Snippets of Gardening, February’s Mercies

One of the mercies found within an Ohio winter are those small windows of dry enough conditions and relatively pleasant weather. They are almost always very short, so the opportunities need to grasped. We have a short window at this moment and I have used it to carry on the weeding and garden preparation that the beautiful fall allowed in 2016.

I’m so grateful to be able to work in the yard, and it makes me hopeful that I will regain my garden from it’s state of decay and disarray. For the coming 2017 season, at least.

Proverbs 27:1
Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.

I can’t promise that I will have a groomed garden next year or in the future beyond, but things are looking good for this year.

Back to February’s mercy:
We have mild temperatures and I have been cleaning out the areas under the shrubs where weeds and unwanted grasses took hold. I hope to clear a stubborn area of poison ivy from its hold under the quince bush. Removing buildup of grass and messy plantings near the fieldstone walk is bearing visible results, as well.

Remember this walk after I cleaned it of weeds some years ago?

You can see the Spirea at the base of the lantern post with the Alberta directly behind. Unfortunately the Hinoki cypress succumbed to an unknown disease a couple years ago.. The Alberta is so much larger that it has filled in .

Little Improvements

While out and working I am better at making plans. The large green urn will go in front of the Alberta spruce instead of behind it this year. It will sit on a troublesome part of the stone walk that always gets overgrowth. While I was down there clearing under the Alberta in anticipation of the urn setting there in the spring, I noticed old stones and coffee can that must have been where I had a clematis planting long ago.

The can is rusty now, and the stones are completely hidden by the Princess spirea that grows there now. It was evidence of the way I plant my clematis… learned from Dad back in the 70’s. The can allows for extra soil to be built up around the roots without suffocating the vine with too deep planting. The stones provide extra moisture retention and coolness and keep me from disturbing the roots.

It is a method that usually works extremely well for me, but this particular clematis had been lost. I will pry the rocks out when the ground thaws more thoroughly. Debating still whether to plant another vine there. I am sure it was to clamber up the lantern situated there.

Anyway, I am thankful for the opening in the weather and my time outdoors in the garden. Here is a look at my inspired new urn placement (I’ve been doodling in my Gimp graphics program).

I have plenty of Nepeta (Catmint) that I’m clearing from the stone walk, which will be planted underneath the Alberta.

I noticed over the years that Catmint surrounding the spruce staves off the mites that defoliate the needles, otherwise. There needs to be a thick planting all around the base for it to be effective.

Little ideas and small improvements add up.