Somehow we got sidetracked into some chores and not others today. Got plants watered, fertilized, and weeded. Pulled out two shrubs in the meditation garden that I’m not fond of. They are languishing over there, and I’ve already given them plenty of time and attention.
Hubby and I are both actively daydreaming (and night dreaming!) about this new way of a meditation garden that needs to be updated, if for no other reason than the sun requirements, and the fact that our lawn getting to it has been obliterated. Might as well figure out something soon so that if heavy equipment needs to roll there again, at least we won’t have to replace things twice.
Anyway, we went to a couple of places today seeing what they had as far as large stones like flagstone, bluestone, fieldstone, and boulders. One place was closed. The other was open, and we were able to talk with a few folks there. We will probably talk with their landscape designer later in the week.
On Tuesday evening, we will have a powwow with another landscaper who has helped us in the past. He is semi-retired, but goes to church with us. He has mentored a young man, who we have hired for some yard cleanup and such for 2 years now, a great young man who just graduated a year ago. Is a big part of our county 4-H program. He has his own burgeoning business, and seriously, this is a kid who knows that hard work pays off. Besides his work vehicles and 6 employees (at age 19), he has a sports car when he’s not driving one of his work trucks. He has ambition. So he will probably help us out on the heavy lifting part if the price is right.
So today we tried mocking up a stacked river rock water feature. If this is feasible, it will be kinda cool. Those rocks came from our best friend’s house in Ohio, from his creek. They aren’t many, but they are really neat, and I hope we can incorporate them into this project.
Needless to say, I didn’t get started on dinner prep until 6:45. So Ina’s braised short ribs will have to wait until tomorrow (again!). Gonna be a heck of a meal when I can get it started in time!
A beautiful morning here - there is such heavy dew that the sunlight shining on a low angle as the sun rises reflects in a way that makes the field across the road look almost white. Unfortunately, my phone camera isn’t good enough to capture it. Up on the hill, the round bales have appeared - the farmer worked all afternoon & early evening yesterday to get a large field of ‘fluffed’ grass up in bales. Chance of showers going to 30% tomorrow, 60% Wednesday, so it’s a rush to get the hay baled.
The chance of rain going up considerably has changed my plans - I need to get the mulch off the trailer & get the last load of dirt I need before Wednesday, preferably late today, early tomorrow. The dirt pile has had a week to dry out - I don’t want to haul extra heavy wet dirt. I have half a trailer load of mulch to get off the trailer first so I’ll be shoveling big time this morning. I don’t have the 4th metal raised bed yet (this next load goes in beds 3 & 4), but I think I have enough room to stash it all in bed 3 - it will be piled up, but I’ll tarp it until I can get bed 4, then just shovel from one bed to the other. It can also stay on the trailer under the pole shed until I get a day with no rain for shoveling it off. There’s no telling at this point when I can get #4 - mid-September at the earliest probably. I just need to “be done” with hauling dirt!
No more dirt! For anything that won’t go in the raised beds, I am going to straw bale garden next year. I can definitely grow dahlias in straw bales & can get an earlier start because when the bales decompose, they put off warmth & you can make a mini-greenhouse situation. My niece has dahlias already (gorgeous ones!) and I have one bud. She’s telling me September is when they really bloom around here. I got seedlings from her and planted mine out about the same time, but evidently we’re about 2 weeks, maybe 3, behind her in warming temps. My seedlings languished for a good month and a half before taking off. She did promise she’d give me dahlia tubers next spring - the ones I bought this past spring from Walmart were no good. The year before I had good tubers from Lowes & grew some great plants so I am anxious to do tubers next spring - what comes up is not as fragile as seedlings.
We are starting the search for Rose of Sharon bushes. I suspect we’ll have to order them from someone online, but there are 2 garden centers that we have found, one where we got the Little Missy boxwoods, the other where I get dirt. I’ll check them both out this week. I’ll call one & when I get dirt, talk to the other one. When I researched when to plant, fall or spring is the time. If fall, which is coming up, sooner is better, to let the roots settle in; however, it should be after the heat/dryness of summer has passed. We’d like to get the plants in soon instead of waiting for spring.
I hope your rock water feature turns out. I love rocks - did projects on the AT with them for years. We did cribbing for walls to support the trail edge or repair where stumps had torn out trail & put in steps where needed. No small rocks, especially for steps - needed rocks it took 2-3 people to move. Cribbing rocks could be a little smaller and I messed with rocks bigger than what I should have, which is why my back ‘talks’ to me when I overdo it. Still, I miss it. You’ll have to post a pic if you get a good result with your rocks :—)