I worked hard all weekend, and I do have a lot of photos, but the vast majority are not of what I did…if that makes any sense.

One of the new Echinacea paradoxa has a little flower bud on it. Bad light, bad photo, but considering how little time it’s been in its location, I’ll take even one bloom!

I threw clover seeds in a few bare spots around the front yard, and also in the bare spots at the front of the house that were caused by the ugly juniper, and by ugly maiden grass hanging down. I don’t know whether they’ll be sun-cooked now that it’s not raining all the time, but I have tiny sprouts!

Once again, I made up my mind to mow the clover field out back…and then half a dozen bees looked at me with sad little faces, and I left it. P did, too, when he mowed.

I’ve been inspecting the Tornado Honeysuckle religiously for aphids, but it’s been so cold that the flowers have been as yet unscathed.

The little sweet alyssium I planted under the Sweet Tea honeysuckle looks a bit better. Hopefully, it’s been busy making roots and that’s why it hasn’t made many new flowers. I planted a few nasturtium seeds there, too, which sprouted readily enough, but will probably crap out once the heat of summer comes. Nasturtium doesn’t like our summers much.

I think these were both supposed to be pink penstemon, though some are pink and some are purple. Not that it matters to me, or to the bees for whom I got it, but that’s what happens when you rely on plant tags!

I know they’re common–they are, after all, Common Whitetail–but a dragonfly friend is always welcome.

These may have volunteered here when the hateful vinca failed due to dampness and lack of sunlight, but I have always loved violets, and even when they’re not in bloom, they look better than vinca ever could.

Score! Finally, I found a wild plant (aside from the Virginia creeper) that I wanted enough to move! I actually found two clumps; I hit the first one with the weed whacker before I noticed the tiny blue flowers on the second clump of…Blue-Eyed Grass!

At some point in time, I will grow tired of admiring the Babbling Brook. That time is not now. 🙂

I took a shot of these before, but it was dull and cloudy, and pretty blue salvia deserves better.

I planted the clump of blue-eyed grass that I didn’t hit with the weed whacker out front. It’ll get morning sun, afternoon shade, and I hope it’ll be happy.

The second clump looked a little sad (I would if someone hit me with a weed whacker), but I thought it would be okay in a bare spot where the (very expensive) Virginia Snakeroot hadn’t filled in. Snakeroot is easily overrun by other plants, but I don’t think blue-eyed grass will be too aggressive.

Stinkhorns are kind of icky-looking, but at the same time, interesting.

Turns out these irises are Japanese after all, but no matter what, they are pretty!

First Eastern Tiger Swallowtail of 2017; a beautiful boy!

On Sunday, I woke up with the plan to finish seeding the cosmos bed, and replace the ugly chicken wire in the front flowerbed with Bird Block. I didn’t want to get into a big project because I had to do laundry as well. So…”In proving foresight may be vain: The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men, gang aft agley…” I did finish seeding the cosmos, which took me maybe half an hour, total. Then, for reasons I don’t even recall, I went over to investigate the bush honeysuckle that still infested the north side of the property near the garage. Several hours of digging, pulling, cutting, poisoning and chipping, the honeysuckle (that was on our property) is gone, and I also chipped the pile of last year’s butterfly bushes. I was sweaty, dirty and exhausted, but if that goddamned honeysuckle doesn’t come back (one clump first got painted with Bonide 274, then soaked with Roundup after the Bonide dried), then it was worth it. Pictures might not look like I did much, but I know where that goddamned honeysuckle was, and I know what it took to get it out of there!