Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

This really is a full service blog.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

The words do not have to be perfect.

We still have time to mess this up!

“But what about the lurkers?”

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

You are here: Home / Garden Chats / Sunday Morning Garden Chat: This Year’s Project…

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: This Year’s Project…

by | 129 Comments

This post is in: 


 
… from indefatigable gardener & photographer Ozark Hillbilly:

This year’s main gardening project started last year just before the Eclipse, when I tore up the old worn out flagstone path with a skidloader.

The skidloader had a 6’wide bucket. The new concrete sidewalk being only 3′-6” wide, that left me with 2′-6″ to play with. So I did.


I started the plantings by sowing wildflower seeds in early February (was almost too late for good scarification) — Black Eyed Susans, Indian Blanket, and Mexican Hat.

Then as Daffodils started coming up I added them and Irises (only a couple Irises bloomed and no Daffs did). Also split some Hostas and put them in the shady areas.

I bought Bleeding Hearts, Astilbe and fern roots (none of which bloomed this year but all of which are still breathing) and bought some additional bulbs: Blazing Star (which the bumble bees love), Lillies of the Valley (which I think were a failure), and one or 2 others I can’t remember!

I also bought a wildflower mix on a whim and started some pots of them which then got transplanted into vacant spots. Did the same with some Coleus and Columbine seeds.

All in all it was probably too much and I will be thinning things out next year, but for right now I am reasonably pleased with the results.

***********

What’s going on in your garden(s) this week?

Reader Interactions

129Comments

  1. 1.

    Raven

    Nice work brah! It rained like hell from “Stockbridge to Boston” and I hope the flight I got here 3 hours early goes off on time!

  4. 4.

    JoyceH

    “What’s going on in your garden(s) this week?”

    I’m in the process of destruction! My yard has two shrubs that I planted on either side of the front door almost thirty years ago, and they’ve reached the point where there’s no way to prune them back to any sort of attractiveness, so I’m taking them out. I’ve been working on one shrub and almost have it out. The shrub is not only too big and too ungainly, but thorny vines have grown up through the shrub where I can’t get to them, and up the side of the house. So right now, I have one trunk of a shrub still to saw, and then big piles of rubbish to get removed. (I think it’s a testament to my physical therapist that I even considered doing this myself rather than hiring someone to do it.)

    Problem is that I’m watching this British gardening show (Big Dreams, Small Spaces) on Netflix and am now imagining all the exciting things I could do with these plots up against the house. Remind myself that Job One is getting out the old stuff and then I have till next spring to decide what else to do with the space.

  7. 7.

    Raven

    @OzarkHillbilly: it was great, a family of about 30 was onboard and they were really fun. I caught a few and gave them to a dude from Gambia who got sick even though it was very calm. The reunion was fun and now the trek home!

  15. 15.

    HeleninEire

    Morning all. That’s one beautiful bear you’ve got there Ozark.

    Went to the theatre last night to see “Wicked.” Very good. Theatre in Dublin was one of my happy surprises. The Abbey, the National Theatre of Ireland, has a monthly program called “Free first Preview.” All you gotta do is be in line by 6 for a 7:30 show and you’re in for free.

  16. 16.

    satby

    Going on in the garden? Today and tomorrow I have to try to get the grass mowed and trim around the shrubs. My two that were inadvertently decimated by the vine removal guys have started to sprout again, my drowned tomatoes recovered but are about a month behind in growth, and if I feel especially ambitious (doubtful) I may start to tackle the weed patch that is the raised bed. Just looking at it depresses me. I probably have to rip everything out and start over completely and I don’t have the energy for that these days.

  17. 17.

    OldDave

    @Platonailedit: I missed the second (and successful) launch attempt – too tired from being up at 4 am the night before for attempt the first. I wish JHUAPL the best.

  20. 20.

    frosty

    Can’t say it’s garden newa but I spent four hours yesterday weeding, cutting out tree-of-heaven and other crap that invaded our lilac and hedges, etc. Without a back spasm this time. Yet, anyway.

    I love the look of our brick patio but I hate having to pull the weeds out from between the bricks every two weeks. At least I can do it sitting down.

  21. 21.

    A Ghost To Most

    Very nice, OH. It looks like you have a beautiful “spread”. How big is your property?

  25. 25.

    HinTN

    @Platonailedit: Go Icarus! One quibble with the BBC verbiage, those “three Delta IV rockets” are actually the configuration that makes that the Delta IV “heavy”. It’s the biggest thing we’ve got ave only gets used once in a while when Titan can’t do the job.

