The 2013 Great Hemerocallis Hunt

We are back home, recovering from our annual Great Hemerocallis (Daylily) Hunt. Thankfully, the temperatures didn't reach 100 this year as in years past...but mid-90's, with humidity readings to match, and no shade sure made it feel like the thermometer hit the century mark. Whew! What a day! We have been busy as these bees. (Heheheheh...I couldn't resist showing you these pictures we took with our iPhone cameras...Thomas took the yellow one, I took the pink one...:-). 

So, why do we go in July...the hottest month of the year, you ask? Well, that's when the day lilies are at peak bloom (June and July), that's when the NC farms tend to be open on the weekends, and that's as close to my birthday as we can get. [You may recall that for several years now, I have celebrated my Big Day with a trip to the Daylily Farm to pick out a new cultivar or two...or nine...:-) ] We missed last year because of our extended stay in KY, which has several Daylily farms, no doubt...but I just wasn't up to it then. No worries...made up for that little oversight today!

We knew we could only "do" one farm today, so we had to choose from the three we knew and had visited in the past, or maybe locate another one to explore. Easier said than done, on that last choice, though...when a search of "Daylily farms in NC" yielded no further selections that were open to the public on a Saturday in July and within a couple of hours' drive of HPNC. OK, so that made it easy:  we chose to return to Lakeview Farms in Garner, NC...which we admit has become our fav in NC. They have a great website here: 

For the past few times we have gone on the annual Daylily Hunt, I have had either a color in mind...or a type...or both. It helps to do a bit of thinking and planning ahead, especially when we get to a farm with a sea of blooming day lilies, and all Mr. T can see are the red ones. He loves bright colors, so if I don't have some kind of suggestion of what to look for, we would spend hours in the hot sun looking at every red cultivar...and never see anything else. Unless it was a bright orange. Or maybe bright yellow. If both of those colors were on tall day lilies that stood out above the red ones.

Me? I'm a sucker for purples...as if you couldn't guess. And I'm currently on a lime green and chartreuse kick. OK, that's bright, I'll admit. Oh, I'm not opposed to bright colors...it's just I think we need to have a few eye-pleasing combinations as well as the eye-popping ones.

So, this year my plan was to look for more "spider" types of day lilies to add to our gardens. Spider daylilies are defined by the ratio of their petal width to their petal length. Think long and skinny petals. We were introduced to these unusual looking blossoms a couple years ago when we purchased the cultivar Red Ribbons from Lakeview. We paired them with Red Volunteers...and it's a match made in hemerocallis heaven!

Additionally, I wanted a bright combo for the very back of the Way Back...need a really bright pair to draw the eye down the path to the rear property line. And I think we found just the right combination in New Jersey Spider (gold one) and Ruby Spider (red and gold). They are tall and bold...and should easily draw eyes in their direction. And Mr. T is more than happy with these bright colors!

My plan for this Hunt included finding a purple and lime green spider for the back yard, to be planted along the walk, in front of the garden shed (you know, the shed with the purple doors...:-). My first choice (Yabba Dabba Doo) wasn't available, as they had sold down to their last clump, but I found one I like better color-wise (if not name-wise...:-) called Wilson Spider. I didn't get a picture of it, but I did get one of the complementary selection called Easy Ned (another spider...with lime and chartreuse coloring).

 

Then, I wanted to add a white one to our collection. We have two white cultivars (Dad's Best White, which we got while in Missouri and transplanted here, and Miss Amelia, which we bought locally at the Farmers Market last year), but I wanted one with a lime green or chartreuse throat. I was excited to find one that fit my plan perfectly and whose name will help commemorate my Big Birthday coming up in 10 days called Just Celebrate.

We got a few others (!), including a bright red one with a bright green throat called Here Comes Santa Claus (OK, now who could resist THAT name?), but I'll have to snap pics of them when we put them in the ground tomorrow. 

Or, should I say IF we put them in the ground tomorrow? We are currently experiencing yet another thunderstorm with more rain...10 or more days in a row, I think. Great for the gardens...but not so good for doing actual gardening. Ground is just too wet to work. 

