Day at the Farm December 10, 2017

Saturday I babysat Koy and Cleo at my house so that Josh and Amy could get ready for Lights in the Heights.  Saturday night, party at Josh and Amy's.  Sunday Bert and I drove separately to the farm, and I drove in to work on Monday morning.

• There was clearly a freeze sometime last week although it was more like a dip below freezing and back up because not everything was lost to the freeze, only plants here and there.
• There are three roses that I want to move this winter.  They are not in good places, either too crowded or not enough sun.  I moved the first of the  three roses on Sunday - Martha's Vineyard.  I dug it up out of the shady part of the Long Border and moved it to the spot where Iceberg used to be.  I think I pulled a muscle in my back when I did it, it was a pretty big transplant, and my back is sore today.  Pulled up lots of Coreopsis growing in that space and moved two large plugs of it to the front bed leading into the Rose Garden, the rest I just yanked up. Spread mulch around the rose.
• I cut seeds off one of my white Philippine Violets and threw them on the ground in the Medicine Garden.  Maybe I'll get some seedlings in the spring.
• I cut the tops off my Hojo Santo and threw them in the compost pile.  Hojo Santo makes excellent greens in the compost.  Huge leaves. They were freeze damaged, but no need to let them wither on the plant when they can be of good use in the compost pile.  They say you should not cut back the dead vegetation on plants because it provides them with protection all winter.  But Hojo Santo is so invasive that I don't care to do anything that will help it along.
• I pulled lots of seed heads off my Fireworks Gomphrena and threw them down in the Star Garden and the Orchard.
• Deadheaded roses.  I probably should have left them alone so the hips could turn red, but I didn't. 
• Cut away some gingers that had flopped over on top of my Nikko Blue Hydrangeas.  Threw them in the compost pile.
• Pulled up freeze damaged Mexican Sunflowers in the Rose Garden.  Threw them in the wild area in front of the Rose Garden.  I'll deadhead them later.
• I dug up 12 more large plugs of native grasses and planted them in 4 spots in my meadow.  That's 32 grasses so far that I have dug up from around the property and planted in my meadow.
• Sunday night I came down with a stomach bug, and I was awake all night throwing up.  Yuck, miserable.  Slept in for an extra hour or so and drove in to Houston to work.