Update

On May 5, I posted that there were some really tall things growing in my butterfly bushes. Turns out that they were not weeds at all, but was new growth. Super growth, to be exact. The damn things are taller than I am and are blooming like crazy. I'm making a mental note to slash them back in a big way in the fall. I don't want them to take over my house.

Uh Oh

There are some things growing in my butterfly bushes. My first thought is that they are weeds, but I'm not so sure. The leaves look very similar, but are bigger. I'm afraid to yank them out because I don't want to kill off any new growth, but I don't want them to take over the bushes.

I should take pictures and send them to Mom. She'd know what to do.

Boy, I Suck

I didn't mean to do it.

I thought that I was doing everything right. I planted the little basil sprouts in a pot with good, fresh potting soil. I watered, fertilized, talked to, loved. Then, I put the pot outside with the other herbs so that the sprouts could get fresh air and sunshine.

I was completely mistaken.

They're not completely dead yet, although they look very rough. At least they're not crispy. I brought the pot inside so that I can continue to water, fertilize, talk to, love. Perhaps Mom will have some words of wisdom when she gets here tomorrow. I hope.

Update at 11:28: Oh, it's dead. It's DED dead. Now it's starting to get crispy. I feel terrible. I doubt that even Mom will be able to resurrect this one. Let's hope that K doesn't ask about it on Sunday.

Pale Green

I just planted the rest of my flowers and herbs. Here's the updated list:

1. Two flat-leaved Italian parsley (one will probably go to D)
2. Sweet Basil
   
3. Oregano
4. Jalapeno peppers
5. some kind of Tomato
   
6. Basil seedlings from K
7. Cilantro (which will definitely not go to D)
8. Rosemary
   
9. Five different containers of petunias in varying shades of dark purple
10. Catnip (inside for the beasts)
11. a sticky-uppy plant to take to the store.
    

Except for the seedlings from K, they are all little plants. I am neither brave nor patient enough to start things from scratch. It looks as though she started them in an egg carton. They're adorable and I will try my best not to kill them.

The tomato and jalapeno are completely uncharted territory. The long-term plan is that I will become a tomato goddess and that next year I will grow lots of Roma tomatoes for canning. It would be incredible to make my own pasta sauce with my own tomatoes. K and D and I are going to work on canning this fall. Should be interesting. I also want to learn how to dry herbs, as I will most likely have a hell of a lot of them.

I put everything into containers, as I distrust my abilities. Or, perhaps I should say, I recognize my lack of abilities. This way, if they start getting crunchy, I can bring them all inside and ignore them more directly.

I meant to take pictures, but the battery on the camera is dead right now. I'll post them after I charge the stupid thing up. I'll also take pics of the blooming stuff in the yard. The clematis that I planted at the mailbox last year and ignored has gotten huge and is blooming. It's gorgeous and I can take absolutely no credit for it.

There's a Hole in My...

Watering can. Crap. How does one get a hole in a plastic watering can?

I bought a relatively small amount of dark purple petunias and some herbs yesterday. It's well known that I'm not a gardener. Every year I plant things that don't make it through the summer. However, I do have a number of annuals in my yard (things that come back), such as tulips and peonies, that are doing beautifully. The clematis that I planted last year around my mailbox have just exploded and should bloom any day. So, this year, I am determined to keep things alive for a while.

After dinner, I realized that I was feeling a little better and that I should get the plants in while I had that short window. I planted seven herbs... okay, six and a tomato plant... in containers and a flat of petunias in the planter box and three hanging planters. I still have a huge bag of potting soil left over. I left them all at the top of the driveway because we are supposed to get rain over the next few days.

Once you plant something, you are supposed to water it. I got out the Miracle Gro, filled up the watering can, and got soaked. I thought that it was just because I was sloppy and tired, but no! There is a freaking hole in my watering can! Great.

To add insult to injury, I was sure that I bought cilantro. Instead, I bought two flat-leaved parsleys and no cilantro. Perhaps D had an inadvertent hand in it, because she hates cilantro. I should just give her one of the parsleys.

I'll need to learn how to upload images to this so that someone can hold me accountable for potential plant murder.

She Speaks For the Trees

Mom brought the maples. They're all 2-3 feet tall, with huge leaves. There are 6 or 7 of them. I'm not crazy about digging the holes in our clay-filled backyard for them, but the roots are small. I think that I can handle this.

I should do this tomorrow. We'll see.

The Tree Saga Continues

B told me that it takes a whole lot to kill a cypress, and that they can bud leaves at strange times. So, it could very well not be dead. I really don't know what to do with it.

Mom is going to bring little baby maples to Paducah. I don't know what I'm going to do with them, but I'll figure it out.

Dead or Not Dead?

We have two cypress trees in the front yard. The contractors put them in before we closed on the house, and we were never given a choice about what we wanted. But, they seemed to be perfectly nice trees, so we left them alone.

The one by the driveway is lush and big and healthy. The other one is dead, or so I thought. It dropped all of its leaves back in June, and has looked crunchy ever since. But, we left it in place, as the summer is definitely not the best time to plant trees (particularly in the hot South). I had already planned on a nice maple to replace it.

Damned if that tree isn't coming back to life. It's sprouting leaves! Little, tiny, healthy green leaves! What the hell is up with that? It's FALL. Leaves are turning yellow and red and orange and DROPPING. Yet, the stupid cypress in my front yard that had (or perhaps still has) a death wish seems to be coming back to life.

All I want is a maple like the one in the back yard. But, how can I murder a tree that might possibly not be dead after all?

Mulch

I'm really not crazy about yard work. My mother, who is not happy unless she has dirt under her nails, drives me insane about it. But, she would be proud of me today. I did a little bit of weeding, fertilized the roses and peonies, and put out 3 enormous bags of mulch that have been sitting in my garage since October. I meant to put down some top soil and lawn patch stuff (that have also been sitting in my garage since October) but I have run out of energy completely. Maybe I'll do it later when H is grilling dinner.

My idea of landscaping is putting in ornamental plants that require little or no maintenance. Mom's idea of landscaping is letting her yard look like the Secret Garden. I really hate that. I am much more particular about what goes in and what doesn't. We had only been in the house for about a month when she sent me a stick in a FedEx tube... it was a clipping from one of her willows. It's over 6' tall now, and is doing quite well. But, she can't understand why my yard isn't packed to overflowing with stuff. No. Never going to happen.

Besides, my joints always ache so badly and I don't tolerate any temperature over about 70 degrees. Love that Crohn's. That's really all the excuse I need to work in the yard for no more than 15 minutes at a time.