Weekend at the Farm May 20 - 22, 2016

 This is one of the flowerbeds in the back yard.  Right now Agapanthes, bee balm, Easy Ned Daylilies, and Black and Blue salvia are blooming.

Arrived on Thursday evening, lots to do.  Friday was Bert's 65th birthday, and we had his kids for the weekend.  They arrived Saturday and left Sunday.

Friday I cleaned house.  Vacuumed, mopped and spread floor shine throughout the house.  Cleaned the baseboards, shook out the rugs, cleaned the bathrooms.  Made some soup, a carrot cake, marinated the leg of lamb, made a seven layer dip, yoghurt sauce for the lamb, and got together the garnish for the salad.

Friday evening went to Pam and Eric's party.  They are our neighbors on the right.  It was all local people, interesting group of folks, artsy like Pam.

Saturday spent all day swinging the kids on the swing, playing with the toys, walking around, etc.  Ashley and Allen and the boys arrived about five. After dinner  I put 65 candles on Berts cake, we sang and toasted him.  Took flashlights and walked down the road after dark with the kids.  Bert and I slept in the tent and let the kids have the bedrooms.  Ashley, Allen and the kids slept in the living room.

Everyone left early, right after breakfast on Sunday morning.  

Cut back all the spent Ox eye daisies, pulled up all the poppies, and cut back Verbena Bonariensis in the front beds.  Dumped everything in the compost pile.  Drove a truckload of compost down to the 

Orchard, pulled up spent strawflower, laid down the compost and sowed anise hyssop seeds and zinnia seeds.  Deadheaded zinnias.  Picked blackberries.  Pulled weeds.  

Spread a couple of wheelbarrow of white rock in some low places in the Star Garden.

Laid down some weed cloth in the Vegetable Garden and spread white rock over it, I'm not finished, but I made progress.  I'm thinking I will just cover up that yucky fungus since I can't get rid of it.

Watched butterflies.

Left about four.

Mexicali Rose - My Worst Gardening Mistake

This is the most invasive, aggressive plant.  I wish I'd never planted it.  When the stalk gets big it's really hard to pull up, and it is a really stinky plant.   But, it looks pretty good this weekend.

St. John's Wort May 16, 2016

My St. John's Wort is not the medicinal variety, this one is an ornamental.  A pretty plant, it is evergreen and will spread at a slow pace - it is not invasive.  It flowers at this time of year, the bloom time is short-lived.  Mine is growing in semi-shade, and it is very happy.

Feverfew May 16, 2016

My patch of feverfew is growing in partial shade, and it is very happy.  It reseeds reliably every year.  There is a double variety that I would like to grow, the flowers look like pom poms.  Feverfew is a medicinal herb that will stop migraines and reduce fever. 

Day at the Farm May 16, 2016

Arrived Sunday evening.  I babysat Koy on Saturday and she spent the night.  I did this at mom and dad's house where I am living since the flood.  The three of us had lots of fun with the baby Koy!  Josh and Amy stayed for lunch on Sunday, and I drove to Burton after that.  It rained and rained.

The deer are all over my blackberries unfortunately.  I still have a lot, but I don't know how I will be able to get to them before they do.  Shock wire?  Time to look into it.  I picked enough to make a cobbler for two.  And we picked two plums that had turned red.

It seems the deer like amaranth too.  They ate the tops off of all my seedlings.  They waited until I was really excited about their progress - they were about a foot and a half tall.  Grrr.

I worked hard today pulling up all my dead poppies and cutting away all the Ox Eye daisies. I spent about 2 hours in the Star Garden, 3 hours in the Rose Garden, and 2 hours in the Orchard.  I hauled a truckload of compost down to the Orchard and spread it in two of the beds I cleared.  I sowed Poinsettia Amaranth and Anise Hyssop seed.

Sentimental Rose Iris May 5, 2016

 This is a beautiful iris. I didn't have much luck with the new iris I ordered last fall.  This is the only one that bloomed.  They are all healthy, and I'm sure I will have blooms next year, but this year was a disappointment.  I assume it's because I have too many things growing around them.  I will have to be ruthless and pull up some of the surrounding plants before next spring.

Leek Flowers Opening May 6, 2016

See the dry pod still hanging on some of them? That is super cute.