all the raking is done!
here is the pile of debris that has been collected
New Project #2
a few pic's of the bed that was enlarged yesterday
looking up the driveway - this is where i planted 4 new witch hazels amongst bridal wreath spirea, another white spirea and forsythia. behind them at lilacs and in front is a kousa dogwood, HWS, bird nest spruce, a couple clems and i'll be putting in some grasses
and back towards the house
man-o-man thats going to look great.
Very nice job.
Looks wonderful, Bill.
Very nice. Great that you will see it as you walk down that path.
Wha, Your beds look wonderful with those big trees that set the whole scene off so nicely, not to mention your rock wall. I am glad to get a peek at the witch hazels. No work outside today, raining hard. I just sent in a small order for a few more things that were on sale from Bluestones for my new bed. They will be small, but this bed will take years to look full anyway. Patti
TRICYRTIS hirta Miyazaki 1 group of 3 SPRING 2009 Half Price Special $15.95 $7.97
BRUNNERA Hadspen Cream 2 groups of 1 SPRING 2009 Half Price Special $25.90 $12.95
DICENTRA Spectablis Alba 1 group of 1 SPRING 2009 Half Price Special $8.95 $4.47
CAREX Nigra 2 groups of 3 SPRING 2009 Half Price Special $31.90 $15.95
plus a couple of other things for another area
HYDRANGEA paniculata Pink Diamond 1 group of 1 SPRING 2009 Half Price Special $11.95 $5.97
SYRINGA vulgaris FIALA REMEMBRANCE 1 group of 1 SPRING 2009 Half Price Special $10.95 $5.47
FOTHERGILLA Major Mt. Airy 1 group of 1 SPRING 2009 Half Price Special $9.95 $4.97
VERBASCUM chaixii Sixteen Candles 1 group of 3 SPRING 2009 Half Price Special $14.95 $7.47
patti guess your still finding loose change doing the laundry?
Wha, I didn't find much more in the laundry, though we do have two big jars full of change on the machine that I might could raid. Actually, I got a small design job that will keep a few plants coming my way. But I figure those were all on sale. Patti
I was tempted and bought Candylily assortment,
Lavandula
Verbascum
Just have to fill in a few places.
Great job, Bill! That's looking good!
Too rainy to do anything here today. Tomorrow will be better. Won't have as much time as I would like but better than nothing. I wish it would get warmer. I wish I'd had the last couple of days off. Those were really nice days for working in the yard.
Karen
Nice-looking bed, Bill.
New order sounds great, Patti.
Love you combo pics, JoAnn
Hey, Bill, you forgot to post where we were coming from at the top of the thread!
Karen
karen - running at half speed today
went out and expanded a bed today and as soon as i walk out the garage it started raining.
here is the before pic
Well that will look nice, Bill. It's been raining pretty good here most of the day. Couldn't get anything done in the yard. I hate wasting a day off from work.
Karen
and here is the finished bed - about 21 wheel barrels full of dirt to fill this - rained the whole time - clothes were caked in mud
transplanted 3 ilex - jim dandy and two berry nice as well as two little sparkle berry
see half speed - forgot the pic
and had my second tick of the year - this one went right to prime real estate - the rump
Looks nice Bill - especially the rump.
what did you do climb the hickory in the back yard and peek?
I sent the tick.
Wha, That job was worth getting a bit on your butt as the new addition looks so wonderful. Are those the ilex verticillata? I hope you don't come down with something being out in this horrible weather. I am afraid my J.Maples are going to drown. I found some tape to wrap them with this morning, but I haven't gone out to do it yet. Tomorrow.
If Victor sent the tick your way, then he gets an award for being the most jealous of gardeners for the amount of space you have. Size envy?
It has poured here all day. But unlike you, I have been inside making labels for all the bulbs (calla, lilium, glads) that I have to plant. We will drill in the lilies this week, but the rest will wait until May. I am planting the calla in mixed containers. I am getting lots of caladiums too. I dug all my canna again last fall and I hope they are still happy in the crawl space. I may pot those up this week too, if I have time. We leave on Friday for 10 days. I am also making labels for everything else that is on order too, so when an order comes, I can get everything planted immediately. Patti
the rump or the yard patti?
patti - i only planted two of the little ones in this bed the other 5 will go in a yet to be built bed in the back yard. i have planted those in containers for now.
schickenlady, In defense of excess.
I have a plant budget which should be a fixed amount, now that I am retired, along with my DH. However, I keep finding a few new design jobs that allow me to add to the amount, plus DH is still working part time. The big plus is that our DS is now on his own, which helps immensely. No insurance or college bills any more to pay for him. But we are looking at some big house expenses, like a new roof, replaced retaining walls, and repairs to the porch at the Vt house , which will end my plant extravagances only too soon.
