Clematis: Spring clematis chat continues, 1 by pirl

pirl wrote:
Thanks so much, Marcia. At 70 I can tell you age is taking a toll on me: I slept 10 hours last night but my "to-do" list is shorter than ever before and I'd be out there right now but the mowing/blowing/edging brigade is here and the noise (even from inside) is horrible.

All gardens have been weeded and mulched, even the vegetable garden has been weeded, and yesterday the scarecrow got her outfit for the year. All 49 new lily bulbs have been planted, begonias will be planted when it's warm enough as will the 100 caladiums.

Mrs. Loeffler, as I always called her, lived next to me in my former Tudor, with her extra lot for gardening between our homes and that is where she taught me. Born in Albemarle, NC, she retained her appealing and charming accent until she died at 103. A very active gardener and loyal church member she only gave up gardening on her knees when arthritis set in (at 88) but then she weeded standing up and continued until she was 95. The one quote from her that my kids still remember was, "I'd rather die than ever see another slug" (but with her drawl it sounded so much better). Here is her photo the day Jack and I got married when she was 90.