On Saturday morning I was out in the garden by 6:30AM and I’d decided to put fence rails up to protect the garden from deer. But when I got out there, I discovered the end post was partially broken. So I started digging it out. It was a pretty easy job as we have no rocks and had dug over the bed the day before.
My general helper arrived at 7AM and we finished that part.
The raspberry roots had grown over the edging and pushed it way down, so it was ineffective. It was also pretty crooked. So the next job was to remove the dirt and straighten it out and raise it up, and then repack the dirt to hold it. I’d never had to do this before; it’s always pushing it back into the soil because frost has heaved it out. I think we got it pretty straight and even.
Next we dug up all the plants and bulbs, each into their own sled. I sat and made 26 markers for the bulbs while my general helper laid out the iris and planted some of the daisies around the post.
It had been sprinkling off and on all morning long but wasn’t a problem, except keeping the tools and camera dry. I planted the daffodil bulbs, each hole getting a tablespoon of BulbTone at the bottom. My general helper had spread FlowerTone before she laid out the plants.
Once she had the iris in and the last of the daisies planted, we went over and selected annuals to plant. We picked:
1 Impatiens
2 Forget-Me-Nots
1 Balsam
1 Sweet William
1 Calendula
1 Wallflowers
These went into the gaps to add interest while the poor iris recovers. Last I put the rails in place to keep the deer from walking through. We finished it around 9:15AM and cleaned up. Then we got started on the hoophouse.
We went in search of all the equipment for the hoophouse. I’d not put it up in 2 or 3 years. We found the driphose and a test showed it was in fine shape. We got the stakes to hold it in place and found the clothespins that hold the plastic to the PVC pipes.
I had one hand of ginger and we broke it into 5 pieces and then used the stakes to mark it so we didn’t cover them with mulch. We wound the hose around and between the ginger’s stakes and it was exactly the right size. Then we got the mulch back down.
We’d found the rebar posts easily along with the PVC pipes. For some reason, these pipes had bent in the middle. It took us a long time to find where I had stored the plastic, but we finally found it. We got the plastic on and then went to bring 2 sleds worth of logs down to hold it in place.
So now we wait and see if it comes up. I’ve never planted just pieces before. I’ve always started it in the house in October, so it’s well established by the time it goes to the hoophouse. So this is an experiment.
Now I have to remember to open the ends when the sun comes out. Last time I had ginger, I forgot and cooked the plants.
I had dozens of bulbs left over so I got some long planters and we went up to the barn and filled them with dirt. I saved around 30 bulbs to plant in the West Shed garden as it doesn’t have but 1 tulip atm. We set the planters under the dripline for the new wood shed, as it doesn’t have a gutter. It’s to rain all evening and night into Sunday morning, so hopefully the planters will get well soaked.
I still had a lot of bulbs left, so we put them in a pot in the cold frame and I will offer them on BuyNothing.
We finished right around 11AM. She had taken a lot of daffodil bulbs home, and brought some iris for my intern #2.
I’d been too tired to take flower photos on Friday, so I got a few before it really started raining.
Fourth Fence garden: pink phlox (my husband’s favorite), a black-eyed susan, daylilies, daisies
New Herb garden: Row 1, butterflyweed flowers
In the New Herb garden in Row 2 by the fairy, because it was so overcast, the chicory was a wonderful blue. As usual, the camera didn’t capture it.
New Herb garden: Row 3, baptista pods
In the South Herb garden, these are 4 O’Clocks, so named because they flower in late afternoon. But it was so overcast on Saturday morning, they were in full flower at 11AM.
Also in the South Herb garden, the meadowsweet is nearly in full bloom.
The light made the orange of these daylilies really pop in the West Shed garden.
I was pretty tired and got a shower, ate lunch, made 2 dozen deviled eggs and went to bed for 2 hours. My brother got home shortly after I got up and we’d decided to make a quiche. It was to have cooked turkey pieces, onion, mushrooms, and cheese.
On Sunday I have to harvest and process the cauliflower that are ready. They will be frozen. I may tackle another flowerbed, maybe the Old North one as it’s smaller. Or maybe I should do the poor North Corner one as it was trashed during, the electric cable repair. We’ll see, if it stops raining in time.
If not, I have new notes and a map to make of the reno’d Seventh Fence garden.