Plus my energy to keep up with serious heavy work will no doubt wain about the same time as my retirement money for my garden is diminished. But if I am broke with a beautiful garden, then so be it. I love beans and rice. And hopefully we have planned well enough to weather the current financial mess that the world is in at the moment. We did enlarge the veggie garden this year just in case. We want to have a better stocked pantry this fall than last, though we are still enjoying lots of food that we put up.
I think we were very lucky to have sold our business at exactly the right time. I have so many friends that are in desperate trouble now with lack of work or with failing or failed businesses on Nantucket, which usually is oblivious to downturns in the economy. Not this time. However, fortunately our old bookstore on Nantucket is still in fine shape which makes me proud, but the one in Vt went under within 2 years of our selling it. That was due to stupidity, mismanagement and shenanigans by the new owner, not the economy. So I hope my conspicuous consumption of plants helps the economy. No regrets except for an always sore back and dirty fingernails.
Wha, I can't believe you are building yet another bed. I must stop by and see all your work in person. Patti
Wow Bill, just found this thread and now I need a nap! lol
You really did make me tired, but it looks so good! I could invision the colors of lilac, spria, and dogwoods in bloom!
Which spirea is it, Bill?
they are old reliables victor - bridal wreath and another white one that i forgot the name of. if i find it the tag i'll let you know.
Patti it will be 2 new beds and maybe another for jm's on a slope on the other side of the house - although i have to see how the sun is there in the afternoon. the grass is pretty mossy so i think they will like it there.
Bill, Youreally know howto make your own bed. Looks Great.
thx dave
Patti
I love your garden outlook.
I am retired too and plan to have the garden established by the time I cant garden anymore so I'll just have it to look at.
HA as we all know its never done but the broad plan is just as stated above.
Vt. store failed? poor management, not tour fault. I wouldnt spend 1 more minute on guilt.
Happyeaster everyone.
great job Bill!
Amazing work Bill - you should be proud of yourself. Nothing better than taking a step back to appreciate the results of the hard work.
Where was your VT store? I loved the Shire bookshop in Manchester when we were there some years ago. Hope not that one. We are lucky in this area to have 2 independents, one Children's. 'The bookshop" has been there for years, under several different managements. Ater original owners retired, a knowledgable person took over, but the owner found it too difficult, when sales started the first fall. Then taken over by 6 partners, who said this year has been an amazing good season.
The children's store is run by a former librarian, so we agree on the idea of literature, not junk. I asked what would happen when our last 2 grandchildren, now 5 &7, grew up. She thought I would find someone young for , books, probably. This is far away from plants, but as youngest DD says, she has a bad habit of browsing in bookstores, caught from her mother.
Book stores of that quality dont survive near bigger cities. Borders and Barnes and Knobel just wipe them out.
irisMA, The couple (Morrow's) in Manchester who owned the Northshire are acquaintances of mine from the 70's when they opened their store which had a similar feeling to mine in Nantucket that I opened in 1972. Later Barbara and I served together on the board of the independent booksellers in New England (NEBA) The Northshire is a great store which we had hoped to emulate in Brattleboro with a cafe. We visited back a forth a lot, and they were very interested in our cafe. Nice folks.
We sold the store to new owners who then spent a lot of money on things other than inventory. No books = no sales. They got rid of the computer system, which meant that they had no idea of what they had or what was on order. We had established a very large school business that they did not continue to service. We also had many public events in the store on a regular basis, political, cultural, musical, educational, public service groups as well as monthly art shows and readings and author signings that they basically lost, due to their lack of interest in being the hub in the community.
Plus they sought no help from us, which we had offered to them for a year, so they could learn the trade. I had over 30 years in the business at that point. They didn't pay their taxes or their vendors and then they tried to scam us by not paying us either. We got our money after a few years, but many did not. He was hired to work at a bank after declaring bankruptcy to avoid his debts. He also taught business at the university level. Go figure.
We sold the Nantucket store to a long time employee after training her for over a year to take over. It was so seamless that many people are still unaware that we are no longer involved. I went in yesterday to my old bookstore here and it seemed the place I created which is such a nice feeling, plus it was very busy. She has done a great job, better than I ever did about many things. We get life rights for books at cost which is a huge plus. I just ordered a copy of Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd new book about gardening in Vt as well as the major forthcoming book on Japanese Maples, The Complete Guide to Selection and Cultivation (Fourth Edition) which is coming out in July.
Now out to tackle some brush cutting. Still windy and cool, but I will bundle up. Patti
got some done today - planted two jm's and did some transplanting and enlarged another bed - go figure!
Bill, your gardens are amazing! What have you used to amend the soil underneath those pines?