No matter...we won't mind a day of rest around here. Not one little bit, will we mind that...no siree!

It's Raining...It's Pouring...It's Raining Some More...

Do you know when the Atlantic Hurricane Season officially begins? Those of us who live in states that have a coastline know the answer to that one: June 1.  And, it looks like we are going to have an active one, if this week is any indicator. We barely had flipped over the calendar before the weather wonks began with the storm updates.

Here's what our map looks like on the News 2 Weather ap. No Grasshoppers game for us tonight!

The first Tropical Storm of 2013 has arrived and been strong enough to get a name: Andrea. Oh Joy. Of course, she's been a mild one as Hurricane experiences go (remember...we were in NC for Hugo and Fran), bringing only rain to our doorstep.  Buckets and buckets of rain.

Still, I don't see rain as a bad thing. It has supplied the gardens with glorious gallons of H2O..and allowed me to do more inside than out...for the first time in a long while.  I finally got around to cleaning out, rearranging, and organizing my desk, workspace, and bookcase. Made it easier to concentrate on writing. Deep-cleaned our bathroom, which has only received a lick-and-a-promise lately, sad to say...casualty of a gardening obsession. Got the laundry all caught up. Made a 7-Up Pound Cake for Mr. T's return home from DC area.  Even found time for two new eBooks: The Bookman's Tale and The Kingmaker's Daughter.

But, I can't stay out of the gardens completely, don't you know? When we have had a break or two in the showers, I grabbed my camera to take some shots of the fat water droplets on the green and growing kingdom of the Way Back Garden.  I shared these shots over on my other blog, Gardening With Giants, which is why they all have the GWG watermark. No matter...here they are again. Hope you enjoy!

First, the flowers:

Always and Forever rose

Edith Ann daylily

Spanish Lavender

First Zucchini

Now for the veggies:

Goliath (green) tomatoes

It's All Coming Together

Time has such a funny way of slipping up on you, doesn't it? It seems like only a year or so ago that we were moving back to NC from MO...when in reality, it's been almost four years ago next month. Wow...time flies...!

What brought this to the forefront was the blossoming of our pink dogwood tree and our azaleas this past week. We just missed this annual rite of Spring that first year we moved into Casa 3917...had to wait 11 whole months to see what pretty colors we had purchased...:-) And, to learn that the previous owners had NOT planted a single, solitary daffodil or iris on the property, and only a piddling few daylilies. No worries...we fixed that little oversight.

Pink dogwood blooms in front-2013

Azalea in bloom in backyard

And then in July of '09, we embarked on our four-year plan to turn the back quarter-acre of our property from an unused, overgrown eyesore into an oasis. As I paused today between weeding and watering, I realized how close we are to turning that plan into a reality. Well, not exactly that 'first' plan, but a later much-revised version, don't you know?

Yes, we have done a ton (or ten) of work on our property. And, that is not only an investment of time and money, but also of faith...that we will actually be here to enjoy it. Remember, we have been married 36 years (soon to be 37, end of May) and have moved a total of 13 times (not counting a few temporary housing situations while waiting for our house to close, etc.). That means that making it to the 4-year mark is rare...based on the law of Adsit averages. Making it to harvesting fruit from an orchard we planted is unheard of.

So, you will understand how thrilled we are that almost all of our 20 fruit trees we've planted in the Orchard (or NW quadrant of the Way Back) are flowering this year. And, how nervous I've been with our recent cold spell, fearing a nip in the buds. Just one apple, please...and maybe a plum, peach, or pear. Is that too much to ask?

The Orchard was the one part of the original four-year plan that didn't change very much from design to completion. We found, after we began planting, that we could expand the number of trees from 14 to 20, especially since we discovered dwarf fruit trees. And, these 8-to-12-foot-at-maturity babies work perfectly, because we have a 15-foot height limitation (due to the easement that Duke Energy holds for the transmission lines). All we have left to do in this quadrant is a Pollinators Bed, designed to attract the bees and butterflies. Remember: no flowers, no bees; no bees, no fruit.

