Still At It

Inspirational song: Danny's Song (Loggins and Messina)

Hey, now, this is starting to turn into real work. I was back at it, digging out a completely dead lavender and replacing it with that cool new white French lavender, and making new pots. I also dug out some bindweed where the lavender went. I decided I'm going to take out two or three other ones that look terrible, and replace with a combination of things. There's one at the north end of the front bed where it makes more sense to put the hydrangea. There's one close to the front door where I'll replace like with like (English lavender). And there's one by the sidewalk we transplanted from the kids' house that is struggling to survive. The knockout rose would look better there. I've learned only this year that you're supposed to prune lavender back by at least 50% in spring to keep it compact, blooming, and green all the way to the center. Mine are all woody and dying because I didn't know this before. I'll be changing my habits from here on out.

I learned something else important today. I had said we needed to get out of the habit of watering pots from the top, splashing the leaves and blooms, risking disease. Turns out we were also not getting water where it really needed to go. I came out to find my only Gerbera daisy wilted and looking three-quarters dead. I immediately watered it and all the other pots before I started digging and making new containers. Almost an hour later, it still didn't look revived. I lifted up the wilty leaves, and found that under the plant, the soil was completely dry. Once I carefully watered under the leaves, it perked up and will make it now.

I gave the Mr months to move the accumulated debris that had piled up in the corner of the porch, on my cute little bistro table I had wanted to be using this spring. Today I decided I was strong enough to handle it myself. I didn't completely sort recyclables from tools from other stuff we are keeping, but I did make it not junking up my porch. It just made me sick, seeing that every day. I moved a bunch of it to the other side of the fence, where neighbors didn't have to see it either. I can't imagine what our cadre of postal carriers thought of it.