Cleaned-up (almost)

Two weekends ago I spent half of a Saturday cleaning up the shade garden. 

It took hours longer than I expected, naturally.

Probably because it is nearly a month later than when I usually get out there. The weeds were spreading their greedy fingers.
It's also harder to rake leaves out when you're gingerly trying not to crush brand new tiny greenery.

Before (after I'd already raked a bunch out into the grass...so many leaves!)...

After!

HUGE difference! 
The plants are doing so well and growing crazy fast. So excited for this year!

I also spent time fixing my nearly buried stone path...

But didn't have time to raise the sinking right path or extend either...

And I didn't even make it all the way into my newest section of the garden, so the weeds remain!

I did, however, get to use something just too stinkin' adorable!

My Grandma got me this little gardening belt that says "Plant Lady" and has the cutest little pictures. However, bending and kneeling with a belt on sounds like it would be a very unfortunate problem of sharp / pointy metal objects falling out, so I had this genius plan to wrap it around my weed bucket! 

Perfect!

Except for the part where I have to untie it every time I dump my weeds. Oops!

Still, it's real cute.

Hate to get it dirty!

I had hoped to get back out there this past weekend and finish the clean-up, but other activities meant my outdoor time was limited and what I did have was devoted to thoroughly turning the compost.

As in, removing everything in the nearly full bin, putting it on a tarp, then scooping out the gorgeous soil at the bottom and putting it in a wheelbarrow. I ended up with about a wheelbarrow and a half of good stuff!

Then I scraped it well and pulled out the clumps of tree roots where the oak tree next to it was like, "oooohhh!! Thanks for the fabulous fertilizer!"    Stop it!     It's not for you!

So I laid down cardboard at the bottom to help prevent that and make turning it easier in the future (raking / shoveling through woven clumps of teeny tree roots has been oh so fun :-/ )

Hoping that the cardboard lasts at least 2-3 years judging on the condition of what we put down years ago under the garden plot paths.  Please!

Then piled back in the uncomposted stuff mixing the well-on-its-way stuff with the dried leaves I pulled out of the shade garden. And the bin is filled to the tippy top again!

So yes, much-needed project producing much-needed soil, but phew! I hurt!
And my other gardens are still in need of clean-up, not to mention being behind in planting summer bulbs and fertilizing flowering bushes.   Gracious, spring gardening is too busy to be so cold that you can't start in March!!



Anyway, other thing that got "done" was checking the forecast and deeming it freeze-safe enough to move the avocados back out!!

Look how happy they seem down there!  Wondering if this is the year they outgrow the bird house!

All this time...

How many times have I been calling my favorite ground cover "native ginger" over the last 4 years?!

How did I never Google image it?!!

So, it is with horror that I must confess...ladies and gentlemen of the public:

This accidental gardener does not have native ginger ground cover.

Ok, that's not true, I actually do.

See there was this big blob of leaves that just shot up and I left it hoping it would turn into something pretty. All last summer and it did not. It expanded its creepy, worm-like roots and heart-shaped leaves, but that's it. No flowers or such.

"The blob" circa July 2017

So I figured it was a weed and I dug it out and tossed it over to my forsaken weed cemetery.

Yeah, so turns out that was native ginger.


Let me back up...

3 years ago, a fabulous gardener friend of mine was moving away and offered me a bunch of plants from her shade garden. She emailed me a list of kinds and I Googled them and told her what I wanted. (Why I didn't take all of them, I'm not entirely sure...I think because some were more aggressive that others and I was still twitching from the vinca groundcover experience.)

I'm not sure if I said no to native ginger or if I did get a little from her, but it's taken this long to get established...and now I just dug it out. mmmhm.
I would feel bad, but apparently it is a bit aggressive and has taken over too much natural landscape, so we'll see if I want to go rescue some of the worm roots and put it in a little pot or something.


Sooooooo...what is this gorgeous ground cover that I love?!!

I just went back at her email and looked up the plants she listed again...

Yup! That's it!
Ladies and gentlemen of the public:

I have and love and continue to grow and spread and share Mazus Reptans.

Seriously?!
Why couldn't it be native ginger? That's WAY easier to say and remember!

So don't judge me if I call this the "mazzy reptile stuff" or something like that.


Anyway. There you have it. Sorry for the confusion, you may now return to your regularly scheduled programs.


In related news, it has taken off splendidly around the HVAC unit and nearby bushes. I've wanted to keep that area "clean", but obviously open dirt = weed city, so this nifty groundcover is doing a marvelous job filling in and keeping them at bay!

It's still in its winter reddish color over in the shade garden (will post on that soon). Not sure why it's green over by the house...maybe less exposure to the elements...?

Anyway, I still love it and it's doing great, I'm just super bummed it's not what I thought it was.

See why even in my successes at growing I'm still an accidental gardener?! 😁

Oops

There may have been an accident.

One of those fabulous marital miscommunications resulting in unwatered seedlings ("No, I meant I had watered the OTHER little plants before I left for the weekend!")  ...

Many would have been fine, but I did not give them the full love they needed having been on the verge. If you haven't gathered by now: watering faithfully is not my strength.

I've saved several of them, buuuuut....zinnias and tomatoes very likely are a no-go this year. [sigh]

So off to the nursery we go! :-/

Oh no!

As if gardening isn't difficult enough with the usual issues, pests and unpredictable weather, now we have this psycho invasive species to watch out for! 

And I just got back from a weekend in PA and forgot to check my car for any hitch-hiking egg sacks!  😱

One Nice Day

We had ONE lovely Saturday 2 weekends ago.

So I got out to turn over the edible bed and get my early stuff planted.

I became concerned when I didn't see peas. :-/  I had planted them the day before the several inches of snow we got and it had been 10 days and no little heads of green.
I veeeeery gentle brushed some soil and saw a little neck bent over just below the surface, so phew! Brushed the dirt back over and am waiting for them to emerge ... a week later and some have JUST broken the surface...only slightly later than normal (and by "slightly" I mean like multiple weeks!).

All cleaned up with cauliflower, onions and 5 different kinds of lettuce planted:

I'm doing this fun thing where I didn't label what I planted. Soooo, that will be exciting! :-/

Also, upon reading the cauliflower packet, it says that it's rather finicky to grow; harder than broccoli. Needs consistent watering and proper soil conditions.

Most definitely an accidental gardener high success rate crop!  {heavy sarcasm}

My confidence in its yield is right about 3%.



On the flower front, however, things are looking lovely!

The clematis are putting out leaves!!!

And the spring bulbs are slowly growing larger, but are at least a month behind where they were last year in terms of blooming (on April 1, husband tells me the "on this day a year ago" photo was my tulips in bloom! And no - it wasn't a joke!)

Peony, daffodils, clematis, day lilies, crocuses and the green of some other bulb I planted, though can't recall what, all poking their little heads!

And in the tulip border, lots of  greens poking and cute little mini daffodils in bloom, but the crocuses made a miserable flowering show and are fading away. 

Wacky, weirdo year! I'm ready for some "normal" spring weather!

And warmth should be coming mid-week and it'll be nearly 80 over the weekend!!!

Very curious to see how things explode by next week!