The strawberries, which were moved last year to their permanent bed in the Berry Patch (NE quadrant of the Way Back)...and because of this move, carried very low expectations for production this year...are flowering and showing signs of putting on fruit already! Yea!! We may only get enough for a few bowls of cereal...or an ice cream sundae or two...but that's OK. It's their "growth year." We are also seeing blueberries forming on all 9 bushes...and if I get the bird netting on them this year, we might harvest enough for a pie...or some muffins...and some homemade jam. The blackberries are healthy and growing, with tiny green buds foretelling flowers to come. Of course, if they were already in flower, Nana/Momma/Edith would have called this cold snap "Blackberry Winter." They are a little more tricky to cover with netting due to thorns on a couple of the varieties, but we are ready to make it happen when the fruit starts setting. Am I counting my blackberry cobblers before they hatch?

While technically not a berry, we have the two Concord grapes and the six new Flame Seedless grapes in the Berry Patch, too. I pruned the Concords severely this Winter, as they have had no pruning since we planted them three years ago, and I don't mind telling you I was worried that I might have been a little too enthusiastic with the shears. All's OK, though, as I noticed new growth swelling at several nodes on Saturday. Whew! (Still no sign of growth on the newbies, but I'll give it a couple more weeks before I begin to fret.)

I'm proud to say that every single rose bush in the Rose Garden (SE quadrant of the Way Back) is leafing out and budding up! This was last year's big project (before 2012 went off the rails at the end of May), so seeing visible signs of success does this gardener's heart good. We have filled in some of the gaps this Spring with three Queen Elizabeths (pink, Grandifloras), two First Prizes (pink, hybrid teas), one Kordes Perfecta (yellow to white with pink edges, hybrid tea), three Always and Forever (red, hybrid teas), and one Pope John Paul II (white, hybrid tea...I kid you not...:). That brings the grand total to 68 roses (15 in the back yard, 53 in the Rose Garden/Way Back). Yeah, we are nuts...about roses...:-)

And that brings me back around to the SW quadrant of the Way Back, where we have our Kitchen Garden. Here is where we began the transformation by planting two rows of tomatoes and peppers that very first year...and that let us know we had mountains of work to do with our less-than-perfect soil. The genesis of the four-year plan. In that original plan, we had stretched the Kitchen Garden over the center path, covering both the SW and the SE quadrants. Ah, such enthusiasm! Of course, coming to our senses and reducing the amount of square footage dedicated to producing food for two people allowed us to create a garden dedicated to scent and beauty.

So, this quadrant has undergone the most change. The biggest change this year has been the addition of raised beds to what I've previously called the Cool Season garden...and the creation of wide, raised rows in the Warm Season (or Row) Garden area.

Purple iris reblooms in front - 2013

So, that's a verbal tour of where I spend most of my waking hours. I'll try to post pictures to keep you updated, but you'll understand if my posts are sporatic during the hectic Spring months, won't you?

And, what's next, you might ask? Well, we have all but ignored the front yard. I did plant those daffodils and iris (like this purple one that's in bloom right now), so I could have my favorite flowers welcoming us home. And we cleared out a few cedar trees that were blocking our view of the street.  But because we weren't concerned about a move in the near future (read that: in the first three years we were here), we were least concerned about "curb appeal." I have ideas about some changes, but for now, I'll let the lawn service take care of things. Status quo, don't you know?

Meanwhile, I think I'll take my coffee on a walk to see what has changed in the Way Back overnight. Always such a pleasure...especially when I can see how the plan has come together. Ahhhhhh....

A Trainer By Any Other Name

Whoosh! There went Spring...here comes Summer!

Seven short days ago, we were concerned about a Frost Warning posted on the News 2 Weather ap. Today? It's going to top out at just under 90 (85 already). Talk about running hot and cold...or rather, cold then hot!

I even had to turn on the air conditioner yesterday...because of the heat, as well as the pollen, which is covering everything (like our neighbor's normally shiny red truck) in a powdery yellow. Can't sleep with the windows open when you shouldn't be breathing the air! I may need to refill my nasal spray prescription by the gallon. Want proof? Here's a shot I snapped while taking a rest break on the garden swing. Reminds me of a saying one of my Lunn cousins used to say: "You may write in the dust, as long as you don't date it."

