TOWN YARD REPORT

Before we left town last Monday (May 20), I took pictures of our drought-tolerant gardens. And then, instead of packing the camera, I put it away.

 Yesterday morning (Monday, May 27), I again took pictures of the yard, but this time I put the camera in the packing crate. So, this week the camera is with me.

The first two photos, taken last week, show the iris in bloom but beat down by the rain. A rainy spring is not necessarily a beautiful spring.

This week, the white iris is past, but I still have a profusion of yarrow, both white and yellow. This is not common yarrow. I bought it from High Country Gardens. Yarrow is invasive, advises sister Joni, and I was immediately on edge, but then I realized that I really don’t care. And now that I have an abundance, I can experiment with transplanting to the farm.

The plants here (left) are a pre-planned garden from High Country Gardens, and this does well. These plants have grown and spread to fill in this rather troublesome area.

 

The snow-in-summer (right) is beautiful now. The basket of gold has finished and the lavender is just coming into bloom. 

Our beds have been invaded by grass. Mike mows it down with the weed-eater. We also pull it, which is undoubtedly better. But I say the important thing is that we like the looks of the garden beds, and we do. 

In recent years, the iris have been past by the time Memorial Day Weekend arrives. This year I had the flowers but didn't visit the cemeteries. In the past I have loved to lay flowers on the family graves, but things change. KW

BETWEEN THINGS

Yellow yarrow and lavender

I wish I had put the same effort into organizing for Mike’s return as I did for his absence. Saturday, his first day back, I just couldn’t get started with my tasks. I couldn’t even remember what my tasks were, except for the laundry. And I baked cookies.

Hollyhocks

I am greatly helped by lists. Sometimes I don’t even follow the list, but organizing my thoughts helps to organize my actions. I will accomplish more if I have a list, but if I don’t have a list, I will flat forget what I want to do, what I should do, and even what I have to do. Often 5:00 o’clock comes and I realize I barely have time to finish necessary tasks before supper. After supper, I don’t work OR play. Our routine is to eat late, enjoy a TV program or two, retire about 9:30, and then it starts all over again at 6:00 a.m. (or before).

Mike’s sister called on Monday the 23^rd to wish me a happy anniversary in Mike’s absence. She noted the pictures of the pretty flowers I had posted and observed that I must have a green thumb. Nothing is further from the truth. The drought-tolerant plants are perennials and some of them are wild flowers, or as a friend once noted, “They ARE weeds.” We have been richly rewarded by yarrow, lavender, sagebrush, blanket flower, cactus (NEVER plant a cactus), sedum, snow-in-summer, hollyhocks, hen and chicks, and basket o’ gold. It’s a matter of whatever works. Obnoxious, useless weeds do crop up, and Mike pulls them out.

We’re getting ready to go to the farm, so – back to the list. KW