Woolybuns: Half Hour At A Time

“Gardening requires lots of water – most of it in the form of perspiration.” ~ Lou Erickson

Oh so true about my yard. So much tearing out, cutting down, chopping into fire pit size. This is my 3rd summer of actively ridding my yard of all the invasive stuff eating it up. I want instant results, of course, but that ain't gonna happen. I don't have enough perspiration to tackle all that stuff in one big effort. But I can do half hour a time. I've mentally divided up my back yard into small, manageable spaces, and alternate between ridding stuff wherever needs gone the most, and slowly planting those small spaces. This little shady spot is my current focus. I transplanted hosta and astilbe last year but something ate a lot of the hosta leaves. The plants survived but I'm rethinking that spot, and picked out some deer resistant plants. It's the 2 steps forward, 1 step back approach to garden design.

Early morning, I wander the deck for about half hour visiting with my potted plants. Who is growing, who needs a little attention, who needs defending? Right now, the dahlia stems are just beginning to emerge. Rebecca's World, a new variety for me, is the precocious one. Tubers from last year that I divided about a month ago are just opening their eyes, and 2 that arrived with Rebecca's World aren't showing any growth so far. Hmmmm. As early spring chill lingered, I really wanted dahlia blooms, so bought a new to me variety, Dahlia Dalaya, already in bud. It's sold as an annual, though a couple websites say it too can be propogated by tuber division after 1st frost. I gifted one to my daughter that bloomed right after Mother's Day and wow! Gorgeous bold pink bi-color and yellow center. 1st bloom on mine is a bit more conservative with the pink. I also have a mini herb garden on the deck, thyme, sage, and rosemary, a delightful blend with onion and and garlic in a wet rub to roast chicken, and a pot of cilantro for making guacamole.