“Then down rushed the rain, and the voice of the thunder
Smote dumb all the sound of the street,
And I to myself was grown nought but a wonder,
As she leaned down my kisses to meet.”
– William Morris, Thunder in the Garden
1/8/18:
In between rains over the past couple of days, I managed a decent amount of yardwork. As usual for January, I pruned back bushes. Some look sort of sad with only brown branches, no leaves left at the moment, but I know from experience that my roses and jasmine will rapidly sprout new greenery as soon as the warmth of spring arrives.
I was feeling energetic on Saturday, so I yanked weeds, crabgrass, and ivy out of many pots, and neatened up the edges of the lawn. Removing ivy from some spots has left bare ground, however, so I'll re-seed patches of the grass. Gophers have dug up a few areas as well; the cats always catch the pesky burrowers eventually, but often not before there are tunnels my feet sink into and excavated soil that becomes mounds of mud on the lawn.
While weeding, I took down the fencetop planter box, in which I'd put columbine and delphiniums, and where a nightshade berry plant has appeared. The columbine turned brown, so I cut it mostly back. The delphiniums disappeared completely, but are perennials, so I hope to see them again. In addition, an unknown plant has shown up in the planter. I'd barely noticed it, since this container lives on top of a 7-foot fence. It has long tendrils of stems, parsley-like leaves, and tiny white flowers tipped with brownish purple. Perhaps another variety of toadflax?
I was feeling energetic on Saturday, so I yanked weeds, crabgrass, and ivy out of many pots, and neatened up the edges of the lawn. Removing ivy from some spots has left bare ground, however, so I'll re-seed patches of the grass. Gophers have dug up a few areas as well; the cats always catch the pesky burrowers eventually, but often not before there are tunnels my feet sink into and excavated soil that becomes mounds of mud on the lawn.
While weeding, I took down the fencetop planter box, in which I'd put columbine and delphiniums, and where a nightshade berry plant has appeared. The columbine turned brown, so I cut it mostly back. The delphiniums disappeared completely, but are perennials, so I hope to see them again. In addition, an unknown plant has shown up in the planter. I'd barely noticed it, since this container lives on top of a 7-foot fence. It has long tendrils of stems, parsley-like leaves, and tiny white flowers tipped with brownish purple. Perhaps another variety of toadflax?
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A tangle of delicate flowers, leaves and stems.
Pretty little things.
Portia is helping out with yardwork.
I then continued with the project of repotting plants that have gotten too large for their current homes. One of these is the shooting star hydrangea. It's now moved from a medium-sized plastic pot into a 5-gallon terracotta pot. I also re-homed zinnias and lavender.
As I finished the afternoon's gardening, taking off my gloves to pet Portia cat and clean leaves from my hair, I observed that the gloves are nearly worn out. They were a present from my friend Amy about 6 years ago, and worked out well, keeping thorns from my fingers in countless rosebush prunings and blackberry bramble adventures. Now it's time to invest in a new pair: I'll look at different brands and styles and read reviews.
As I finished the afternoon's gardening, taking off my gloves to pet Portia cat and clean leaves from my hair, I observed that the gloves are nearly worn out. They were a present from my friend Amy about 6 years ago, and worked out well, keeping thorns from my fingers in countless rosebush prunings and blackberry bramble adventures. Now it's time to invest in a new pair: I'll look at different brands and styles and read reviews.
Repotting the hydrangea.
Winter violas.
Old gloves.