Weekend at the Farm August 11 - 13, 2023

 

Strawberry Smoothie Althea really performs in this heat and drought.  Very impressive.

Arrived on Friday and worked. Bert drove up separately after golf.

Saturday.  I was up by 5:00 drinking coffee, out before 7:00.  I spent the morning shoveling and spreading gravel.  Bert and Max had loaded cast-off rock from Max's yard into Josh and Amy's truck.  Bert drove it up here.  I can always use landscaping rock.  I used 7 or so at the top of the path that leads to the pool from the house.  I plan to make a step there with landscape edging.  I used some of the rock to outline the curving path that leads to the Greenhouse Gardens.  That's it so far. 

I laid down some landscape cloth on the ground where the curving path meets the arbor and laid down gravel over that to spruce it up.  The rock and the fresh gravel are right where the people will be congregating for Max's wedding reception.  

I also laid down landscape cloth where I dug up the flowerbed last week.  Covered it with gravel.  More to do in that area.  I'm going to decrease the size of a nearby bed so that the path is wider where the people are going to be walking to the ceremony area. 

Inside during the hot part of the day.  

I went back outside about 5:00 and pulled weeds in the Kitchen Herb Garden.  That was a task where your heart is in your throat.  The bed was choked with weeds, so not easy to see snakes.  I was betting on them liking a more cleared out area.  I didn't run into any.  I planted 3 Chili Pequin next to the half dozen or so that are already growing there.  

Sunday.  Up at 5:00, out by 6:30.  I shortened the bed (which widened the path) in the Star Garden along the path everyone will walk on to get to the ceremony.  I pinned down landscape cloth from the gate next to the air conditioners and past the open space by the propane lid.  I cut down and poisoned a beautiful blue mist plant growing next to the propane tank because I didn't want to dig it out (too close to the propane tank).  Shoveled and spread gravel.  

I pulled out a wheelbarrow full of ageratum in the Dining Room bed.  It was smothering my Rudbeckia.  Did some weeding and trimming away from the path.

Watered in the White Garden.  Watered in the Rose Garden.  Everything is barely alive.  It's so depressing.  I sweat buckets throughout the day.  I changed clothes 5 times because everything got so sweaty.  I swam in the pool, rarely do I swim by myself in the pool, but it was so hot.