw its coiled tail first, and thought it was a beautiful snake.

Also going to plant my tithonias in a patch just downhill of the gladiolas, and thinking about taller sunflowers as well . . . Well, it sure felt satisfying to get those few perennials in the ground!