rocks and plants

More weeding, cleaning up the edge where fence line will go. Happily discovered that most of the nepitella I planted along the outside edge of bed 4, are still alive! The tiny leaves look velvety.

For years (it feels like) there's been a heap of broken rock on my garden bench- waiting for me to dig them in as a mowing strip around some garden beds. I don't know now, why that was taking me so long. I took a few hours to just sit down and shove them all into the ground, and then tossed the smallest broken bits as a mulch layer. Here on the short side of bed 1 against the house- cleared all the mock strawberry and purple dead nettle- dug in the larger stones to fit patchwork alongside each other.

And here at the end of the path between beds 2 and 3- where it's always muddy and soggy. Very makeshift but already I am pleased to not get my feet wet in that spot, and have a solid place to step right out from under the deck. As more broken rock becomes available (from my rock-collecting spouse) I will extend it.

Few days later I did my usual annual chore of lifting out some edging bricks to re-straighten a row. The left side of this path has been wonky for a long time. Of course it's still not perfect, but much better and I'm not embarrassed to look at it anymore.

Rainy today. I dug up and moved to the front mailbox spot, two borage that were growing in bed 1 (where I want to plant asparagus!) Really they are a bit large for transplanting at this point- with the taproot this is tricky- but I did my best and there are other seedlings coming up in this spot now so if they don't make it, no great loss.

working the dirt

I sowed beet seed today. Remembered to soak it. I don't recognize this packet, must have got it at a plant swap during one of those years I wasn't planting the garden. It's not from any of the seed companies I used to order from. Detroit dark red.

I pulled off the straw mulch from half of bed 3 (the other half will have leaf beet chard and green beans on the trellis is my plan). There were just a few wheat sprouts, easy to pull. I turned the soil over with a trowel, picked out some of the heavier lumps, made shallow furrows and dropped the seeds in, spacing them by hand. Swept the soil back over top with my fingers, patted it all down firm and watered. The work so dearly familiar and soothing. I should have gone back inside at that point but then set down to pull weeds from behind bed 1 against the house wall- where I've been dumping pistachio and peanut shells as mulch.

While none are coming up yet in the front yard around the mailbox, there's one borage plant come up in bed 1,

and another in the mulched path behind it. Debating if I will try to dig them up and transplant elsewhere, though I think they're too far grown for that.

And then I sat with the fire pit, letting pieces of downed tree branches turn to ash (which I will feed to the lawn later) reading a book I have been dragging my feet to finish, while doing another pleasant thing I have avoided for too long (fire). I felt like I had forgotten how to start a fire- after going through five matches and the flames smoldered and died twice, I went inside and hunted up the very last of those lint/egg carton/dipped wax starter lumps once made for camping. One left. I used it to get this fire going, and then even with my wood slightly damp it went merrily for another hour or two. And I finished my book.

first freeze

was last night. I spent the last two days raking leaves and picking up more pin oak acorns out of the grass. Put some leaf litter/grass clippings mulch around and over some of my plants just as it was getting dark yesterday- the new rosemary, sweetspire, hyssop (which also got cut back to two inches), wild geraniums, lemon balm and tarragon, etc. 

A few days earlier I had spread the compost on all the garden beds- it was just barely enough. I didn't have any left over to feed the ferns, hostas or other yard perennials. Now I'll have to spend this afternoon cutting down the plants killed by frost, that just look icky- the coleus and celosia, the black tatters of leaves on monarda and joe pye stems. Other things that just look dried up, I'll leave be until spring. 

Pictures from compost spreading day, just because it looked so rich. Momentarily- as soon as this was done, I put leaf/grass mulch over the copmost layer. I could tell the soil had been neglected past two seasons- removing some weeds before spreading the compost, found the soil was hard, dry and somewhat compacted. Maybe that's why I haven't seen squirrels digging in the garden so much this year. I thought it was because the hawks and owls passing through our yard more often had taken some of them- but maybe also because the soil just wasn't as soft and inviting, when I hadn't been mulching and feeding it. Well, now it got that treatment again.

another angle- still just as empty.

There are some things still here, though- rue looks great, as if re-flourishing since its little trim

Borage coming up in bed one also has lovely bluish hue, robust leaves

Nicotiana in a few scattered spots

This tall one next to the dill has been blooming like crazy

other side

The dill is over my head again! I would cut the umbrels for more dried seed, but they're still green yet

Here's a smaller dill alone in bed three. 

