Some More Things I Need To Do

It was hot and humid yesterday until a brief storm rolled through at dinner time, knocked over the umbrella in the gravel garden, and cooled things off. Today is overcast and in the low 70s.

I fluffed the mulch a little and it was quick and easy enough to do, but the action requires leaning awkwardly and it hurts the back. I still have more to do.

Meanwhile, here are the additional things that need doing:

1. Trim the river birches. They all need lower branches cut off.
2. Move the strawberries. Maybe not now, but I do want to replant them away from the line of boxwoods. The fothergillas should go too.

I love the transecting line of boxwoods, but the strawberries are crowding the look.

I want this area to be just the structured boxwoods, the stones and the gravel.
Maybe take out the fothergillas there too (and move to Drive By Garden)

In the "never looked better" category, here are some plants that look great this year:

Cornus canadensis. I gave up on them, buried all under a thick layer of mulch,
and now, years later they are popping up under the Bloodgood maple

Inkberry hollies. They looked awful in early spring, very brown leaves,
and they had that black tip fungus. Bartlett sprayed, it rained, and they look good.

Goatsbeard, Aruncus dioicus. It never looked this good in all the other locations
I had it planted in. Now, behind the Birch Garden, it is growing.

Salix yesoalpina. It has really spread beautifully. So thick and green.
I hope it stays this way all summer.

Things I Need To Do

The deluge has passed and yesterday was a top ten sunny day in the 70s. Just beautiful. How green (and wet) everything is! It's cloudy today, with more rain coming this afternoon.

Some things I need to do:

1. Fluff up the mulch with the three tined fork. This pine mulch from Envirocycle gets matted and forms a surface that keeps moisture out. Not a problem with all the rain lately, but it does need fluffing.
2. Cut back the May Night salvias, which are gone by now.
3. Get after the rabbits. I put down hot pepper flakes and smelly spray after I saw the annuals were chomped. But I didn't protect the new butterfly weed seedlings and they got eaten to nubs.

I had to stake the Cornus mas by the driveway. In all the rain and wind it got uprooted -- not just slightly tilted, but severely uprooted and canted over. I pulled it back hard and staked it. Can you believe this was the little twig in 2010 that got decapitated in the snow and was no more than a few inches high?

This year I got at the baptisia early and staked the shoots as they emerged. It really helped, as it is not flopping over at all. In fact it looks a little stiff and roundy shaped now!

As always, the flower color is oddly metallic gray, but not so reddish rusty this year. There is more of a purple cast this year. But still, eh.

Sundrops in the Birch Garden are out. And the Red Drift rose and the arching white baptisia pendula.

And the pretty Huskers Red penstemon.

Inundated

It rained all day yesterday and all night.

It is in the 50s this morning.

It has rained 9.5 inches in less than two weeks.

It sucks.

Really? More?

Periods of rain. Rain becoming heavy at times this afternoon. Thunder possible. High 61F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.