  26. 26.

    HinTN

    @satby:

    I have to try to get the grass mowed

    Oh lord, yesterday I slogged through with the super mower what I usually manage with the little machine with the lower cut. Repeatedly stalling and making a real crop of hay. Today is the near abroad with the big machine again.

  27. 27.

    HinTN

    @OzarkHillbilly: Were your Lilies of the Valley in complete shade ave very acid soil? They really don’t like sunbeams and they can’t stand neutral or basic.

    Also, that’s a beautiful place!

    ETA – and, dammit, not ave

  31. 31.

    satby

    @HinTN: I’m the oldest daughter and used to be the designated “son” in my all girls family, so I always got stuck with the yard work and mowing when I lived with my parents. I hate mowing the lawn even though now it’s a small city lot. So if course I procrastinate until it’s a big hassle. Fortunately, until the recent rain we got, it had gone dormant anyway, but I hate heat, humidity… In fact I kind of hate summer. Which doesn’t help.

  34. 34.

    Lapassionara

    Also, my shrubbery beds are being taken over by wild violets. I have researched on the web, and it looks like they have the double whammy of seeds and rhizomes. I don’t mind having a few of them, but this year they are big and aggressively moving in to my creeping Jenny. Any ideas? I think every seed in the soil germinated this spring.

  35. 35.

    A Ghost To Most

    @HinTN: I remember that pain. Here, I’m just trying to keep the lawn alive. We haven’t mowed in 2 months. The Great Burning continues.

  41. 41.

    WaterGirl

    Ozark, I am so happy to finally see a photo of the woofmeister! (spelling may be wrong, no offense intended)

    I love that he is lying there, just surveying his domain. I see from the amount of space he is taking up across the sidewalk that he has perhaps had years of experience taking as much room as possible in the bed?

    Love the comment from someone upthread, asking where the still is. Too lazy to go back and find the nym,

    Flowers are wonderful, I agree with debbie, don’t think just yet!

  44. 44.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Debbie(Aussie): Yes, quite unexpectedly, I did. I had no risk factors, eat healthy, am thin, never smoked, no family history, and have worked out 3 or 4 times a week for 35 years. And then a little over week ago, I had a day of feeling dizzy and woke up in the night with chest pains. We got to the ER at 4am and by 8:30, I was on the operating table having a stent shoved through from my groin. I’m told that dizziness is often a warning sign for women especially, so this is a PSA.

    The stent is a miracle of modern medicine. I felt better instantly, despite being allergic to the contrast dye they used.

  45. 45.

    debbie

    Yesterday, it rained almost three inches in four hours. Less than an hour later, people were out mowing their lawns. Isn’t that bad for the grass?

  47. 47.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @WaterGirl:

    I see from the amount of space he is taking up across the sidewalk that he has perhaps had years of experience taking as much room as possible in the bed?

    You have the spelling right and yes, I have been kicked out of my bed. Like all large dogs, he has a talent for plopping himself right in the middle of everything and refuses to move figuring you’ll find a way around him.

  51. 51.

    Debbie(Aussie)

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:
    I am so glad that you got to the ER in time. I have an uncle who had a similar experience. He too mentioned feeling better almost immediately after the stent was placed. Please take care of yourself, and thank you for the PSA. ?

  52. 52.

    Debbie(Aussie)

    I’m off to bed. Have a great day Juicers.
    Hope all goes well with the Washington marches.

  54. 54.

    Raven

    @debbie: bad for the glass (Chinatown). I just landed in the Atl and my bag is soaked. The drive from Rhode Island to Logan at 2:30am was exciting!

  55. 55.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Raven: Yeah, I was definitely under stress. We moved and still haven’t sold our house. We changed realtors yesterday. I hope that helps.

    ETA: I’m glad we made the move though. Someone comes and cleans my apartment as part of my rent, frex. There’s a restaurant in this building. IOW, we’re getting some help as I recover.

  56. 56.

    randy khan

    We just had the stone delivered for a project we’ve been planning for way too long – we’ve got an inverted corner at one side of our house, and we’re going to turn the sloping ground into two tiered flat quarter-circle beds. Today’s part of the project is to move at least some of the stone from the driveway to the back where the actual work will be done.

  59. 59.

    Aleta

    I’m glad you’re OK. Thanks for the PSA about dizziness. I hope the stressful period ends real soon.

