Update on things in the yard

The landscaper arrived on Saturday morning to start phase II which entails an entirely new sprinkling system as well as digging up most of my myrtle patch and putting down landscape fabric and bark mulch like the other areas.  Luckily I was away much of the day and did not have to witness the devastation as it was happening.  I arrived home about 5 p.m. to find my yard a maze of trenches, piles of dirth, rolls of sod, and pipes and fittings.  I went inside and just ignored it.  When I went back out about 8:30 as they were wrapping up for the day, I was pleasantly surprised to see all the trenches filled and all the grass and plants back in place.

I planted annuals in the big patio pots on Friday evening by the light of my patio lights. We had extreme cold temps and rain on Friday night and into Saturday with snow fairly low on the mountain benches.  The only plants that don't look well are the sweet potato vine.  I hope to nurse them back to help in the coming warmer days.

The chickadees seem to have babies.  I've seen the parents bringing little bugs and worms into the birdhouse.  This morning I could tiny little chirpings.

I dug up weeds in flowers beds 3 and 4 (of 5) today.  One was easy, but the other was was very hard.  I had been encouraging a volunteer plant called Myrtle Spurge which turns out to be a noxious weed that will suck the water away from all your other plants.  It's all gone now, but I'll have to be diligent with young plants in the coming months as it is very persistent.  I finished digging the grass out along the top of the rock wall and then weeded throughout the rock wall and especially that troublesome place between my wall and my neighbor's rock wall.  There is some erosion there as well as some spreading sedum.  After digging out all the weeds and more spurge, I took clumps of the sedum and transplanted here and there to help it to fill the area.  I also have a wisteria vine that wandered down there and I think it might just be a nice place to encourage the wisteria too.

So I'm exhausted as I write, but have accomplished so much.  Now I need to shop for more patio pots and plants.  I'm not going to add annuals and mulch to the latest flower beds now until the landscapers are funished with phase II.  Another couple of days or so and then more planting.  I love the planting part.  It's tiring, but things look so pretty when you're finished.  So rest time is almost over - time to move on to pots.  It's only 3:15.  With the sunlight now lasting to 8:30, it's possible to get a lot done in the late afternoon and evening.  Off I go. . .