Weekend at the Farm February 17 - 18, 2017

Baby sat for Koy and Cleo on Friday night while all my kids went to dinner at mom and dad's restaurant at their new new place.  Saturday night Bert and I had Zelda, Henry, Oliver and Wes at our house for a sleepover.  Arrived at the farm at 1:00 on Sunday.

• Sunday, started right away staining the fence around the Rose Garden.  I got 3 sides finished before I ran of paint (that means one side of two).  I was so surprised at how fast I ran out of paint!  It will take 2 more gallons to finish.
• I cut down to ground level all my elderberry in the Medicine Garden.  This time is all about cutting away dead vegetation and pruning back to the ground.
• Monday.  I pruned the pink Chaste Tree.  I still have to get up on the ladder and cut back the highest branches.  Chaste Tree should be cut back by a third every year.  I never cut it back that much, but I do take a lot off.
•  Bert and I drove to Leroy Shroeder's and had a yard of mushroom compost loaded into the trailer. We are determined to grow corn (actually Bert really wants to grow corn).  He expanded the Vegetable Garden to make room for it.  We drove the trailer next to the fence and I shoveled the compost into the new space - that took about 30 minutes.  We cut down some dead cedars to edge the new bed.  While we were trying to roll one of the cedars off the cadet and over the fence into the garden I let go of it too soon, and the tree hit Bert's head.  He was knocked to the ground - blood everywhere.  Frightening.  We doctored him up, no concussion, so we soldiered on with a bandage on his head.  I turned the soil over, the new space is about 5 feet by 25 feet, so that was an effort - took about 30 minutes.  We are ready for corn. 
• Watered in the Rose Garden throughout the day.  Fertilized the roses I missed last weekend.  While I was in there I cut my trailing purple lantana to the ground.  Fertilized it as well.
• Raked out two sections of the Long Border and cut away dead vegetation - salvias and cannas.  Dumped all the leaves and pine needles in the area next to the Long Border.
• I fertilized the shady part of the Star Garden closest to the Rose Garden.  
• Cut back lots of Autumn Sage in the Star Garden.  It roots like crazy.  I have small plants everywhere, but I don't have the heart to pull it up.  Cut Ehamanii down to the ground.  Pruned my white mist flower.
• Did some weeding in the long bed in the Star Garden.
• I pruned my Butterfly rose, it was an unruly mess.  The center bed in the Star Garden looks much better now.  I pulled up some Obedient Plant and raked the paths.  
• I worked until dusk.
• Tuesday.  I fertilized all my fruit trees in the Orchard.  Raked and cleared away leaves.  I fertilized the four roses and all my salvias and other perennials.  Cut away the dead vegetation.  I still need to prune my grape vines, but that is a chore for another day.
• Next along the Boardwalk I pulled up all my ginger dead vegetation and raked the entire area.  Fertilized.  
• Next I raked the area around my White-by-the-Gate Camellias and fertilized.  
• Next I cut away all the red canna dead vegetation at the front of the Orchard and raked away all the leaves.  Fertilized the area. Raked the area adjacent to the cannas where the elephant ears grow and fertilized.
• Next I cut away the white butterfly ginger dead vegetation and fertilized.
• After that I spent about an hour cutting down the tall stems of Mexicali Rose.  No fertilizer !  Those things do not need any encouragement.  
• Moved on to the Philippine Violets at the top of the Boardwalk.  I raked the area and fertilized.
• There is more to do along the Boardwalk, but I changed course and headed to the Star Garden.
• I cut away the red canna dead vegetation in both places where it is growing.  Fertilized the Climbing Pinkie and surrounding cannas.  Fertilized the Veilchenbleu rose and Snowball  Viburnum.  I fertilized the entire Bulb Bed where the Pearlbush, white altheas, and Spicebush grow.
• I cut back the Indigo Spires and transplanted two clumps that were growing too close to the edge of the bed.
• Transplanted several clumps of Ox Eye Daisies from paths over to beds (one in the front bed, one next to the Snowball Viburnum).
• I planted 3 Moody Blues Veronicas in the front flower bed.  Fertilized all the Perl d'Or roses and the Franziska Kruger and the Marie D'Orleans.
• I planted a Bears Breeches in the space where I dug up all the yellow cannas a month or so ago. I plant to put another one in that bed sometime in the next week or so.
• I cut back three or four Autum Sages.  
• Next I moved to the back flower beds.  I cut back all the Autumn Sages along the back of the house and all the Thryallis in the back bed and the side bed.  It was raining pretty hard by this time, and I was soaked through.
• Still raining, but I was determined to push on - I wanted to use up all five bags of fertilizer, and I had one more. So I went to the Shade Garden.  I managed to fertilize all the gingers, the coralberry, the Toad Lily, all the George Tabor azaleas, the acubas, the mahonias, most of the ferns - the only thing that didn't get a hit of fertilizer was the Firespike.  Unlike the other gardens, I threw the fertilizer right on the layer of heavy leaf drop.  The Shade Garden is self-cleaning.  I don't weed in there.  The heavy leave drop smothers all weed growth, so I don't rake. 
• I transplanted several more Ox Eyes and Homestead Verbena in various places.
• That's that.  I stopped at dusk.
• Drove in to work on Wednesday morning.