Garden Update April 2010

I’ve been busy in the garden lately. We finally had some weather that invited work and planting, and actually became just a tad dry.

 Started out with the usual cleanup of branches, perennial debris from last season, etc. Then tackled the autumn clematis that had overgrown (“overgrown” is a word that could be quite descriptive of many plants in this update). I simply chopped away at it with hedge shears until the basic vine had its wildly bad hair mop turned into a well coiffed arbor. 

Magnolia stellata in bloom- area of cleanup

Reclaimed the area beneath the Magnolia stellata, pulling up grasses and removing an old flower container. Heavily mulched it now looks like a garden again. Cleaned up the opposite side under the Arborvitae tree (yes, they are trees) by trimming back the cotoneaster shrub and weeding out beneath it, then mulching it as well.

I don’t usually mulch this early, but I have that big pile from last year, so it is being put to use. Teens load up the wheel barrow and bring it to the designated dumping area. They much prefer that sort of task to weeding.

I put in the buttercrunch lettuce and the Swiss chard after raking out the old veggie garden. Handyman made me a raised bed for the renovated one. I have my shelves along the garage, too. Tomatoes were seeded, and I feel as nervous as a newbie about them -since it has been years since I started my own. I have to stop checking them.

Today I cleared out vinca major, and some other weedy thing, which might be Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, or coralberry plant. Trimmed the mugo which looked overgrown, and had suffered in shape since I allowed the clematis to become too friendly with it the last few years. There is an oval shaped indent that I think would gently clasp a nice large urn, now. All the shrubs and small trees that I have pruned to shape look so much better now, really improved makeovers!

I’ve done more, but now I’m getting tired just recounting the list. On the whole I feel optimistic about my garden this year.

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