Sunday, July 22, 2012

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This year is certainly speeding up.  Seems as if winter and spring stayed with us far longer than they should have.   Summer visits us sporadically and when it does .. well, time to enjoy!

Yesterday was predicted to be cloudy and overcast.  Well, happy to say that it turned out to be sunny and hot!

DH was spending the day doing flying things with his friends so that left me with the day to play in the yard.

So I spent it in a very relaxing, holiday kind of way,  In that I didn’t have an agenda.  I didn’t have a focus.  Just went to the timetable that I used when just a kid on holidays.   Which was, no planning at all!  Just enjoy the day as it unfolded.

Spent some time looking up at the skies and was rewarded with the cheerful posing of one of the Robins that frequent the yard.   Yesterday he posed on the little entryway to the veggie bed.

Then, its been awhile since I’ve been looking for the local eagles, so craned my neck back and there was one of them way up high.  Soaring in all of it’s magnificence and glory … effortlessly gliding through the air .. below a flock of seagulls.  All birds of a feather, as it were, taking advantage of the morning thermals for an enjoyable flight.

I stood looking till they were gone .. lucky to capture tiny shots of the eagle.  Oh, I am so looking forward to a camera with a viewfinder and bigger lens!!

Walked around the yard, looking at my latest efforts, massive weeding results in more sun and light getting to the base of plants.  Next week I’ll order more Magic Mulch (a fine mixture of ground up leaves and tiny branches.   No bark!)   All of the thick layering of oak leaves from last fall’s application has sunk into the ground and more cover is needed.  This mulch is lovely and I only use it in areas where I have decorative perennials, bushes and trees.

For the veggie garden, I use compost, oak leaves, seaweed .. all the good stuff.

Then I decided to tackle the other side of the yard.  The area where I’d originally planned to place my little bistro table and sit outside with a book and a glass of wine!   Terribly overgrown, so out come the clippers and soon more light is pouring through.

Happy to see plants flourishing, especially the Salmon berry, which I’d given up for lost last year.   This berry bush had ended up being just a bare skeleton of dried branches last year, so I was feeling bad about that.  But, it was flourishing despite the crowded conditions, so I’ve decided that these plants are tough and therefore, worthy of being in my yard!

Next, oh, joy!   I had bought 3 bushes from a plant sale.   Neglected them, they dried out and I was not feeling happy about that.  So, EM and water, kept them separate in a shady area for several months.  Last week, I decided to give up any hope of reclaiming them so they were on the list for the compost.

But, yesterday, just for the heck of it, I checked them again and wow .. new leaves coming from the base of one of them!  Did the dance of joy (just kidding) and just had to take pics.  Trimmed away the dead branches and now this little plant is again resting .. awaiting more growth before I plant it!  The other 2 plants .. well, I decided to wait a little bit more, to see if they will also sport new leaves.

Once the clipping was done, time to plant some ferns and also some salal that I’d propagated.   This area has a nice woodsy feeling.   And what a transformation from a few years ago.  One day I’ll post pics of the transformation.

That is what I love most about gardening .. it’s the transformation of areas from neglected areas to places of decadent beauty.    With hardy perennials that don’t need a lot of care.

I’ve recently been leafing through several of my pruning books and have decided that I’m really not the pruning type.  All those rules of what to do, when.  I much prefer plants left mainly to their own growing devices.  Ok, a few clips here and there, but no orderly, tidy plants will exist in my yard.  I much prefer the natural lines and free-flowing sculptures that breathe and live in a relaxed manner.