A few small leeks in bed ten. I'd like to eat them, but want them to grow bigger first.

I cut some bug-riddled leaves out of the lovage, and that looks better now 

My new rosemary looks rather pale. I trimmed it a bit more (using for tea), the leaves look all faintly speckled as if from aphid bites . . . 

The blue sage still has tons of color, though quite a few flower stems are gone to seed now

I found a few bees on them- I think affected by the cold, because they were moving very slowly

but that allowed me to get quite close

I also brought in a lot of potted plants against the cold, and put the young beautyberries in the mini greenhouse to overwinter (never got around to planting them). More pics soon.

Why do I tend to forget how much I love gardening, until I'm out there again? Tidying things up, seeing the richness of the turned compost, digging my fingers through the soil, leaning against the sun-warmed bricks of the bed edges, just feel so content and happy in what I'm doing. It's good work.

some things

around the yard: boarage is getting big leaves and filling in thick around the mailbox spot!

Some sensitive ferns are growing in among the lilies of the valley- I don't mind how it looks mingling, but probably will have to dig/pull some ferns before they go too far. 

My first cranesbill, that seemed to have died off earlier in the year, is doing just fine now! Although still half the size of the other one.

Spiderwort blooming. Looks taller and fuller this year.

All the joe pye I hastily dug up and moved to be against the house wall on the first sideyard, survived the winter and are coming back. They did much better here than the swamp milkweed (I still haven't found more than the first three clumps to move) so I think the milkweed wasn't really thriving here.

That one orange flower came up again among the bleeding hearts and hellebores.

Mountain laurel is starting to bud! Though it doesn't look so happy in this spot- still doesn't have many more leaves. Now I'm starting to wonder should I move it yet again.

Rumex. I always like seeing this plant in spring, though later in the season it always looks ragged from the bugs. . . 

my borage

have mostly survived their transplant operation. (The larger one against the rock wasn't moved, but the smaller one in front to the right was.)

The clary sage I moved from the back garden spot, also survived its transplant just fine. I thought I was going to have to cut the flowers off and wait for a second bloom, but no.

Cranesbill in the front bed looking nice.

Tulips just finished blooming- four pinks this year and only one red, on the other end of the bed and faltering. That's peonies to the right of them- they grow up so fast!

found

the identity of that plant I was wondering about just a few days ago, when it started to bloom. It's the clary sage, of course! I think a volunteer seedling. I dug it up and moved into the front bed. A little droopy now, but I've watered it heavily twice, the day became overcast, and tomorrow it's supposed to rain, so good prospects.

Also counting on the weather, I dug up and moved out of the garden (near these leaf beet chard)

a handful of what I think are black-eyed susans, put them on the larger sideyard. And cleaned up the mailbox spot- dug weeds, trimmed grass edge, reset some of the stones. Pulled out all the smaller borage seedlings, dug and moved some of the larger ones to space them more evenly. Have to do this when they're small or too much damage to the taproot to survive. Not a great photo but I'll take another when the plants are more impressive.

Worked on cleaning up the front bed, too- trimmed the small azalea (which is doing great now the larger trees are gone), pulled mock strawberry, trimmed grass against the bed edging and cut back stonecrop where it was sprawling and growing. Lots more violet seedlings! And glad to see my first cranesbill is alive, after all. It will probably just be smaller this year.

My pink clematis started blooming!

I guess one plus about not really gardening this year, is that I'm spending what time and energy I do have, on the yard plants. Paying more attention to them, getting more weeds cleared out by hand . . . 

what's coming up

Actually, that was not so hot for April yesteraday. I suppose it just felt so. I looked it up- record temperature for this area in April was 97°. Doing more cleanup around the yard- clearing away dead stems and foliage that I'd left overwinter, spreading mulch (still have a good supply from the maples we took out last year). The oakleaf and pannicle hydrangeas are leafing out, and the rose of sharons just barely starting to. Lilac is nearly in full leaf- but oddly one side of the plant has hardly any. Insect damage? Too much shade from the neighbor's tree? 

