Sunday, April 19, 2009

Day In The Life Of My Garden- April 19, 2009

I pulled my planter out of my compost pile and it looks like my experiment is successful. The plants are alive & thriving. The Lamb's Ear looks a little worse for the wear, but it does in the garden too. I have learned not to mess with it too early in the spring or you risk killing it. It is so tempting to pull off all those matted, grey leaves.


I decided it was time to finally finish up the bed I started last fall. I had taken out all of the grass & birch tree roots- big job! Today I leveled out the soil and then immediately messed it up by bringing over a couple of loads of compost. The compost was a job in itself. It wasn't totally broken down so I had to speed up the process with an old lawn mower. My trusty assistant, Henry, made sure that it was properly cooked by testing it periodically.

I turned the compost in by hand with my garden spade. The tank in the background is the old cistern from when the property was a golf course back in the 60's.

After all the soil prep was done I started hunting around for Stella d'Oro daylilies. I know they are considered industrial landscaping plants, but I inherited them from the previous owners. They are everywhere. I figured if I corralled them into one garden they would make a nice loud display and not mar other areas with their Kraft Mac & Cheese coloring. It is also a part of my yard that really needs something to look at besides a big metal tank.

6 comments:

Mim said...

It is because of you that I cannot look at those lilies with out also seeing the blue Kraft mac and cheese box, and also do a little bit of a sneer when someone else admires them....if we were ten, my mother would think you were a bad influence on me, as it is she believes you are a goddess....the difference a little bit of time will make.

JAF said...

forget it baby, love the stella, not gonna stop...but I am going to copy everything SMC does (unless it's physical and it's going to make my back hurt) until my back yard looks okay. Any advice for getting the neighbors to clean up theirs?

SMC said...

JAF & Michelle- There will be no sniffing, nose upward by Sarah. She happens to love her ajuga...almost as much as her violets. She may as well profess love for Jessica Simpson shoes. She also loves marigolds... which is like loving Crocs for their looks.

Neighbors? That is what fences are for.

I, I, I am the Goddess of Bad Influence!

fishnet said...

from the pictures i thought maybe you were digging a grave for henry. he would probably make for bad fertilizer anyway and you might end up with stella d'oro's that bayed.
being the "flower peasant" that i am i like the look of stellas... bushy green bunches with church bell flowers. the question is....what will you put in next to them?

LYC said...

You're so lucky to have found good help.

SMC said...

LYC-Yes, good help, but he doesn't come cheaply.