A Great Day to Garden

I guess since summer does not technically begin until June 21, I must classify this as a beautiful spring day.  We awoke to 55 degrees with the promise of highs in the low 70s.  As I type this at 2:23 p.m., the temperature has only managed to climb to 64.  So much for 70s!

However, after hot and humid temperatures yesterday that culminated in torrential downpours, we welcomed the sunshine and the cooler temperatures today, taking advantage of them both to work in the front garden.

Yesterday we were able to add four bags of garden soil to the area just before the rains hit.  We had purchased four Red Prince Weigelas which, thankfully, I was able to get safely onto the back porch before the downpour started.  They got a little wet as the screens "sifted" the rain, but the bushes themselves were not beaten down by the terrible force of the rain.

New bushes line up in the garden, awaiting
new mulch underneath.

We were in the garden by 8:30 this morning.  We put the plants out, shifted them around, and, of course, Rick had to get out his tape measure and make sure they were equidistant apart.  Digging the holes actually was easier than I expected, thanks in part to the efforts we took last week to get the majority of roots and stumps out of the garden.  In fairly short order, we had all of the bushes planted.

Eventually, the bushes will grow tall enough
and wide enough to block most of the view
of our neighbor's house.

Right now they seem rather sparse since we had to leave room for them to grow.  Eventually, they should touch one another and give us a 3 - 5 foot hedge that will have beautiful leaves and red flowers for most of the summer.  Our neighbors around the corner have two of the same bushes, and they are stunning.  I hope that ours will do as well.

Once the bushes were in place, we went back to the nursery to pick up a yard of mulch. We had spread mulch over the majority of the front garden earlier, so we had just the area under the tree to fill in yet.

New mulch makes the back garden look much better!

We had some mulch left over, so Rick attacked the back garden, pulling two bags full of weeds to prep it for the mulch.  While he did most of the weeding, I took the clippers and removed lots of dead wood and "foreign" trees that were trying to grow in the middle of the dogwoods and the Miss Kim lilac.  We really want to take down all of that vegetation and to build a fence, but that will have to wait until we have our cement mixer home next year.  We have neglected this poor yard for many years, so this was our year to try to get it looking somewhat respectable again.  I don't remember the last time it had mulch in the back garden.  It really needs a bit more, but I don't want to spend any more money since we plan to rip it out next  year.

Next year the bushes will come down to be
replaced by a fence that will give us more
privacy from the neighbors' yards.

Today is Owen's second birthday.  We are going to go over to his house soon to give him a couple of little gifts and to wish him a Happy Birthday.  We'll always remember when we planted those bushes in the front garden.  I hope that both they and Owen will continue to bloom and to grow.

Summer Snow

Although we have not been killing ourselves with major remodeling projects this summer, we have not completely turned into three-toed sloths either. I admit that health issues, cold weather (whoever heard of 40-degree temperatures in June?!), and family obligations all have interfered with our gardening progress.

I have spent a couple of mornings digging around where the trees once stood in our front garden.  Yes, we removed the main stumps, but what was left behind were numerous smaller branches of stumps and a dense network of web-like roots.  Four large garbage bags of roots later, we finally have the garden cleaned out enough to choose new plants.  We did have to get the truck back into hauling mode one last time to remove some stubborn larger roots, but we are finally to the point of going to the nursery this week to buy some type of vegetation for the now empty area.

Once we took out all of the trees, I discovered a small section of house next to the gutter drain pipe that had not seen daylight for many years.  The cobwebs and dirt in the area were thick.  Not only did I need a broom to clear out the worst of it, but I needed a bucket of water and a good scrub brush to find the yellow siding under all of the gunk.  The whole house needs a scrub-down.  We have discussed buying a power washer for this house also.

Yesterday we spent a cold, cloudy, eventually rainy day celebrating Owen's second birthday. However, the food was hot, tasty, and plentiful, and we had a good time seeing relatives while watching Owen open his gifts.  Toy trucks, a new tricycle, and a new wagon were the hits of the day.

Owen unwraps the wagon we bought him.

A new, red tricycle from Chris' parents also
was a big hit!

Right now I am not excited about spending much time outside.  It is snowing in my neighborhood.  This snow, however, is nothing more than seed pods falling from the multitude of cottonwood trees in the neighborhood.  Unfortunately, one of those giant trees (in fact, the tallest one on this street), happens to be growing in my back yard.  So why am I reluctant to go outside? The trees are messy, the "cotton" is everywhere, and I am allergic to the darn trees!  I am already tired of scratchy eyes, a runny nose, and sneezing multiple times a day each time I venture outdoors.  I know that the "cotton" will soon be finished, but not before my back yard will look like a heard of sheep exploded!

Fist-sized clumps of "cotton" gather in
my front garden.

The "cotton" seed pods gather at the front
edge the porch.  Everything looks messy
until the season is finished.

The only good thing about this season is the fact that rain is predicted almost every day this week, and when it rains, the "cotton" gets washed into the grass and no longer blows around.  I really don't want to be rained inside all week, but I don't want to sneeze all week either.

Yesterday we almost froze at Owen's party, and today the temperature reached 82 with a 66 dew point which means outside was hot and muggy. Only in Wisconsin...  We worked together to mow the lawn since the rest of the week is supposed to be wet; however, that forecast also might delay our plans to plant anything new in the front garden.