good intentions

I was so on my way to getting something big accomplished out in my backyard, only to have it shot down by - a tooth! I have an absessed tooth which sidelined me for the entire weekend! I was all set to get the planting bed finished - I picked up 8 more bags of mulch, bought 5 more shrubs to plant, even found a vital piece to my fountain design. Then this tooth sprang up and knocked me off my feet! Okay, so I haven't taken as good care of my teeth as I should have been. I knew I had a filling fall out that should have been taken care of, but since it didn't hurt, I ignored it, but planned to have it pulled before too long. Well, how long is too long??

My face was so swollen with infection over this weekend that I was useless to do anything. I was taking mega doses of acetyminophen, vicodin, aspirin, orajel - you name it! I sipped hot soup and packed on the ice bags, but nothing really helped. So, today I called the dentist and asked his advice - EXTRACTION!! So I am sitting here with a gauze packed mouth, minus one tooth, but still in pain. Hopefully this will pass soon, between the penicillin and pain pills, so I can get back to work outside.

ouch! I am so sore!!

I have been using muscles I am not accustomed to using! Imagine! ME! Actually doing some work!! Well, it sure is taking its toll on me. Still, I am very happy to see so much being accomplished. I have planted a few more shrubs in the back, and have started spreading mulch. Here are before and current photos of the side of the new bed. Don't get on me for skimpy mulch, I haven't finished yet. I just wanted you to see the progress so far. I am pleased. I think everything will look wonderful together once they start growing bigger. I have been trying to mix flowering shrubs with those that don't bloom but have colorful foliage. I still don't know what everything is, but I do like the selection. I have a few plants that I need to relocate to this bed since they seem like they are not doing their best where they are. One is a hot-pink dwarf hibiscus, and I need to move the firecracker plant since it isn't growing where it is. I thought is was getting too much sun, but Jim says that is impossible. Maybe it needs to be in the middle of the yard to get what it needs.

Planting beds

I have come to a standstill on my room. I have all of the blue painting done, but the molding is proving to be a bit of a problem for me. You can't cut a straight line if your saw blade is bent! I should have used the circular saw instead of the skill saw, but hindsight is terribly disruptive to your self-esteem. Needless to say, I have put off the moldings for a while so I can concentrate on my garden.

I have finally committed to finishing off the new planting beds in the back of the house. For the past few months I have been accumulating shrubs and small bushes for this area, and have been planting them gradually. I got a few more last weekend at Ken's Trees, so I think I finally have enough to get this bed firmed up. I bought a few bags of mulch, so I think I have a good start on what I want to accomplish.

I started by planting out one side of the bed, the left side of the yard, and made sure that my drip system included a head for each of the plants. I then took the line away from the area so it will be the last thing I put in place.

Next I pulled out all, or most, of the weeds that have been troubling me so much. I covered the area with newspapers to prevent the growth of more weeds. Since this area is not going to have any rhysomatic plants, I can put in a weed barrier without worry of inhibiting the growth of my garden.

I placed my garden ornaments on top of the newspaper, including the birdbath and bird feeder so they will have a firm foundation. Then I started to cover the newspaper with mulch, about 2 inches or so, to keep the paper covered, and to provide enough weight to stop the weeds.

I currently have about a quarter of the area done, and am working to get to the halfway point on the left hand side of the yard. I still have to plant all of the new items on the right hand side and dig the hole for the fountain base, so that will hopefully be by this weekend. If the rain holds off, I should have photos to prove all that I am bragging about.

flowering dumb cane

So, after about 5 years of growing this cluster of diffenbaccia plants, I have a strange thing occurring - it is sprouting flower stalks. I never knew that the plant did anything but put out more leaves, but here it is, sending out an inflorescence. I have looked it up on line and see that it doesn't happen often, but it sends up a stalk with a covering that opens up to expose the flowers for pollenation - something that beetles are supposed to do. I see 3 stalks so far, so I will take photos as they start to develop into something. Maybe I am an idiot, but I never knew these things did anything but sit there, so it is a very nice surprise. I will probably be disappointed with the end result.

BTW, the pineapple has grown into its own, and it is currently a small yellow fruit nearly ready to pick.

My gardening helpers idea

I was out weeding this morning and again thought of starting a group of garden helpers. I thought it would be a great idea to have a group of about 8-10 people who would help other club members with their overwhelming gardening chores, in exchange for lunch and participation in a set number of other gardening weekends.

For instance - you need to have help mulching your yard - it would take you three days of work to get it done yourself. You set up a saturday morning visit of the garden friends who come and do the mulching with you to get it done in a few hours. In exchange, you provide lunch/cold drinks for the workers, and then commit to joining the group helping others for the 3 days you would have had to work to get the job done yourself. That way, no one is working more than a few hours on any Saturday. It's kind of like a Habitat for Humanity garden style.

Does anyone have any suggestions to this idea? One person I mentioned it to thought it would be slave labor, but I see it more like a gardening co-op.

Finally - a new posting!!

Okay, so it has been a while. I still am working in the garden, though not at often or as much as I could or should. The rain, heat and humidity have been a great excuse, but they really don't tell much. The weeds have been growing much bigger - taking over in some cases - and I really haven't cared all that much. I guess I am getting burned out on my own garden. I just went out to Ken's Trees and bought a bunch of small bushes to plant in hopes that it will spur me on to work outside again. I got a Ti, variegated ginger, croton, variegated scheflera, and a few other plants - 7 in all - for only $30.00, and he threw in a spindle palm for free!

If you haven't heard of Ken's Trees, then you are missing out on quite a great spot. They are located at 58th Street and 58th Avenue N. He sells all kinds of palm trees for the lowest prices I've seen, and also small shrubs and bushes. He advertises on You Tube each Friday afternoon to tell you what's on sale on Saturday. Check it out sometime and you won't be sorry.

The Rakes and Blades website has been updated and the newsletter is current. I guess I need to have a real shaking to get me on the ball again. Sorry to all of you who have been coming here expecting to find new gems of wisdom only to find ramblings or nothing new at all. I will try harder!!