Windmill

Overcast and blustery today, in the low 40s.

I put the windmill from Bob in the Birch Garden and it looks right at home there.  Also put the chicken family from Hope and Steve along the west walk, they look like they are chasing bugs among the plants that line the walk.

Then I spent some time in the cul de sac.  I went there to trim the overgrown rose canes away from the pines.  I thought it would be easy to move one of the azaleas away from the pine while I was there.

Of course it was not easy to move.  Even small shrubs are pretty well rooted and the soil was cold, and I ended up yanking it out and moving it into a hole barely big enough just a few feet forward.  We'll see if it survives.  It certainly was not going to survive much longer inside the pine's lower branches!

As I dug the new hole for it, I unearthed lily bulbs, and pulled them apart and replanted them (not very well) around the base of the linden in the cul de sac.

Then I went after the front walk.  After bagging two voles, I hope they're gone.  I hope.  I filled the tunnels in, left the electronic trap out, and we'll see if new tunnels develop.

The brand new little itea had about 15 green shoots coming up right under it and through it!  The voles had moved the bulbs to the empty space where the itea's roots had been and bulbs were packed densely in that space!  I pulled up the itea (barely any roots), scooped out all the bulbs and replanted them throughout the walkway garden... not even sure what they are, they might be the allium moly or the autumn crocuses.  They were small.

The itea was replanted, my hope is it will regenerate some root system and grow.  If not, I'll need to replace both of them.

One remaining iris reticulata popped up in Meadow's Edge (I thought I had moved all of them).  I dug it out and put it along the front walk with the rest, all blooming now, but still needing to clump up and spread for more impact.

As I did, the bloom snapped off.  : (