But neither heat nor pollen will deter me from my Spring gardening activities! And, what a long list that would be...

I was thrilled to see asparagus spears shooting up through the asparagus bed a couple of days ago. Such a taste treat...and presented in such an odd manner. Everything else sends up the leaves then flowers in preparation of the bounty to come. Not asparagus. You get the bounty first, for a few short weeks in the Spring, then it spends the rest of the year sporting the fronds and the berries

The eagle-eyed among you might notice those odd holes around the spears. Abbie loves running through the asparagus bed, on her way to jumping into the potato bags. Sigh. She's so cute...but she's going to significantly affect our yield this year, don't you think?

Learning from last year's problems, we are trying to nip the ever-present weed issue in the bud...and attempting to combat one of the issues with clay soil at the same time. Clay soil...which has high mineral content and high water-retention properties...has at least one awful characteristic: in high temps and baking sun, it clods up and crusts over like a brick.

I think I've mentioned that we have been amending our (awful, terrible, horrible) native soil with copious additions of leaf mold and compost. But, we could stay here for 20 years without making a dent in this much soil, working on the whole 1,000 square feet. So, we set up 4 wide rows and three equally wide aisles last Fall, in the Warm Season garden, tilling in more leaves, etc., and making progress, but alas the brick-crusting continues. Until I noticed that the soil under some bags of top soil was moist and workable. Hmmmm. What if we kept the rows covered at all times? And not just with straw, as in the past.

Enter a giant roll of Preen's landscape fabric! We've used it in the Rose Garden with some success, and this year we will be trialing it on the long rows and the aisles. Here's a shot of the rows I covered this morning. In the heat and pollen-choked air. Please be impressed, since I had to move 44 40# bags of top soil to make it possible. Ahem.

And now to the fun part...and how the title relates to this post...

Mr. T finished the tuteur that fits perfectly inside the Center Square of the new raised bed garden. A Tuteur, used as a tower to support vining vegetables and flowers, is a French word meaning "trainer," which is apt since I spent most of my adult life as a corporate trainer. He made one for Missy M's Secret Garden, and I have wanted one ever since. Ours has copper rails (I <3 copper!) and a purple topper, painted to match the shed doors. We even found a pot that fits perfectly...and I planted it with petunias, vinca vine, black-eyed Susan vine, and morning glory vine, that will soon be trailing down. I also seeded the Center Square with Scarlet runner beans, sunflowers, and nasturtiums, that soon will be filling out and up. Grow babies, grow!

Whatcha think?

Tote That Barge, Lift That Bag

Why does everything in the garden have to weigh 40 pounds? Or, better yet, 50?

I was taking a break this afternoon when it dawned on me that we have moved 2 tons of top soil from the driveway to the back yard and the Way Back Garden in the past few days. TWO TONS! Do the math: 100 bags of top soil at 40 pounds per bag = 4,000 pounds, or TWO TONS.

And that's not all, either. 50 bags of cedar mulch @ 40 pounds per (so far...still have 100 to go). One ton done, two to go. 25 bags of mushroom compost @ 40 pounds per (so far...we'll need another 25 before all's said and done). One ton in all. And 20 bags of Black Kow composted manure @ 50 pounds per bag...those are outta my league, I'm afraid. All I can do at that weight is cheer Mr. T on. He has a large wagon; I have a smaller one...and together we have put several miles on both in our efforts to move 4.5 tons of soil and amendments. Makes my back ache just writing it all down.

Not really. I have been very careful with all this lifting...warming up cold muscles before working, being realistic about my limits, and taking adequate breaks. I have been diligent about stretching and flexibly exercises over the Winter, to help meet the challenge of Spring. I know I'm playing with fire, so to speak, and a "bad back attack" is the last thing I need or want. No time for that...

Today I started getting the roses ready for their growing season. While I had already pruned them about a month ago, I had held off on the Spring Feeding just in case we had more cold weather...which we did. But all the rose bushes are leafing out now, so it is time to take action and get them ready to put on a show this Summer.

