I weeded the milkweed and a bit more in the Honeysuckle Horseshoe, but then I found a Scudderia nymph and had to take pictures. Canon, not phone, and not yet off the camera. I’ll add them later.

In great news, one of my persimmon trees is still alive. Dunno about the other, or the pawpaw,  but one persimmon is alive!

I found a couple of dead stumps (long ones) to use as a trellis of sorts for pipevine; no pictures because I hadn’t decided how to use them before we had to go to Wal-Mart, then I fell asleep after we got home, and then we had to mow the lawn. Now, I need to fold the laundry I’ve not even finished yet. Long weekend can’t get here fast enough!!

Actually put it in yesterday,  but…fuck you, mosquitoes!

Cute ‘pider web by my as-yet-un-trellised (it’s a word) pipevine.

Again, fuck grass, but the spot J. couldn’t get with the skid steer is done. I put the grass over by the ninebark. Jesus, that was hard work.

Also, fuck bush honeysuckle. This one had been cut back several times before, but it dared to come back after I whacked it down a few weeks ago. It was right against an Osage-orange tree and took a shovel, my composite trowel, my loppers and a hatchet, but I finally got it. I put it on the patio as a warning to other sprouting bush honeysuckle.

Edit: I also cut away some honeysuckle menace that was shading my probably-dead persimmon trees this morning, and I weeded a bunch in the Honeysuckle Horseshoe, so I wasn’t completely lazy today. Almost ready to open…if the goddamned aphids don’t kill it first.

Annnd…played ‘Parkle Bomb with Miff for a while.

That said…drum roll, please…I finally have a Bird of Paradise sprout! Just one, and I planted them on the 6th of April,  so it took its sweet time for sure! In fairness to the seeds, I didn’t soak them and for the first few weeks, they didn’t have heat, and even after they did, I turned off the heat mat last week because it was so hot, and I did know they take a long time, but id honestly given up on them. I hope I can get even just one plant; it’s going to be a house plant anyway, and they get too big to have a lot indoors, so one will do. This will bloom orange/purple (if it ever blooms at all).

My hardy fuchsia seedlings are still alive so far, but it’s a good thing I bought so many seeds because out of 150, I got a grand total of 5 sprouts. I won’t get more, either, because the soil started to mould, and those seeds will have rotted. Damn…they were expensive!

It rained all day–it’s been raining for three days–so of course, my pipevine arrived yesterday. I hadn’t even really decided where it was going, but had to get it in the ground, so it is where it is. Hope it grows; it wasn’t cheap!

It’s raining-ish, plus I had to vacuum and tidy up the house tonight, so not much garden-wise; just some updates.

I like peonies, especially pink peonies,  so of course, the old bird had white. Still pretty, I guess, and almost ready to bloom!

Cooling weather didn’t stop the morning glory!

This is what’s come of the freebie mixed wildflowers. The only seeds I recognised for sure were a few bachelor’s buttons; I have no idea what else was in there (besides the three sunflower seeds I took out and threw by the bird feeder).

I do think these are cardinal climber; (I think) they look like I remember and not quite like morning glory. Just as fast as morning glory,  though!

Rain again tomorrow; maybe I can get a water change done for the hi tatras.

First, they finished the fence today and it looks great. I’m sure E. hates it–he was thinking 4-5′–but given the fact that they never go outside or even open their blinds, let alone their windows, IDGAF. Lots more arse-busting work to do, but once it’s done, it’s done for good.

Next, do not fuck with morning glory at 80+ humid degrees. Planted Saturday afternoon. This is Monday afternoon.

Cardinal climber may have sprouted, too, but more likely it was a stray morning glory. I also put 18 cardinal climber seeds from 544 in with the few I’d put in Saturday. Viable? Dunno.

It was almost 1745h when I happened to look over to the door we never use…and saw a long, white USPS box. Fuck. It had rained hard for a short while, so the ground was muddy, but ninebark that had already spent Sunday in the fucking Post Office couldn’t wait. Never before in the history of recorded time have ten little trees gone in the ground so fast. I’m pretty sure I heard one of them say, “WTF?!” I only needed eight and put the last two in what’s probably too much shade, but I had nowhere else they’d work, and if I have to, I’ll get two branches cut off the honeylocust tree. They don’t look like much aboveground, but the roots look healthy, and since they came from MA, it’s probably better that the weather’s going to cool and be rainy. For my hardy hibiscus, not so much, but for newly-planted ninebark, yes. I came out a bit from the evil honeysuckle line to give their roots a better chance, but loosely followed the creek line. Last spot has two; one closer to the creek. We’ll see how they do!

It actually is Sunday.  I caught up! Still not done laundry, but I told P. that if he’ll take his shirts to be pressed, I’ll pay for Skanny’s replacement Seresto collar and the bird bath he wants (P., not Skanny), so no ironing. Yay!

I raked up the grass from yesterday so the Lawn Nazi doesn’t mention it, and I started a compost pile out back. No picture…it’s a pile of dead grass with some rich dirt, dead leaves and worms layered in it.

Then, I planted the last of my seeds except for the ones that’ll go along the fence. I may regret the evening primrose, but the moths won’t, and Miffy will have kitteh-nip! My poor little tiller struggled in that hard soil with dense grass roots, but we persevered!  Also…fuck grass. Only thing it’s good for is separating flowerbeds and shrubs. Seriously, fuck grass. I sweated a bitch for two days thanks to grass. Fuck grass.

Ready to plant:

Planted and watered in:

P. installed the weed barrier, and I think I’m going to put landscape fabric in the narrow space between the weed barrier and the honeysuckle that will grow there. No weed-whacking!

Now…laundry!!!

I spent most of the day mowing the lawn. All of it. I wasnt going to do the whole thing, but I hadn’t yet decided what to plant in the flowerbed I’d dug in the morning, so I mowed and thought about it. P. was playing a tournament, and I knew he was going to install the weed barrier this weekend, so I mowed everything to help. I also found a friend.

Too lazy to make a pano.

I dug this bed in the morning,  then planted it post-mowing and nap. In back, it has: branching sunflower and standing cypress, and a few cardinal climber off to the side. In front, Chilean glory vine, Scarlett O’Hara morning glory, and a few “free gift wildflower mix” (all three sunflower seeds removed) over to the side.

I finally sunk the ring around Miracle Tuliptree and put in some mulch.

Shrub out front appears to be snowball bush, but its not happy. Two blooms…that’s it.

Found a caterpillar on the green-leafed mystery shrub/tree. No ID yet.

Zelus nymph caught a fly.

In the dark, I thought I saw an American cockroach up by the light. I sprayed it, but felt bad after I realised it was a Pennsylvania wood roach. Male, probably lookin’ for love and attracted to the light. Poor guy. 🙁 From now on, I’ll check carefully before killing a roach (outside, at least!)

Not much; I was too tired to care.

Portulaca coming along:

I hate iris, but it does look nice with the spiderwort. I’ll leave it, at least for the time being. This is the “people plants area” anyway, and I haven’t yet filled up the back yard or south side!

Butterfly food garden coming along. I uncovered it on Saturday (writing this Sunday instead of doing laundry).

Laundry day, so less accomplished, but…

P. says this is the “tornado honeysuckle”…he’s right. It does resemble tornado!

I took these on Thursday,  but didn’t get it ID’d until Saturday. Manchurian lilac ‘Miss Kim’.

Im pretty sure this is Royal Purple Smoke Tree.

Mexican sunflower broke ground!

Less enthusiastic than the zinnia, but growing!