  60. 60.

    Raven

    I got on and early shuttle, I just looked up and she’s Ben going in the wrong direction. We are now 2 hrs from home and we started out 1.5!

  63. 63.

    pat

    @Lapassionara:

    “ground cover”

    I have the same problem. We treat our lawn but the neighbor doesn’t, and his lawn is 50% violets. They are starting to creep into our grass. Some of our planting beds are completely overrun. Some of the blackeyed susans manage to grow through them. I’m beginning to see the whole mess as a kind of “wildflower prairie.”

  66. 66.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Raven: Sounds like there might be some kind of karma at work here, like in a previous life you made other people late to where ever they were going.

  67. 67.

    Raven

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: getting out of Hartsfield can be tricky. I only did this because I figured it was a better option after being nuts the last two days. I’m in the back and I wasn’t paying attention BECAUSE I’m not driving. When I saw the highway sign I knew immediately and then she says “why didn’t you tell me”!!!!

  68. 68.

    Raven

    The wheel is turning and you can’t slow down,
    You can’t let go and you can’t hold on,
    You can’t go back and you can’t stand still,
    If the thunder don’t get you then the lightning will.

  70. 70.

    Immanentize

    Hey All,

    OZARK: What a great home/retreat. Made me want to visit you which is probably the reverse effect you were shooting for.

    RAVEN: Glad you had fun in R.I. — the storm is all around New York. They are diverting flights, but if you have the first flight out, you should be OK.

    The Immp and I woke up in Austin but we will put our heads down in Irvine CA. this evening. The trip is going well which means only a few conflicted moments between teenager and Pop. We have been taking electric scooters around Austin (and in San Antonio yesterday). Man, they are so useful and fun. You find one, unlock it with your app., and drive it to where you need to go and close it and lock it with the app. 1.00 per ride plus .15 per minute. We took one about two miles to dinner Friday and it cost each of us about 6 bucks — and pretty much no hassle, no traffic to fight, no parking issues. The only problem was our restaurant was in a scooter desert and we had to walk a bit to find two — but we needed the walk after the Tex-Mex plates.

  71. 71.

    satby

    @Raven: delays when you’re almost home are worse than when you’re far away, for me anyway. I can be pretty Zen right up until I’m almost home, then I just want to get there and quit hauling my luggage around. And I travel very light. But by then I’m just DONE.

  72. 72.

    Raven

    @satby: Yea, this is pretty helpless, no amount of being pissed will get me Home faster. Tiger doesn’t tee off til 2:30 anyway!

  74. 74.

    waratah

    Ozark, your footpath is lovely and very good craftsmanship. I like you threw the kitchen sink try to find what plants did well. I did the same on a brick planter on my daughters front porch that faces west, shade most of the morning and hot sun later.
    Looks like a peaceful place that I would enjoy.

  75. 75.

    Amir Khalid

    Liverpool had a successful season opener today. An easy 4-0 win over West Ham United. One for Salah, two for Mane, and one for Daniel Sturridge 24 seconds after coming on for Salah. Top of the table after the first week, unless Arsenal-Manchester City is decided by a more than four-goal margin..

  76. 76.

    Neldob

    Lovely garden O-H. It’s delivering (virtual) flowers to D-W, and all of us. Thanks!
    On a slightly grimmer note, how does one find out what groups in Maine and Iowa are organizing against Kavanaugh? I would like to send them some dollars.

  77. 77.

    satby

    Can I ask everyone to send some good thoughts to long-time lurker /very infrequent commentor Constance’s beloved rescue kitty Oscar?

    He will be having an eye removed for melanoma this week and moral support would be appreciated.
    (She doesn’t know I’m asking on her behalf. Though she’s going to find out?)

  78. 78.

    The Midnight Lurker

    @satby: Best Wishes to Oscar and a speedy recovery! I sincerely hope the little guy’s eye surgery goes great, and he gets right back to chasing cat toys with a little pirate patch.

  80. 80.

    scav

    And Huzzah for the chickens in photo one — are they enjoying the new environment as much as the furry beast? Would seem to be lots more hidey holes and shade for new bugs in there. Hope my stone soup approach (any plant people contribute or I can uproot from unattended roadsides) works as well on my stretch of pasture edge. So far I’ve got some native iris, Rudbeckia, crocosmia, calendula, promises of sedum and bachelor button seeds as well as all sorts of various poppies, but I’m still hoping for some native yarrow and chicory. Areas going to be tough and need to be drought tolerant and self-sustaining so I’m essentially looking for a better class of weed.

