Weekend at the Farm March 8 - 9, 2019

I stopped at The Arbor Gate on Saturday morning on the way to the farm.  Bert was already here.

• Dr. Bill Welch and Chris Weisinger were giving a lecture on southern plants at The Arbor Gate that morning.  Dr. Welch was roaming around with the owner of the nursery collecting plants to use in his lecture.  We exchanged "good mornings" when we passed each other in the aisles.  Oh how I wanted to tell him that I have every book he has ever written, and he has had a huge influence on my life (that sounds very dramatic, I know).  But the moment passed, and I didn't seize it.  It's always like that with me, though.  Given the choice of speaking to someone and passing them by, I will always choose to pass by.
• I bought some plants although I should not have - I need to save for Alaska!
• I stopped and bought some compost and potting soil as well.
• I began pulling weeds in the Star Garden as soon as I arrived at the farm.  
• I planted two Mystic Spires in the Star Garden.  They are less unruly (more compact) than Indigo Spires but just as floriferous. 
• I dug out a dead forsythia in the Star Garden.  I want to replace it with something tall, not sure what yet.
• I planted some ice plants in some old boots.
• Sprayed the roses with fungicide again.  Just trying to keep the deer away.
• I fertilized all the roses in the Rose Garden except for the Ballerinas, so I will need to go back and hit them next weekend. 
• I fertilized all the plants in the front bed.
• Sunday.  I packed up my wheel barrow with my loppers, clippers, trowel, herbicide, fungicide, rake, scissors, seat cushion, and leather rose gloves and headed down to the Orchard.  I fertilized everything except for the small blackberry bed in the back, ran out of fertilizer.  I'll have to come back and hit that one next weekend.  I pulled large weeds out of paths, and weeded pretty thoroughly in the beds, particularly around my daylilies.  Pruned back the four roses.  Sprayed herbicide in the paths.  Sprayed the roses with fungicide.  I put on my leather gloves and shifted around the blackberry vines as best I could to get them out of the way of paths.  Cut a few tree limbs with my loppers.  I stayed out there from about 8:00 until 1:30 working.  This is all in preparation for next weekend when I will have more granite and can lay out granite in the paths.    Looks much better in there already. 
• I bought an agastache and 3 salvia nemorosa May Night, but I couldn't decide where to plant them, so in the end I didn't plant them.  I left them for next weekend.
• I amended the soil in the big bed in the front of the Vegetable Garden and planted 5 tomatoes.  And I planted one tomato in the narrow bed where the goat wire is.  I also planted 2 Siam Queen basil in the narrow bed.
• I added potting soil to one of the big plastic pots in the Vegetable Garden and sowed some Nicotiana seeds.  I also planted some Buckwheat seeds that Lisa W gave me.
• Sowed some Bella Nicotiana seeds in the shady part of the front bed as well.
• Pruned a couple of my La Marne roses.
• Drove in to work on Monday morning.