It's the Tuesday before Christmas and all through the house... Actually we aren't doing anything 'all through the house'. We're sitting here in our office, Hubs at his computer and I at mine, drinking coffee and screwing around online. He's waiting for the markets to open and I'm waiting to call the office...
Yesterday, we went out and finished digging up the front flower bed. It's about 20ft long from the front porch to the north end of the house by about 6ft deep from the block border to the house.
The first session, I dug up all the plants I wanted to keep - mums, peonies, lariope, columbine, and bugle weed. I also saved some of what I think are wild violets. (The leaves were all gone, so all I have are the rhizomes. We'll see if they are what I think they are come spring.) Then we dug up about a quarter of the bed at its narrowest point and chucked all the rocks bigger than say 1 inch into the wheelbarrow.
The next day, we spent a couple hours digging the middle and throwing rocks.
On the third session, which was several days after the previous one because we got a lot of rain, I went out by myself and dug maybe a couple of feet worth from the other direction, working from the porch toward the middle.
Yesterday, we had about 5 feet worth left to go. And we tackled that like champs. We should've stopped before we did, but we only had a couple feet left to go and neither of us was inclined to leave that little bit to the next day. We're no quitters. Of course, we paid for it.
We easily pulled three wheelbarrows worth of rocks out of that damned bed. This is very rocky land here. The biggest one was probably 8-9 inches by 5 or 6 inches. And I thought we'd dug that bed down when we put it in. Rocks migrate up, doncha know.
Anyway, it's sitting there all cleaned up and waiting for more dirt. Which I will get soon. I have the dirt I used in last year's container garden to dump in there. (I'll get more dirt for this spring's garden.) But it'll take more than I currently have on the property. And dirt had gotten really expensive the last time I checked. Not sure exactly how much I'll need, but, hey, I can always get more dirt.
Once I get the dirt, I can put the plants back. I think most of them can wait it out. They're in pots in the garage for now. The peonies are just roots and can overwinter like that if they need to. The mums are also dormant, so they can wait. Not sure about the columbine or the lariopes. I might just go ahead and move the lariopes to another bed. They like full sun and they were getting crowded by the peonies anyway.
I'm playing with the idea of moving my one Charlie Brown peony from another bed to this one. And I'm also thinking about moving the one hydrangea that's not doing so well into the front bed. We'll see. The only thing that's going back right where it was is the columbine. It liked where it was and grew well there.
So, that's what I'm up to this week before Christmas. Yeah, gardening in December. Lord knows, it's been warm enough. It's supposed to get up to 63F on Christmas Day, for pitysakes.
What are you up to this holly-jolly week?
Yay for pretty new flower bed. I have a peopny plant I transplanted YEARS ago and it never has bloomed. I need to find a better place for it but there's so much shade in my yard and the whole "needs lots of water" thing. Anyway, I bet the bed looks awseom this spring.
ReplyDeleteI did the whole marathone shopping trip to Wallyworld yesteray. I finished my portion of the gift shopping and the grocery shopping. I even got all the presents I bought wrapped! I didn't get anything else but dinner made but hey, I AM going to finish the Christmas story today. Or else.
Sadly, our grand plans of going to the Kids for morning Santa and cinnamon rolls, then later to the in-laws for turkey sandwiches might be a bust. Baseball Boy tested positive with a quick test, and yes, he IS fully vaccinated. They all then went and took the full blown. They won't know who else or what brand until today or tomorrow. Sis-in-Law has health issues that would preclude any contact. Only is a little freaked. (She's a control freak and last minute changes are her kryptonite.) The good news is, I have THREE boneless turkey breasts, I can make individual pans of rolls, and we can deliver and pickup packages on porches. It might not be the Christmas we planned but it'll be Christmas for us all. Heck, we could even Zoom opening prensets! We'll see. We had contact with him last week, but we're both fully vaccinated too. Personally, I wouldn't mind catching the omicron because it's mild and the science is pointing to fully immunity with a break-through infection.
So that's my week. Wait and see. Roll dough. Maybe some snickerdoodle cookies, and lots of words, editing, and cover designing for tomorrow. Okay, that last part is today. The other parts are for tomorrow and after.
Enjoy the weather. I figure it's less I'm having to pay in utlity bills. Happy Tuesday! 🎄
My peonies are always hit or miss.
ReplyDeletere:dirt
It's a long term project, but I really recommend putting in a compost bin, at least 4x4 feet, though bigger is better. Throw your leaves, grass clippings and food refuse in there throughout the year. By the second year you'll have the prettiest compost, all for free.
I dress all my beds with that compost every year.
Merry Christmas!! And good job on that garden clean up. That was a lot of work!