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| The web was built on kitten photos, not virus scares in the form of updates. Back to the roots! |
I copied and pasted from the weather page to get the title for this post. Saturday was ideal for gardening. Sunday turned into a major thunderstorm. Today we have a freeze warning with a temperature of 31 degrees and the wind blowing. The Deep South is enduring major storms.
The crew came to help on Saturday. They work on Ranger Bob's lawn and come over for ours. The son trimmed the maple (from the ground). I have a long pole with a sharp saw blade on it, so he stayed on the ground to do that.
We had Oriental lilies to plant - an idea borrowed from Norma Boeckler - and roses to mulch with Peat Humus. The timing was exquisite, since the bulbs received Easter Sunday's long rain to start them up. The Stinky Peat was energized on top of the roses to encourage earthworms and microbes below.
Sassy began moping to go outside while I worked on the paragraph above. "Didn't I just push you outside in the cold and wind, and you did not want to?" Periodic whimpers followed, until I said, "You're on the list now." Sassy is very patient once I signal that she will definitely go out. She has often heard me explain, "I don't have a fur coat and weather-proof feet."
Even the garbage men stop to say, "You are always out, no matter what the weather." They are especially friendly and always wave. More communities should be like Springdale.
After the walk, the cold made me think of the birds. I have learned a new measurement of time - the fraction of a second between pouring sunflower seeds and seeing the first starling appear.
It is worth the minimal cost of seed to watch the squirrels and birds bargain for space. I enjoy seeing the sleek grackles land and make their squeaky door sounds. Birds are wary of me at the window, but saucy squirrels turn around and face me while eating.
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| Clethra is the Cinnabon Tree in our yard. We have two. |
The crepe myrtles are still looking dead, but the cinnabon trees are budding already. Clethras are known for a combination of sweet and spicey aromas that emanate from the plant. Butterflies love the tiny flowers, which attract lots of tiny, benevolent critters.
Chaste Tree is budding out. I ended up with four of them, because I bought a replacement for the third one when it appeared to die. I brought it back to life with heavy pruning and a bag of Stinky Peat. Of course, it was alive but simply appeared dead - normally a definite sign for plants.
Lots of flowers mean plenty of insect life, which also feeds the spiders patrolling the garden. Borage is easy to grow and always ready to serve as Bee Bread. Comfrey is the big cousin of Borage, another constant source of flowers. I am less keen on Buckwheat because it can overwhelm the garden in the rainy season, but it is an easy way to fill in garden space. Buckwheat can crowd out weeds.