 Cranesbill are all sprouting up, bleeding hearts are in full bloom and the columbines look nice across the rear of the front flower bed, where there's nothing much else yet. Later on they'll be obscured by coleus and more when they die back in summer neat. My peonies are putting up shoots, hosta and gladiolas are emerging, yellow salvias already in full leaf around the base of trees. Ajuga spreading bright color so nicely, and I'm very happy to see the ostrich ferns emerging- there seem to be a few more this spring! Beautyberry is leafing, which makes me very happy, and all the heucherellas are still here (not eaten up by rabbits yet). Joe pye weed is growing back. I need to tidy up the liriope and hellebores. I have not yet seen any growth on the black-and-blue salvia, milkweed or mums. And disappointing, there's no borage seedlings. I think a few had come up months ago in the garden, but I dug them out when preparing the beds for planting, thinking plenty would grow in the perennial spot, or around the mailbox. Nope. I wonder if they sprouted earlier when it was unseasonally warm, and then died in the cold again.

Here's a few hellbore flowers I cut and put in tiny jars on the kitchen windowsill to admire for a week.

Just now I planted out the mulberry seedling, mulched and watered it, fenced it around to keep off the deer. The young holly I moved to a spot just downslope of it on that hillside is still alive! The other two look dead but when I scrape a tiny spot with fingernail on the bark, still green underneath so I'm leaving them there in case they can recover. Dug and planted the two canna lilies in a spot near the ostrich fern where it gets pretty damp- water flows there from both the downspout on that side of the house, and output from our basement sump. I've been thinking of someday putting irises in that area, too . . . 

Lovage is thick enough to eat now, so I might strike celery off the grocery shopping list.

blanketed

This past week I did the final work putting the garden to bed for winter. Turned the compost pile- there was less than before, only the bottom fourth or barely third was finished material, but it was very finely done, with a clear demarcation. I put six wheelbarrow loads on eight garden beds, the rue and perennial herbs just got leaf litter mulch. On top of the compost layer went four wheelbarrow loads of finished leaf mould from last year's pile. Started a new one. While it feels quieting to see all the beds flat and dark with their winter mulch, it also feels restful and I sure was satisfied, happy even, to find the rich darkness at the bottom of the piles. It still feels something miraculous and wealthy, to dig up all this goodness from heaps of waste and blanket it over to feed next year's plants. Only green in the garden now are a few leeks, sorrel, winter savory and lavender in the perennnial bed, rue and some volunteer borage on the back wall that brave the cold a little longer. 

All the vermicompost went on the front lawn, when I emptied out the blue bin a few weeks ago (don't think I mentioned it here). The worms were looking a bit poorly but now with fresh bedding and regular feedings again (I had ignored them lately) they're looking better.

The green tomatoes I picked and put on kitchen windowsill didn't ripen, they just got moldy and tossed. Should have tried making fried green tomatoes! Half the cowpea pods I picked just withered icky-looking too, but the rest I am waiting for them to dry and see if the seed inside is any good. Next time must watch the weather reports more closely, and pull them all before the first night the drops below freezing. We've had a few now.

flowers etc

Hyssop in the container

and in a bed- behind them, nicotiana 

Lavender

Rue is flowering-

Yesterday I saw a small, velvety black butterfly with white spots there

It has plump orange upper legs-

In the rear perennial bed I found a volunteer- its leaves and flower shape look like the cranesbill in the front yard, but this one is orange.

Largest borage by the mailbox was flowering-

but it was actually off to the side, in the grass. On a rainy day I took a slim chance and dug it up to move into the bed space, but broke the taproot (of course). 

Well, there's plenty more not far behind it.

I moved the rumex from that spot. Also too late in the season- it wilted severely even though I transplanted it during  a week of rain. It wasn't doing well out front. Too much sun I think, and unwell in a spot too hot for it, was beset by whitefly. I sprayed an insecticidal soap, pulled off the worst leaves, threw out the worst two plants. The remainders

they're now around the rhubharb flanking one panicle hydrangea

Here's the turtleheads I dug and moved much earlier in spring-

on the newly-sunny sideyard. Which has such a long way to go.

On the other side, my milkweed have all come up-

Black-and-blue salvia looks great so far

Looks like the dark blue salvia will be okay too

Lamb's ears recovered from their move (just two of them)- the row is tidy now-

and the ajuga in front of them is filling in pretty quickly

Next year it will be as thick as this! previous year's bunch under the hydrangea (with a bit of mock strawberry mixed in there)