On Tuesday morning I got a late start outside. I’d taken a lot of photos the day before that I had to edit for the post. Then I decided to get a load of dishes in the dishwasher. I finally got outside before 9AM.
Once out, I had hoses to put away and to get out for different areas, mulch hay to bring up from the barn, and to get set up. I didn’t start planting in the New Herb garden until 9:30AM.
I got my equipment down the end of the row and realized I’d have to tie up both the tansy and the wormwood so I’d have room to work. So I found posts and string and got that done.
Damascus roses in bloom, trellis still waiting to be built
I only had 2 plant types to put in Row 1, pyrethrum and astragalus. I started mulching as I went along. Once I’d gotten the sprinkler set up, notes made and photos taken, and cleaned up, it was 11:30AM.
Here are notes on the herbs, in order from east to west in the row:
Joe Pye: I found it odd the outside plant which hadn’t looked good earlier, was now twice the size of the inside plant which had been very good.
Roman wormwood: I am delighted with how well this plant has filled the bed. It’s a bit invasive but it’s doing so well.
Feverfew: these are the transplants I made a month or more ago.
Butterflyweed: It’s doing very well this year and has lots of buds on it.
Elecampane: It seems a bit smaller this year but has lots of buds.
Astragalus: These seedlings weren’t looking their best but I hope they will perk up now they’ve been planted.
Woad: This plant got a severe haircut when I cut all the thousands of seedheads off on Saturday. This is a very hardy plant.
Pyrethrum: These tiny seedlings were all I could coax to grow inside so now they are in the garden. I hope they do well.
Wormwood: It’s grown a lot since I weeded on Saturday. It took 2 rows of string to hold it up off the little pyrethrums.
New South garden: first hollyhock flower
I sat and rested an hour and got some lunch. My brother had said he’d be back for 2PM and we’d work on awning windows. At 1PM I realized I’d have to wash screens for those windows so I collected the screens and headed out back.
I had 10 of them to do and finished right around 2PM. I wasn’t sure if we would do the south side (as it was cloudy off and on) or the north side.
I almost got the color of the wildflowers in the morning when it was cloudy.
He opted for the south side and we started with the roundtop window. I got all the stuff off it but never got it put back.
We did the other 2 awning windows in the kitchen and clean room. When we moved to the bathroom window, yellow jackets had built a small nest under it. I knocked it down and crushed it, and managed to kill a few of them. But 2 kept escaping so we quit and moved to the back porch.
We got all 4 of those windows done and my brother wanted to do the dining room window before stopping. So we got that one done.
I got all the screens in and all the windows open that now had screens. It’s to turn hot on Wednesday and I have to cool the house down.
I’d asked my brother to help me bring up a larger load of mulch as I’d used all but 2 bales of what I’d gotten in the morning. So we got that done.
I’d been eyeing the elderflowers on the York elderberry, wanting to harvest them. So I got a photo of them. While down there I saw the Contender peach is loaded with peaches. I suppose I will have to take some off so the branches don’t break, but I sure hate to…
The little sugar maple often gets forgotten when I take pictures of the Little Trees. So this is how he’s doing at 4 years.
Second Fence garden: yellow loosestrife
Another garden not touched since 2019 and there are still a few hardy plants growing in the weeds and grass.
On Wednesday I’d love to get one more row done in the New Herb garden. But I have the messes left from window cleaning to attend to. I should clean the kitchen. And I have to figure out a lunch because I am going to an event at the Senior Center for 11AM. When I get back, I should mow the lawn. So it looks like gardening is out.