First I rake back last year's mulch. Then each bush gets a big helping of Patricia's Special Rose Potion: 1/4 cup Epsom Salt (magnesium sulfate); 1/2 cup bone meal; and 3/4 cup 10-10-10 granular fertilizer. I scratch this mixture into the soil from the main cane out to the drip line. Then I add 1/3 bag of mushroom compost as a thick mulch in a circle around the base of each bush. Water in...and voilá! Happy, healthy bushes. I finished the 15 bushes in the back yard today, with "only" 45 more to go in the Rose Garden.

Then, I'll turn my attention to the Orchard, where I'll need to mulch all 20 trees with more mushroom compost (no fertilizer yet, as none of these babies have borne fruit). Then ditto with the blueberries, blackberries, and grapes...all of which get both fertilizer and compost.

Are we done yet?!

I am under a deadline of sorts, in that April 15 is looming large...that's like the starter's pistol for the Warm Season Garden. After the Average Last Day of Frost for the Piedmont, we can begin planting all those summer goodies: tomatoes, peppers, melons, corn, beans, okra, etc. So, I want to be done with the other gardening chores by then.

A lot of work? Heck yeah. But oh so good for body, mind, and spirit. That's why I do it...for the joy it brings!

Just remind me of all that joy in the morning, when I won't be able to get out of bed! I wonder if I have any Epsom salt left? Supposed to be a good soak for aching muscles, right?!


====================
It's not all work-in-the-garden here at Casa 3917. I've also been writing about working in the garden...😃! Latest article published online, I Say Tomato! is located here: http://guilford.ces.ncsu.edu/2013/03/i-say-tomato/. Enjoy!

Sunshine, Tan Lines, and Mosquitos

What a bea-U-ti-ful weekend we had! Finally the perfect combination: good weather, no rain...and reasonably warm enough to be able to be outside. Yardening, here we come! Oh, how we've missed this...

While I gathered some essentials (gloves, pruners, etc.) Saturday morning, Mr. T began the day by refilling the bird feeders. Only...on this day, he had a new helper: Abbie! Look closely at the picture (below) to see Abbs with her paws up on the stump that is used as the filling station; you can barely see Mr. T's hand, as he had slipped back in the shed just as I snapped the shot. Oh yes, dear friends, she has taken to both master and routine like she's lived here for a year instead of just a week. She's discovered the doggie doors...and knows how to use them. Surely it won't be too long before she's chasing those d4mn squirrels away from the rich bounty in the Kingdom of our Back Yard.

The To Do List was lengthy and dynamic as we began the day. Mr. T was especially keen to get the 6 newly-arrived Flame Seedless grape vines in the ground in the Berry Patch, which meant he had to start with the Big Tiller to turn over the bed we had previously drawn up and marked off.

We have two Concord grape vines that are starting their third season (you may recall they produced some grapes last year), and we wanted to try another variety to complete our "vineyard." Research shows that Flames are heat-tolerant, which was the main consideration; whether we liked the grapes was the next most important item. While I like the Concords...and look forward to the day when I can harvest enough to make a jar of jam...Mr. T isn't a fan of their flavor...says they are too sour for "straight eating." Enter Flames: sweet and seedless...who could ask for more?

The area chosen for the vineyard is in the correct pH range (5.8 per our Soil Test in 2011), and appears to have a sandy streak running through the red clay. As we haven't improved the soil in this spot, we made a tasty mix of the soil removed from the planting holes, top soil, mushroom compost, Moo-nure, leaves (saved last Fall, remember?), and peat moss. While the last ingredient isn't recommended in this area due to a tendency to contribute to the soil's acidity, we made an executive decision to go for better tilth over pH. The support posts also got pounded in (no easy task), and the only thing remaining is to string the support wires and secure the vines. Those new grape-babies sure look happy in their new home!

