Weed, mulch, weed, mulch, mulch...

We purchased 3 yards of mulch. It sits in a pile at the end of the driveway. Last weekend, i mulched the main flower bed, the crescent bed neat the paper bark maple and the crab apple bed in the front yard. This past weekend, i mulched around the two bradford pears, the front sidewalk bed, the beds around the front of the house and around the patio. Still have so much to do... and my legs remind me of what all i've done so far.

In the midst of my weeding i found a heuchera that has seeded behind the tree near the front porch. I'll need to move it to a more suitable place. One spot that i thought i might move it to, i found (when removing the old-fashioned daisy) a tiny little bleeding heart. I had transplanted it last fall and was dismayed when i didn't see it this spring. But it did survive, it was just drowned out by the daisy. One plant that didn't survive the winter was the black cohosh. I'm really saddened that it didn't make it.

April heatwave...

Today the temperature hit 86 degrees... sort of strange considering that a few days ago it was 40 degrees cooler! Oh well, i managed to flow with it pretty well... lots of sunscreen, water and breaks. I remulched the beds near the paperbark maple... and also the main flower bed (almost... i still have a bit more to go) A lot of weeding, digging and lugging. I figured that i carried at least 20 big buckets of mulch today... add that in with the 40 lb. bag of concrete mix. That explains why my back is achy. The concrete mix was used to repair some of the pavers on the back patio. A lot of chippy excavation had occured... so i had to pry up the pavers and then add gravel and concrete, and put the pavers back in place. I also brought out the first rain barrel and hooked it up to the downspout. I repaired (hopefully) two birdbaths that had leaks. I also buried a banana peal near the rose for extra added nutrients.

• Today i noticed that it appears that the quince is taking a year off from blooming... but the flowering almond looks close to bloom
• The orange tulips are looking fine and the small red ones are also blooming
• grape hyacinth in three colors continues to bloom
• five very hearty trout lily plants are having a banner year
• many varieties of daffodils continue to bloom
• new growth on the ferns, hosta, asparagus, heuchera, columbine, lily of the valley
  
• banner year for the freckles viola
  

Mulching, mulching, mulching...

Today it wasn't raining or cold so i was able to get out into the garden. I edged and mulched the front flower bed. Digging out turf that is wet isn't too much fun and my back isn't too happy about the days events. sigh... i also mulched portions of the main flower bed. I'm sorry to say that there is no sign of my pink poppy... i guess the harshness of the winter was too much for it. I'm going to miss that beauty.