  83. 83.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    I had a one-eyed cat. We named him Nelson (natch). He got along fine except for the fact that his depth perception was off. It was only a problem when he was jumping from point A to point B (ie., from the floor to the bookcase where the cat food was kept to keep it away from the dogs). He would screw his rear end into the ground and then leap and completely miss, a great clattering of cat food, cat food holder etc. would ensue and he would walk away with that “Of course I MEANT to do that, obviously” look about him. There was a much safer way to get to the cat food but he never stopped trying the other way just in case it worked this time. I still miss him.

  84. 84.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Litlebritdifrnt: I had a one-eyed cat. We named him Nelson (natch).

    that took me a minute, actually…. ETA: My American mind first thought “Willie”

    (I try to keep politics out of the gardening threads, but Sarah Kendzior just raised the specter of kompromat wrt Lindsey Graham, who called for a special counsel to investigate the trump investigation this morning– she didn’t mention his personal life, or lack thereof, but were Jonathan Capeheart and her co-panelist smirking knowingly while she talked?)

  86. 86.

    MagdaInBlack

    I am delighted with your “free range” chickens, they remind me of my past life, the earth mother years, as does the whole soul soothing setting ?
    Its def time to retire and go back to my roots.
    Happy Sunday ?

  91. 91.

    scav

    @debbie: A google suggests it’s a Canna ‘Pretoria’ — look right to you?

    ETA, so yes, there are apparently tons of gardeners here and one’s that know their lilies without resort to digital!

  93. 93.

    JWL

    I tend to think I would have added to the pavers, rather than pour the concrete, but it looks great. It really pops, and it is definitely the borders along the new walk that make it.

    Beautiful little house, too. Houses like that abound in my neck of the redwoods (in San Francisco’s north bay area). I know because I bought one a few years ago, not long after the 2008 economic meltdown. Today the same properties are being sold at prices undreamt of at that time- or ever before, as a matter of fact. The prices being fetched for housing are absolutely insane. The area is in the same process of gentrification that has plagued California’s entire real estate market, especially (I think) in the Bay Area.. Those that have roofs and can feed and clothe themselves are the lucky ones. The rest are increasingly shit out of luck.

  96. 96.

    scav

    @debbie: I didn’t even know there was lilies in that movie! I just honed in on the distinctive striped leaves and did a google image search!

  97. 97.

    Doug R

    @Raven:

    getting out of Hartsfield can be tricky. I only did this because I figured it was a better option after being nuts the last two days. I’m in the back and I wasn’t paying attention BECAUSE I’m not driving. When I saw the highway sign I knew immediately and then she says “why didn’t you tell me”!!!!

    Sounds like you’re getting the grand tour of the Lost City of Atlanta
    Longer version here.

  98. 98.

    GregMulka

    Looks good, Ozark.

    We bought our seeds from the Missouri Botanical Garden this past spring and we will always do so going forward. Three jalapeno plants have produced 40 peppers that we’ve picked so far and I count at least 30 more. The green beans are on their 4th crop. The tomatoes keep coming and the tomatillos are bigger and juicer than any I’ve ever bought in a store.

  100. 100.

    Gelfling 545

    Great garden, great dog!
    I’m still working out what to plant in the foundation area in front of my house. I’ve got as far as deciding that I will plant a couple of small azaleas around the weeping cherry and relocate a goldthread cypress to that general area. That still leaves me with an area of about 10 feet of partial to deep shade to figure out. I’m not great at this planning business. I usually just spot plants I like and then find them a place but the shade factor makes me hesitant.
    Later this month there will be the great dividing of the Siberian irises and daylilies. My neighbors on each side will get the excess. Also a couple of rooted sections of variegated dogwood.

  101. 101.

    Amir Khalid

    In the last match of the English Premier League’s first weekend, Arsenal are 2-0 down at home to defending champions Manchester City. The Gunners are a team in transition but on this form they still don’t look like contenders for a Champions League place let alons the League title.

  111. 111.

    Another Scott

    Afternoon, everyone. Ellie and I are just back from our “morning” walk.

    It doesn’t look like much is happening yet at the anti-NAZI rally in DC yet – Reuters livestream of the ANSWER stage.

    Fingers crossed that the various protests against the monsters are well attended, peaceful, and get more press than monsters do.

