Yardwork - May 1, 2021

 

It's noon, and I my gardening energy is shot for the day - or at least for a few hours.  

It started with an early morning coffee stroll out to the new bed to see how things were doing.  So far, so good.  While looking at the bed, I remembered that I wanted to move a little bit of bee balm and some yarrow into the back corners of the bed, so I got a trowel and dug up a little bit of each and moved them.  Filled up the big watering can and watered them in.

Then I turned around and saw that ugly-ass flower bed in the center of the front yard.

I wish I'd taken a "before" picture.

This bed was built around a tree 35 years ago.  Thirty years ago, we cut the tree down but left the frame, which is made of landscape timbers and is now nearly compost, it's so rotten.  I planted a dozen white daffodil bulbs in the frame - that was about all I could afford at the time.  Over the years, the daffodils multiplied so much that I gave away a wheelbarrow-full of bulbs when I re-did the bed several years ago.  Every year, I've cut back tree saplings and dewberry vines and assorted weeds, but it all grows back by the end of the summer, and the thing looks ragged.  

So today I clipped the foliage off of the daffodil clumps, and dug up some trees and vines.  Then I ran the little tiller between the daffodils.  Later this afternoon, after I get home from a baby shower, I'm going back to the garden center to spend next month's rent money on flowers and dirt. 

I think I'll divide the daffodils again, and spread them around the bed a little bit.  Then I'm going to fill the spaces with supertunias, or something.