Took vacation and drove up on Wednesday evening by myself. Bert arrived on Thursday and left to go hunting on Friday in Groesbeck and coming back here on Sunday. The neighbors' dogs came running up to the car while I was trying to open the gate which is a little disconcerting since they are so big, and we aren't well acquainted. I try to be friendly because they always run onto our property and bark. Little by little they come a little closer each time, but I've yet to pet a few of them. I left the car door open while I unlocked the gate, and the shepherd dog jumped in. Try as I might I couldn't get her out. So I finally drove up to the house with her in the car. She had been sprayed with a skunk recently, although I know she had been bathed because it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Nevertheless, she was pretty rank. I coaxed and coaxed but she would leave the car. I finally pulled her out by her collar, and once I had her collar she came out pretty willingly. She stayed by the door until I went to bed.
- I roamed around the Star Garden a good part of the evening, all the while the shepherd watched me. It was cool and pleasant.
- Thursday morning I walked around the gardens with coffee in hand. Grey Kitty from next door walked with me, wrapping herself around my feet with each step I took. I'm lucky I didn't trip and fall.
- Raked in the Shade Garden a little, just to get enough off the ground that the blower could make some headway. Cut back armfuls of blooming Snakeroot that was leaning into the paths. I will have to be careful disposing of it since it is poisonous to cows, and it definitely does not go into the compost since it reseeds vigorously. Also cut back gingers that were leaning into the paths, threw them into the compost pile which is quite big right now from all the work I did last weekend, Everything is off the paths now and ready for blowing leaves.
- Carol Montgomery stopped by with the ice cream scoops that she made for us. She does beautiful wood work. We are giving them as Christmas gifts. The handles are made of purpleheart wood, mesquite, and spalted maple.
- I vacuumed, mopped, and laid down floor shine in the kitchen, dining, hallway, and living room.
- Drove the cub cadet down to the Orchard and spent a couple hours pulling up all the salvia in preparation for sowing my seeds. I still need to turn over the soil and rake out all the weeds and debris before I sow the seed. That will be a big chore. But pulling up the salvia had to be done first.
- I received my bulbs from Old House Gardens. Their efforts to preserve old fashioned and out-of-commerce rarities is commendable, but it also makes them very expensive. I bought a few of several varieties, but I bought most of my bulbs from Brent and Becky's web site. My Old House purchases: 10 Thalia (introduced in 1916white daffodils, I bought 50 from Brent and Becky as well, I'm curious to see what if any difference there is between the two), The Tenby (traced back to 1796, its nickname is the teddy bear), Twink (introduced in 1925, it is a double), Sweetness (introduced in 1939, it is considered one of the best daffodils for the south), Stella (introduced in 1869, found in old gardens all over the south, this one has wavy petals and a crinkled cup), Coddlins and Cream or Sulphur Phoenix (introduced in 1820, the name comes from the English dessert coddlins, which is stewed apples, this one is pale yellow), St. Keverne (a true yellow-looking daffodil, great for the south), Trevithian (Scott Ogden wrote that it will multiply ten-fold in three or four years) All of these daffodils are extremely fragrant. I plan to plant most of these - because I only bought 3 or 10 of each variety - in the hot border next to the Vegetable Garden. I don't want them to get lost in the shuffle with all my other daffodils since many of them are rare and scarce to the trade.
- Friday morning I worked in the Orchard turning over the soil and pulling weeds. I mixed larkspur, Bachelor Buttons, and Corn Poppies and spread them in tow beds.
- Bert and I drove to Leroy Shroeder's with the trailer and bought some mulch. He left to go hunting right after that.
- I filled the cub cadet with mulch and drove it down to the Orchard and began mulching around the fruit trees. I turned over the soil in several more beds and spread seed, combinations of red corn poppy and California poppy, and Bachelor Button and larkspur and Tickseed and corn poppy. Deadheaded my zinnias and pulled a bunch of them up.
- I planted 3 Stella, 12 Tenby, 5 Coddlins and Cream, 3 Twink in the Hot Border next to the Vegetable Garden. And recently I planted some Erhlicheer in that bed as well. I mulched the length of the bed including tucking in mulch around my Candida Rain Lilies.
- I mulched my Marie de Orleans rose and my Gruss an Aachan rose.
- I cut back some perennial ageratum around the Gruss rose and cleaned up the bed a bit
- Deadheaded my potted butterfly bush in the Star Garden. I pulled it forward, and sure enough, the pot was sitting on top of some bulbs that were trying to emerge.
- Woke up early Saturday morning, I didn't sleep well at all the night before.
- Josh Amy and baby Koy arrived on Saturday and stayed until Sunday afternoon. What a sweet baby. We had a nice weekend.
- I spread some more seed in the Star Garden before I left for home.
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