    Best wishes to Constance and Oscar, too.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  112. 112.

    JWL

    @debbie: That’s very true. No one will ever steal the concrete, either. Not that many paver thefts are ever reported to police, I imagine. Aesthetically speaking, I prefer stone walks to concrete, is all. That said, it would have been a toss-up decision with me, but like I said, that concrete walk pops. I’d of more than happy with the result had I chosen to pour it.

  113. 113.

    Immanentize

    @satby: And really too tall (6’5″ now? Maybe more, I’m in denial) to be “Little I’mma” but I like it when Rikyrah calls him that….

  114. 114.

    debbie

    @JWL:

    Oh, I’m with you on the aesthetics. Flagstone’s beautiful, but having tripped and fallen more than a few times, I’m always looking for the smoothest surfaces to get to where I’m going.

  115. 115.

    opiejeanne

    @scav: Not sure where you live but the rudbeckia will probably take over and spread. A few things in my garden are tough enough to resist it, but I’ve lost all my coreopsis and purple coneflowers, and I blame it for crowding them out. It could just as well be the soil or the weather that did them in, but I want to blame them.

  116. 116.

    pat

    @jeffreyw:

    Snowberry Clearwing, Hemaris diffinis, also known as “bumblebee moth.”
    A small sphinx moth that mimics a bumblebee.

    (Butterflies of the North Woods, by Larry Weber)

  119. 119.

    Tim C.

    @Frankensteinbeck: Seems to be breaking that Omarosa has released a tape of Kelly firing her. The bigger issue seems to be she is claiming the recording was made in the Situation room. If true, and keep in mind anyone in Trump’s orbit should be assumed a liar as a baseline, but if true this is a major major big deal in terms of a security breach. No recording devices allowed in the situation room, no phones, nada. Not that I expect any cognitive dissonance from the “But her E-mails” brigade, but Hillary basically jaywalked and this would be like armed robbery.

  120. 120.

    Gelfling 545

    @opiejeanne: I find that giving the rudebeckia some shade makes it better mannered. Though I like it in combination with my dark purple daylily “Bela Lugosi” which needs sun, so I just cut it back ruthlessly in that area.

  121. 121.

    opiejeanne

    @JWL: In 1992 we moved from Riverside, one of Southern California’s best bargain cities, to the Bay Area and thought we were going to end up living in a garage in Oakland. We finally found a place we could barely afford in Castro Valley, but all the way out to Livermore the house prices were ridiculous, and there were only five floor plans. I’m talking houses built between the 50s and 70s. Ours was a 1956 tract house with a view of the San Mateo bridge, but the double-paned windows had leaked so you really couldn’t see much of the view until we replaced them. It must have been the bomb when it was built, but it was the smaller of the two floorplans at the time.
    We drive through Redmond on the 202 past similar houses and point at them and say: Castro Valley.

  122. 122.

    opiejeanne

    @Gelfling 545: We dig them up every other year, divide them, and try to get them to colonize other parts of the yard that could use the help, and we give them away to our unsuspecting friends and family. Or used to when they had houses. My niece is the most recent victim but if it fills in that bed where she planted it she will be happy and it will be nice.
    We started with five plants 8 years ago. We had 50 the second year and have hundreds now.

  123. 123.

    randy khan

    @randy khan:

    Somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of the stone is now where it needs to be, more or less sorted by size. I think an hour of that is enough for one warm day.

  125. 125.

    Steeplejack

    @JWL, @debbie:

    I always wonder about those “presses” you can use to put a stone-like pattern on the surface of wet cement. Never seen a patio or walkway done that way in person, but it looks like an interesting idea on the shelter shows.

  126. 126.

    scav

    @opiejeanne: Mmmm, well then it might be in the lap of the gods. The area really is the along-road edge to a pasture and was abandoned to pasture grass, scotch broom and a few blackberries before it was bulldozed out. Abandoned common area. I was hoping a few more would take hold (the crocosmia is a solid contender for superweed here), but a wall of rudbeckia wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if it could take care of itself.

  128. 128.

    debbie

    @Steeplejack:

    I’ve seen a couple around here. Some are nicer than others, like they’ll go to the trouble of stamping in color variations too. But real is better, visually speaking.

  129. 129.

    Steeplejack

    @debbie:

    I don’t think it would make anybody think it’s “real.” Just looks like it might be a pleasant, inexpensive upgrade to a flat slab of bare concrete.

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