Meanwhile, I continued with the pruning of the roses (doesn't sound nearly as much fun as The Running for the Roses, aka The Kentucky Derby, now does it?). Remember, I had finished this chore in the Rose Garden, but there were still the 17 bushes in the back yard? All look healthy, with the possible exception of the Sterling Silver hybrid tea. The first "blue" rose introduced in 1955, and the parent or grandparent of almost every lavender-blooming rose out there, this bush has always seemed less hardy than the others. Now it looks like it is on the Intensive Care roster. Sigh. It's one of my favorite blooms, too. You know how much I love purple, right? (I mean, who else paints their shed doors PURPLE, I ask you?) Well, this rose blooms a lovely, delicate lavender. Of course, "delicate" is probably the operative word here.

While I was pruning the roses in the Rose Garden, I had a thought: why not try to root some of the hardiest trimmings? With yesterday's snips, I had quite the collection. Sooo, out came the rooting hormone...and the nursery pots...and a new "rooting mix" (potting soil, peat moss, and sand). I got 12 pots of trimmings...and if just a few root, well...that's OK. It will be my first time to root my own roses...and probably the last time I ever buy another rose bush. As I am doing this for my own garden, with no plans to sell any successes, I'm ok on the patent laws...teehee.

As I dipped the last stem into the rooting hormone and pushed it into the last space in the last prepared pot (see photo above of the cuttings), Mr. T was tilling up a new rose bed in the Way Back. You see, we need to move some of our back yard buddies to a sunnier area. We made the mistake of planting them that first Spring we were in this house, thinking the sun factor where we put them would be constant throughout the growing season. Wrong. They just don't get enough hours of Summer sunshine (hybrid teas do best in full sun...8-10 hours a day). A reminder that one should live in a house...and garden...for a full year before making any changes.

Next up: potatoes in bags! Yes, we are planting our potato crop in bags again this year (instead of dedicating a row to them). Worked well last year, thriving on the benign neglect that was Garden 2012. I had prepared 10 sprouting chunks (3-4 eyes each) a couple of days before, giving them time to scab over on the cut edges. Mr. T helped me set up the Potato Farm, by laying out cardboard next to the asparagus bed, where we put 3 blue grow-bags, pouring top soil in to the depth of about 3 inches. As the sprouts grow, we'll add soil to cover the new growth until it reaches the top of the bags. At the end of their growth cycle (after the flowers, and when the green stems on top begin to wilt and die back), all we have to do is dump the bags out and-- voilá--potatoes! No digging!! And we have the added benefit of being able to recycle the "used" soil. Winner, winner...baked potato dinner!!👍

While taking a break, I could tell my face was getting more than a goodly amount of sunshine. As I'd had my visor on (I cannot wear a hat...just can't...too hot...) mainly for eye protection from the light and the glare (yeah, still an issue), I knew I was starting on one of my most bizarre tan lines: the one across my forehead, between my hairline and where the visor droops down over my eyes. Like a bald-heated man who forgoes his baseball cap at the beach.

And, just as we were enjoying a refreshing snack of Braeburn apple slices and cheddar cheese with crackers (agreeing that we'd truly missed these little impromptu picnics), what should buzz Mr. T's ear and alight on my exposed hand (since I was wearing long sleeves and long pants to protect me from all those thorns, I was fairly well covered elsewhere)? Why, a big, black mosquito! Already?! Guess so...

Before we collapsed on Sunday evening (remember...an extra hour of daylight!), Mr. T finished installing the last two Country Garden fence corners in the Cool Season Garden. Beautiful! We plan to redo this space with raised beds, and the corners provide just the structure needed.

And, then as everyone and everything left the Way Back, I mixed up the Dormant Spray and doused the fruit trees, grape vines, and roses. Sunday was the perfect day for this chore: a partly cloudy day in late winter (of which there are only 10 more days!), with no rain in the forecast for 24 hours; temps above 40 and below 85; with the area well-watered (the ground is still well-saturated from all the rain we have been having); and no chance of frost. While this stuff (basically, horticultural oil) is safe, there are warnings to remove people and pets from the 'active' spray area. And, although I am a "be nice to your Mother Earth" kind of a gardener, I recognize that an ounce of prevention in the dormant stage is worth the need to spray a pound of cure later on...and risk harm to any pollinators that come during the blossom stage.

