…but something! I pulled a bucketful of fucking dandelions, and was weeding around the lamp post when I decided it needed flowers. I planted dwarf blue bachelor’s buttons, and dwarf red plains coreopsis, since I somehow ended up with a bunch of those. Was going to throw in a few pompon zinnia, but decided there wasn’t enough sun for them. Maybe nothing will grow, but maybe something will (something that’s not a fucking dandelion). Anyway, at least it’s not weeds anymore!

I don’t know whether these ‘dils are daffy or not, but they are certainly lazy! Lazydils finally starting to bloom.

All I did last night was plant some castor bean seeds in cups (also five Bird of Paradise that I didnt bother to soak).

This morning, though, I busted my ass and finished the big flowerbed as much as I’m going to for this week. It’s not completed, but it is ready for seeds…whenever I decide what’s going in there. I still have lots of flowerbeds to go, and dirt is getting damned expensive (this took eight and may need one or even two more), but it’s my centerpiece, really, and it needs what it needs. Birds and flutter-guys gotta eat!

Now, I’m waaaay behind on laundry and ironing, and after working like a dawg, I really don’t want to stand and do shirts, but no choice is a powerful motivator, and shirts don’t iron themselves!

This is harder work than I’d thought; P got me six more bags of dirt, so I’ve got eight, but I’ll be lucky to get this border in place today. Right now, though, I need a little nap!

Look–worms! I have lots of worms in my flowerbed now. Eat, burrow and (especially) poop, my little annelid friends!

I did take a break while I was waiting for P to return with more edging, and I pruned back the trumpet honeysuckle. It really seems like it’s going to be okay, and I’m sooooo relieved!

1934h edit.
I didn’t quite make it. If I’d stuck strictly to my original outline, or if I hadn’t taken a nap, I’d have finished, but I did neither. Just a little to go, though!

My beloved Mean Little Birds are on their way–not long now!

Not long for the flowering crabapple blooms, either. I may not like the too-symmetrical placement, but I love the trees!

I ended up keeping the honeysuckle here, at least for the weekend; C. was going away this weekend, and left straight from work. Actually left early after B. convinced her that he really was feeling better. He vacuumed, though, so I wasn’t about to argue!

P.S. I also bought eight American elderberry shrubs. They’re clipped back to 18″ for shipping, but bare root and I think I know where I want them. Not sure…need to leave room for persimmon and (assuming it’s alive) pawpaw. Also the American mountain ash I intend to get sometime. And chokecherry, and… 🙂

Thirty-four little Lonicera sempervirens plants, all the way from Lakeland, Florida, temporarily potted in plastic cups, packed in a trusty Sumitomo gearmotor box and ready to go wait in C.’s greenhouse until the fence boys do their stuff and I make them a nice place to live along a 6′ high chain link fence in full sun. They’re babies yet, so I’ll probably supplement them this year with scarlet runner beans, but in time (with care and a little luck), they’ll be a veritable hummingbird buffet. Now…hurry up, fence boys!

I went on a mission. I took a picture because I’ll be surprised if they’re all there tomorrow morning.

Not many leaves yet, but spread out enough that I’m hopeful. MLBs in southern TN last week, and they’ll be here soon! Go, trumpet honeysuckle, go!!

Taken yesterday.
Surprise lilies:

Peonies with tulips in the background:

They are daffodils, just slower to bloom than C.’s:

Vinca around the house in bloom. Don’t love it, don’t hate it, but not removing it any time soon:

Taken on Monday. Purple hyacinth.

I pulled two buckets of weeds after work yesterday, and discovered that the soil on the south side of the house and part of the front is even harder than the rest. Reddish, clayish (it’s a word), and so goddamned hard that dandelions put out their taproots sideways. Worms would need jackhammers to get through. I think I’m going to try baby shampoo, another trip with the core aerator, and some sheep poop. Nothing I do could make it worse!

Loads of laundry done: 0. Clothing items ironed: 0. Milkweed beds completed: 1. Number of bags of garden soil worked in: 4. Varieties of milkweed: 5. Number of common milkweed seeds: 500. Number of showy milkweed seeds: 100. Number of swamp milkweed seeds: 75. Number of butterfly weed seeds: 150. Number of sunset flower seeds: 100. Number of naps I’m going to take because P. is asleep and he’ll bitch if I run the washer: 1.

Ready to be soaked down and seeded.

Soaked, seeded, soaked again, and covered so it’s not a cat bathroom and the seeds wont blow away Approximately 7′ x 11′.

I wasn’t going to make any flowerbeds today because it rained last night, but I didn’t feel like sanding, painting, or making windowpanes, so I decided to clip some bush honeysuckle. When you can’t decide what to do, grab your pruning shears and walk around the yard–it’s worked for me for years!

I started just clipping off some overhanging stuff, but the more I clipped and the closer I got to the corner where I want a little shade garden, the more I cut. In the end, I spent 5.5 hours cutting, chopping (machete FTW!), and digging that goddamned stuff. I cleared out my corner; I think I’ll put jewelweed, foxglove and maybe Astilbe back there. Dunno yet. It’s close to the creek and shaded, so it’s about perfect for jewelweed, and dappled shade will be fine for both that and foxglove.

I dragged the brush I cut over to the road side of the woods, and literally stuffed it in at the edges. I kind of made a “freeform brush fence”, and then decided to dig up some of the goddamned bush honeysuckle that’s encroaching upon our property. That shit is tough…but so am I! I dug out a bunch, and found lots of worms. The soil is actually pretty good there, so I decided to throw the seeds I’d collected last fall from the orange trumpet vine onto the ground. They weren’t cold stratified, and I didn’t supplement the soil beyond breaking it up and turning it with a garden fork, but I once read this about Campsis radicans: “If you can’t grow this, you need to give up gardening.” I spread a couple hundred seeds in clumps on the ground, soaked them and threw dead leaves on top so they won’t blow away. If they grow, great. If they don’t, fuck it–the seeds were free, and the dirt and leaves came with the house. I don’t think they’ll get enough sun there to really do well, but if anything can compete with bush honeysuckle, it’s trumpet vine, and if it’s aggressive, it’s at least native!

Here’s the corner I cleared for my shade garden.

Look out–mama’s got a machete!

My “fuck it–it’s free” bed for trumpet vine.

Just threw the seeds atop the turned earth and spread leaves over them. They’ll grow or they won’t!

Random view of back yard with my shade corner visible. I’ve been digging weeds here and there whenever I have a little spare time. Fuck crabgrass of all varieties!

Anyway, I’m tired…might just sit around tonight. We’ll see.

EDIT: I’m a machine! I also finished sanding and painted a chair, and vacuumed the carpet. Now, I’m exhausted and intend to smoke, shower and go to BED!