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Saturday Morning Garden Blogging: VOL.18-33: Front Yard J6 Shearings - A Hotbed and Many Branches [1]
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Date: 2022-08-13
Keeping Godzilla out of the picture, I personally took on the seedy weedy sections out front, uncovering the foundation of a small patio for potted plants that The Former Gardener had created years ago, using the sizable campaign contributions from the My Brick Guy. At first, I tried to recreate that patio, but I couldn’t really get comfortable with the remnants of My Brick Guy’s product (can anyone, really?…) Instead, I decided to create a small open-ended memorial garden. I’d received an “in memory of” packet of wildflower seeds from my cousin’s wife (my cousin passed away in March from kidney disease) and a packet of Flanders Poppies from a friend whose Great Uncle was in WWI. I put new soil down in the space defined by My Bricks and sprinkled in the seeds. At best, some might sprout this year, or they might take their time and sprout next year — I’ve read where the Flanders Poppies, especially, can still be viable up to 80 years when conditions are right. So we’ll see. Here’s what the Hotbed of Vinca neighborhood looks like now.
Check out that border wall! Like others of its ilk, building material ran short so the wall doesn’t actually contain the entire bed border. But that’s OK; any immigrants slip in, I’m not about to rent a bus to send them back...
THE BRANCHES OF RHODODENDRON
Once the blooms fall off, this rhododendron becomes just a big obstruction for any alert VP watching for incursions around the McMansion.
You may be able to see the faint outline of VP (Vilgilante Puppy) Goddard looking out of the picture window, almost obscured by the Rhododendron. This is a serious Security Matter! VP Goddard’s main duty in the Executive McMansion is to alert the First Family and guests to daily attacks by Mailman, UPS Man, FedEx Man, Amazon Man, and Anyone-In-A-White-Truck Man, as well as from foreign agents such as Kitty Katt. Since there is no room in the Yard budget for Secret Service Personnel, VP Goddard is Always On Guard for our safety.
That being the case, the unchecked growth spurt of the Front Yard Rhododendron needed to be…er…checked. And I, as Gardener, am the one to do it; The Buck Stops Here, etc. (Where’s Truman when we need him?) But this isn’t a one- or even two-hour job, particularly when I’m armed only with a dull and rusty lopper, and wielding limited arthritic shoulder strength. So, as when pulling weeds, the strategy is to approach from the fringes and work one’s way to the central target.
DAY ONE
Before I could reach the lower branches of Rhododendron, I began by yanking out weeds and vines that had grown over the bed’s border wall (constructed by Guess Who). Some otherwise innocent Vinca and Sweet Woodruff were part of the Eviction, but the large part of the operation netted Creeping Charlie, Grass, and an unidentified pernicious vine (which I call “Pernicious Vine”), that has tiny purple flowers with neon yellow centers, and clusters of berries clinging to hairy, woody vines. Pernicious Vine is like Bindweed, in that it’s impossible to completely eradicate, but instead of tightly winding itself around other plants, it crawls below and between other plants and then grows up and over them like Sweet Pea Vine. Here’s what it looks like in the sunlit bin.
The one saving grace of Pernicious Vine is that it’s easy to pull out. Except that with all the roots it sends out where it touches dirt, and all the tendrils heading in every direction, yanking it all out takes FOREVER!
I managed to clear out a corner of the bed, discovering a forgotten “rock” flowerpot in the process. I liberated the Wandering Yew, relocating its pot to the top display in the Circle Garden; later, I’ll replenish the soil in the pot, so the root-bound Yew gets more nourishment, along with more sun and rain than where it was. I also found the Garden Dog, hidden on the ground beneath dried fern fronds and pernicious vine; Garden Dog was relocated to the Circle Garden as well, though now that it’s visible, I fear for its safety.
Eureka! We have more pots, not to mention better access to what appears to be some sort of plumbing mushroom back by the downspout. I’m thinking of painting it a bright color and sticking googley eyes on it, as an inexpensive garden ornament.
Garden Dog, with his pail and shovel...and Wandering Yew in the pot at right. Yew is looking raggy, but I hope more soil and sunshine in the Circle Garden will perk it up.
And then there’s this stuff, windblown trash and a stray plant tag (Blue Plumbago) found beneath the rhododendron branches in the corner. If Plumbago was ever planted in the Yard, I don’t know where it is now. But there is a legal term for all this: Noncompost meant-y.
Finally, I started in on lopping branches off of Rhododendron, going from bottom up. I didn’t make as much headway as I’d hoped, before the heat and humidity got to be too much, and there were thicker branches that I had to leave for Hubby to remove later. But it’s a start!
How are your own garden projects coming along?
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