And so, if Mr. T and I eventually recover from all of our strenuous activities, we shall pronounce this a successful weekend, and time well-spent. Huzzah!

Garden 2012 Roundup

It was a bea-u-tee-ful weekend here at Casa 3917. Sunny and warm enough to be outside in short-sleeves, no jacket, at least until late afternoon. So, after a run to Tractor Supply for bird food and to Soviero's Tri-County Garden Center for bags of this and that (more in a sec), we took advantage of almost every moment, working mostly in the Kitchen Garden.

First, we finished removing Summer from the Warm Season garden. Mr. T had already pulled up the tomatoes and the okra last weekend, and I dug the sweet potatoes following our first frost... leaving just the peppers and the bean and pea fences standing. While he removed the fences, I weeded the asparagus bed and snipped all the yellowed ferns.

We'd decided to build a box for this bed, as we wanted to build up the soil around the crowns and make it easier to weed during the year...both important to the health and optimum production of asparagus. [You may or may not know...or care to know...that asparagus is a perennial vegetable, coming back year after year from the roots (or "crowns") you plant only once. It also hates to share space with anything, especially weeds...a real loner.] Mr. T had a couple of 8' boards for the long sides, but he had to cut two 3' boards for the ends. He screwed them together with deck screws, then nailed them to the corner braces he'd sunk into the ground. It ain't going nowhere!

We then emptied out the 'used' soil from the potato bags and spread out a good dose of mushroom compost. We will cover everything with a layer of straw after it has settled a bit. I can almost taste those tender spears that will pop us next Spring, can't you? Here's a pic of Ella Rae checking out our work.

Ella Rae approves of the new asparagus bed...but she'd really like to roll around in the compost!

Then Mr. T emptied out several bags of leaves* and ran the mower over them to give 'em a good chop. Next up, he got the big tiller running and turned the whole area under. I kept busy with the Mantis(r) tiller to dig new beds for daffodils behind existing daylily beds. When the Mantis conked, I continued pulling up the frost-singed zinnias and snipping the last of the rose-blooms. (Yes, the roses are STILL blooming)

So what's left, you ask? The cool season garden is hosting broccoli (pictured), cabbage, lettuce, a few carrots, fewer still beets, turnip greens, and collards. There are also a couple of rows of garlic that will overwinter and be ready next July.

Grow, baby grow!  Will you be ready for Thanksgiving?

We went out yesterday in the early drizzle (goodbye, good weather...:) and measured and marked the rows/paths for next year. We'll add amendments like lime (per our Soil Report), and North Carolina's own Kickin Chicken and Pete's Cow Manure before we put the baby to bed for the Winter.

You probably won't be surprised to learn that I took the measurements and spent the evening drawing up the Plan for Garden 2013. One can't be too prepared, can one?

=======================================================================

Leaves* - Hello, my name is Patricia...and I am a Leaf Thief. I admit it...I see leaves bagged up on the curb, headed to the landfill, and I can't help myself. I load those bags of once-and-future gold into my car and head home to the shredder. Nuthin' better to help loosen and build clay soils!

This year, though, I may have made the best deal yet. Our across-the-street neighbors have a beautiful front yard, lush and green...and they are fanatics about getting the fallen leaves off their lawn, sooner rather than later! I asked if we could trade all the veggies they want next year from our garden for their bags of leaves...and we would return the bags, too. We've had a similar deal with our next door neighbor...and our lawn guy, who brings us BIG bags of leaves that he "vacuums" from his customers' yards with his monster riding lawn mower. With all these contributions this Fall, we may not need to make the rounds of the neighborhoods the day before the HPNC yard waste truck does.

Still...I may hear the siren call...

The Merrie Month of May

My goodness...it's the third week of May already? I started this post on the 16th...but here it is the wee hours of the 23rd before I am finally finishing it. We're just zipping right along through 2012, aren't we? Well, maybe limping along might be a better description for this year. More on that in a minute.

