Sunday, April 10, 2011

Half a Load is Better than None...

... if it's half a load of mulch that got spread this weekend, that is. The mind was willing, but the body rebelled around 2:00 both Saturday and today. What in the world could have happened? Twenty years ago I could have spread mulch for eight hours at a stretch without a whimper.

So, I did what any of you would have done and transplanted a few little bulbs to fill in the end of a bed, raked last fall's leaves out of the back beds, weeded Henbit until I wanted to screem, and pulled monarda out of its neighbors. If the hummers didn't love it so much, I would declare it a bully and hit it with the Round-Up, but instead I just wage war with it annually and hope the hummers appreciate all my work! Now everything is ready for me to finish spreading the mulch - hopefully a little while every afternoon so that by the weekend I will be done.

With a bit of leftover time, I made a few discoveries. The most interesting was this violet. I have lots of deep purple and lavender violets that I assume are common violets, and I suppose this one is, too, but I have never seen this color before. It really does have tiny dots all over it; its petals are curved backwards more than usual; and, of course, it's a volunteer.

Think I'll go sit on the deck and just enjoy the rest of the day and look at what else is blooming!












Lamiam- a variegated variety and candy tuft. Surprisingly, it lasted more than a week in the vase last week - who knew?

10 comments:

  1. It sounds to me like you accomplished quite a bit..I had never thought of bringing candytuft inside for a vase, I'll have to do that as I have some that I just noticed is doing nicely on the forgotten side of the drive.

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  2. It's absolutely not an age issue Webb it's just that we're not in total shape for 8 hour workouts yet.

    At least that's what I told my oldest and dearest when she dared to suggest such a thing to me on Thursday.

    You're still doing more physically that any 20 year olds I know.

    xo Jane

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  3. Wow! Such variety in your garden! Isn't it nice there will be other days to finish up the mulch? Sometimes you need to reward yourself with tending plants and enjoying what's blooming.

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  4. I know the feeling, I used spend all day in the garden now I find it better to do a little a day and just let things seed themselves.

    Your gardens looking lovely and I love those violets, that is something on my wish list x

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  5. Oh wow.....just looking at that mulch pic below this post....mad MY BACK HURT!! LOL LOL Love those plants of yours...we aren't able to have huge variety in this OVEN we call AZ.

    BTW....thanks for the info on the peeps....roasted over a fire does sound diving.

    Jo

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  6. Oh that spotted violet is so beautiful! I think I remember a garden blogger actually buying some of those last year to plant in her garden. You should see if you can save seeds from it, someone is likely to want to grow it.

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  7. Sherri, the candy tuft lasted twice as long in a vase as the daffs, and probably would have lasted longer if I had thought to add ... water!

    Jane, tell your oldest and dearest that we deserve a bit more respect!

    Anneke and Jo, I love the way we live in the same zone, but different worlds. Love the contrasts between our gardens.

    Deborah, thanks for stopping by. I love YOUR Norfolk, even more than ours.

    MBT, I should have known you would be looking for seeds! They would make a nicer ground cover than a lot of the things I already have, so seeds might be a good idea!

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  8. I love the violet. Gorgeous. I wish I had the talent and the patience (as well as the ability to withstand the fearsomeness of earthworms and other creepy crawly things) to garden. I will just make myself comfortable with a cup of tea and grab a spot on your bench, ok Webb? ;-)

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  9. I have both white and purple violets in the yard too. It's good to know about the candytuft lasting in vases--for some reason I have never tried it. Right now, not much is blooming in the garden but the woods are alive with white wildflowers. Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  10. oh webb I wish i had your email, hope you'll get to read this tonight.

    are you going to do that what's blooming in the garden thingy tomorrow? it's the 15th.I'm on.

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