However, it is safe to plant perennial plants, so I bought some for the island in my front yard.
The creeping phlox is so beautiful this spring that I bought several more clumps to plant along the border. I wish that it would bloom all summer! I had already extended the island a bit, and I bought two more rose bushes to add to the three that I already have there. I had thought that our cold winter had done a number on my existing rose bushes. Except for a few leaves at ground level, the branches were all bare. When I went to trim down the dead wood, I discovered that most of the branches were still alive, and I think I see the very beginnings of leaves sprouting on them.
I mentioned previously that this winter the hungry deer chewed up two of the large evergreen bushes on the side of the house. They are so bad that I doubt that they will ever look good again... especially if the deer continue to feed on them every winter. So this week I chopped them down and dug out the roots... a backbreaking job. I wasn't too upset about losing the shrubs. They had been planted by my father years ago too close to the house. Sometime down the road, I need to have new siding put on the house. The bushes would have to go anyway, since there would be no room for work to be done. I bought a miniature lilac (it grows to about 5 feet in height), and I planted that today also... well away from the house. I haven't decided on what other kind of bush to plant.
I still have a lot to do, but at least I feel as if I have made a good start on my gardening.
Poor deer, but at least they satisfied their hunger with the bushes and, as you say, they had to be gone anyway. I work at a new office and the good news is the manager likes the plants and has a well-kept garden both in the front and the back of the building. I told him about my "green" project at my previous job (which I couldn't fulfill because they never authorized the funds) and he said I can go ahead and turn this office in a green office inside and out.
ReplyDeleteYes, but I wish that the deer would stop using my garden as a salad bar!
DeleteThat's great news about your project at work. Will you be in charge of the landscaping and gardening in front and in back of the building? Gardening is wonderful exercise, as well an excellent form of mental therapy.
Hola Bill!!!
ReplyDeleteI have been consumed by my garden in the past few weeks. In the back, I have a small (325 sqft) lawn which I had intended to overseed as it's mostly weeds. Well, I started hacking at the thatch with a rake and realized that between the thatch and the roots that it'd be very hard to expect new seeds to grow. So I made the fateful decision to dig up the grass, sift out all the rocks (some as big as footballs -- joy of New England gardening), and then amend the soil with peat moss, vermiculite and lime. Four weeks later, I was exhausted and ready to seed. Now I've got grass sprouts, and it's a running battle to keep the squirrels from digging them all up.
So I totally relate to your outdoor chores.
Saludos,
Kim G
Boston, MA
Where we really have more yard than we can manage and long for a Mexican penthouse.
Putting in a new lawn is hard work! I know from experience. At this point I've given up on trying to have a gorgeous lawn. There are just too many tree roots in many spots for the grass to grow well. Now and then I try patching some spots. When I get discouraged by the appearance of my lawn, I just look at my neighbor's lawn... or should I say field of dandelions and other weeds.
DeleteSaludos,
Bill