Yes, our Adventures have had some limitations this year...and the great casualty of the evil-twin combo of my back issues and positional vertigo has been any ability to make plans and follow through on commitments. Still, we are trying to do things we enjoy...whenever we can.

One particular thing we have enjoyed is getting our baseball fix by going to Greensboro Grasshoppers games. It's great!! Lots of fun...especially with the mascot, Miss Babe Ruth...shown in the picture below, acting as batgirl...:) And so very convenient, too!

Let's compare...

A Braves game in Atlanta? Drive for 5+ hours to get there (to the general area.) Spend the night. Drive an hour or more to get to a prepaid ($12) parking space that's still 1/4 mile from Turner Field...with more steps to go to arrive at your seat. Enjoy the game...but know that you have to reverse the process to get home...happy, but exhausted...and a good bit lighter in the wallet.

A 'Hoppers game? Leave home 30-45 minutes before game time (depending on whether you need to make any stops along the route). Easy drive down Wendover to Market to downtown Greensboro. Pay $4 to park a block away in the Grace UMC parking lot. Leisurely stroll to NewBridge Bank Park and arrive at our seats behind home plate with plenty of time to spare before the National Anthem. Enjoy the game...and usually fireworks...knowing that you will be sleeping in your own bed tonight...with dollars to spare.

OK, so maybe the calibre of play isn't as great, but the enjoyment factor is far greater in Greensboro. And I find I'm liking the Braves on our big screen TV just dandy...:). Ahem.

Anyway...back to not being able to make plans and keep commitments. I had made plans to attend the state conference of the North Carolina Master Gardener Volunteer Association this week in Asheville. Had even volunteered to help with registration...way back last Fall when I first signed up for it, and before I took that shortcut down the stairs in January. Who knew the Winter and early Spring would be so difficult? Not I.

So I reluctantly cancelled my plans for Asheville for this week because I realized it probably wasn't prudent for me to make that trip alone, much less sit for 4 hours at the Registration Table. Then we had to cancel our plans for Memorial Day/Anniversary in Atlanta because our dog sitter would be at the beach when we were to have been at the Braves. Sigh.

'All things happen for a reason,' "they" say. Of course, "they" are usually right, aren't "they?"

After a real pace-setter weekend, when we had worked like stevedores on our new Rose Garden in the Way Back...and even taking a timeout on Saturday night for a 'Hoppers game and fireworks...we were cleaning up the remains of our hamburgers-on-the-grill-&-veggies-from-the-garden Sunday supper when a call came through on my iPad. "Never a good sign when it rings after nine." That's something else "they" say.

"Mom, I think I may have sprained my ankle," said Missy M. Through the wonders of technology, she flipped the camera and showed me her swollen right foot, and I knew she was probably underestimating the damage.

Seems she had taken her dogs with her on her supper-run to Wendy's. When they got back home, Ella Rae...her little part-dachshund, part-gazelle...made a dash out of the car, still wearing her leash. Missy M gave chase, even though flip flops would not be classified as track shoes in any catalog. She stepped on the wrist-handle of the leash, rolled her foot, lost her balance...and wound up driving herself to the ER shortly after our chat.

Long story short: xrays showed avulsion fracture of the fifth metatarsal with the ankle sprain. Temporary stirrup cast, until she sees the specialist on Thursday. Currently on crutches...and dire warnings about "no weight on that foot." In short, she was in a bit of a pickle. Here's a picture she took in the ER of said pickle.

And so, that's how we found ourselves...with all our dogs (no sitter, remember?)...in Louisville. We drove up Monday after packing in record time. I harvested as much of the garden greens (photo below) as I could before we headed the car toward the mountains and the Parkway.

We aren't certain how long we will be here to help. Mr. T may even have to make another round trip there-and-back before all is said and done, probably sooner rather than later.

Still, it feels good to be able to keep a commitment. One that we made when we became parents 30+ years ago.

===================
Bear with me. I'm posting on my iPad with all its limitations re: attaching/sizing/captioning photos. I have loads of great pics of the new roses blooming in the new Rose Garden...and I'll post them when I get back to my trusty ol' Toshiba. Promise.