Weekend at the Farm October 8 - 9, 2016

Arrived Saturday evening.  Blake, mom, Amy, Nancy and I had high tea at the Hotel Granduca to celebrate Charlie's impending arrival.  A little mini shower of sorts.  Bert arrived at the farm earlier in the day.  Sunday morning was very cool, in fact I had a jacket on for a short time.

• I had 15 yards of mulch delivered on Tuesday, so it was waiting for me when I arrived.  Sunday morning I jumped right in hauling mulch.  I began mulching the in the Circle Drive beds.  They always look dry and malnourished.  They definitely needed mulch!  There are a lot of large beds in that area, and I soon grew tired of that and moved on to another place.  But I got two of them covered completely and several partially covered.  I grow gingers, rain lilies, Philippine lilies, African Hostas, Sweetspire, and bridal wreath in the circle beds.
• I put a couple of wheel barrows of mulch in a bed where I had planted a bunch of my Hurricane Lilies several weeks ago.  And I covered a bed located in the hinterlands of the Star Garden where I planted some Hurricane Lilies and I have a very tiny Hydrangea growing alongside some iris.  It doesn't get much water, so mulch will help out a lot.
• The butterflies are amazing today.  They are everywhere.  I sat in the Star Garden and ate my lunch so I could enjoy the insect activity.
• I mulched, mulched, mulched.  I did a lot of work in the Star Garden.  It looks good.  
• All day long I watered the Rose Garden.  I have a sprinkler that shoots up water in a very small area, so I use it to water all my roses.  The Rose Garden looks so pretty.  I don't really have very many roses blooming - lots of buds, though, getting ready for the fall spectacle.  But the Moss Verbena, the Homestead Purple Verbena, the Swamp Sunflowers, the Buttercup Turnera, and the zinnias are amazing.  The butterflies - amazing.
• I watered my Bulb Bed - the Pearlbush, Sweetshrub, and Big Daddy Hydrangea were really dry.
• Most of the day was spent walking from the Rose Garden to move the sprinkler and back to the Star Garden to mulch.  But I also gazed and gazed at the gardens and the insects and the butterflies.  What an unforgettable day.
• Bert and I took a walk around the property at dusk.  We haven't done that since Lanie died. 
• I left for work on Monday morning and drove straight in to work.