around the garden

I've been doing some work on the garden structure- the bed edges and such. But too tired from that to write it all out now, so here's some incidental pictures from the past few days. More on the actual work tomorrow. Found an unknown caterpillar- black and spiky!- on the boneset plant.

Which is doing great- it grew so fast, 

already the height of my small camellia.

I want to get more of this plant, or the common one that blooms in summer. Near it is the yarrow- so thin and small- I really admired some yarrow in a relative's yard several states south this past weekend, where it's warmer- hers so bright and thick and feathery! I suspect now mine would do better if I move it to a sunnier location.

Funny though, the same gardener had arum growing here and there in her yard. She asked me what it was- they'd been pulling it out! I like the bright, exotic appearance. She thought it might be an objectionable plant. I shrugged and said: well, if you like it, leave it be- but if you don't want it around, you'll probably have to dig up the tuberous roots. Here's mine, regrowing in fall-

I dug up a few echinacea to take to the plant swap soon. Here with other potted extras on my little bench- several catmint, a few beautyberry, and two pots of the miniature geranium (which I've grown tired of).

Not sure I'm going to take the beautyberries to the swap, though. Half the larger ones I transplanted died, or look like they did. This one by the hydrangeas is just a few thin sticks with a few leaves- 

but it does have three clusters of bright purple!

The side bed it's in, starting to look a bit neater and more deliberate. I've dug the stones into their places in the ground, to make the edge. Pulled more grass from behind the edge, and transplanted some errant ajuga out of the lawn, back into the bed.

When I was doing that work (actually about a week ago) I trimmed a bit of the wild chrysanthemum, and just stuck the cuttings in the ground on the other side of the little ornamental cypress. Wasn't sure if they'd take- but not only did they survive, they're blooming! Hard to see in this photo, I'll get a better one soon.

the edge

I'm working on two main things in the yard right now. One is to re-straighten all bricks that edge my garden beds, which have started leaning. I did one side of bed 1, and it looks so much better! and then to press stones with flat edges into the soil between them, to start 'paving' the paths (tired of trimming grass and pulling weeds there). This is a long-term project because I'm stubborn with my repurposing- it was costly enough just to buy those bricks and prep them for the beds edging, I'm fine to wait until I get hold of pavers and bricks that are leftovers of others' projects, or rock castoffs from my husband's collecting forays, to make the paths. It will be all mismatched but I don't care. More pics on that later. 

The other, is to clean up and tidy the outline of the perennial bed that is main side of the back lawn. There's still large bumpy roots that come out from the old tree stump, that I have to maneuver the lawn mower over/around, which is a pain. Grass and weeds creep in, and bugleweed (ajuga) creeps out, so the edge gets indistinct. So I've been painstakingly pulling out grass from between the bugleweed, and pulling some bugleweed out of the lawn to replant into the bed. And breaking up/removing the roots which are exposed, to make it flat lawn area, and edging the whole thing with irregular rocks. Not done- I'm going to realign that edge so it's got a nicer even curve, or is straight, undecided still. But this is about halfway there.

I can't quite remember the name of this little shrub. I think it's a dwarf cypress? I planted it at the request of my older kid- who's gone off to college now. I wasn't too fond of it when we first got it- but now it's kind of growing on me.

Yesterday I did a bit more transplanting- dug all the catmint out of bed 8. Put the smallest ones in pots, and replanted the larger ones around the yard. Three went to the left of that yellowish dwarf shrub, in a row in front of the pannicle hydrangea that's gotten so eaten back by the deer this year. I'm not sure if the scent of the catmint will keep the deer from approaching- but it's worth a try!

The others went onto the larger sunny sideyard, in a row on the outside edge at the top of the bed, and then curving around behind the patch of gladiolas. Which look nice and straight, btw- even though the ones on the smaller sideyard are flopping all over (I tied a ropeline to prop them up a bit). I don't have any pictures because my camera battery died at that point.