Gardening With The BeesWatch our garden (and knowledge) grow!

This past weekend I was on a mission was to transplant the two smokebushes from the front porch area to the yard somewhere.

They are beautiful trees, and just too close to the house… not to mention the front door.  By mid-summer, they hang over the sidewalk, reach up over the roof of the house, and block visitor visibility from the house.

Well, after I got started, I found there a few more than two!  The “one” that I started to dig up soon became two, then three, and in the end, four!  Who knows how many the other “one” is?!  Thus, I had more work ahead of me than I thought…

I planted two in the front yard and one in the back.  I left the last one where it was, because I was completely exhausted.  It’ll have to wait for another day.

I spent both Wednesday and Thursday evenings planting the perennials from Mom.  Fun to get, but lots of work to get them in the ground.  I have everything planted now except the 2 forsythia bushes, which I am still deciding what to do with.

I started a rhubarb patch near the raspberry area, in a sunny opening in the sumacs.  Minding what Mom told me, I made sure to dig a VERY large hole and fill it with compost before placing the transplants.  Digging in rocky clay is hard work!  I hope they make it.

Today, Saturday, we put the last of the composted manure onto the garden and I turned-over the entire bean and pea area.  Ryan pounded the 12 fence posts into place with a sledgehammer.  We’re ready!

I weeded the entire rear flower bed and then walked the ENTIRE YARD with the wheelbarrow picking up every single branch.  I used a rake for this job under the fruit trees because of the quantity of downed branches from pruning.  I think I was picking up branches for almost 2 hours straight.  I’m feeling a little tight right now – not unexpected.  That was a big job and I’m glad it’s done.  Between the two of us working today, the bon fire area is ready for a party because we have over 5 feet of branches stacked and ready to burn!

Ryan then proceeded to mow the entire property for the first time this season.  Yay!  Took so long the batteries in his headset radio died, but it looks fantastic.

The month of April is sure living up to its name as far as rainfall, but my inner gardener rejoices in this because I don’t have to haul watering cans all over the yard.  This was the easiest (cool veggie) seed-starting weather ever!

This morning we got up unusually early (before 8:00 am – wow!) and started the day loading the pickup truck with metal recycling.  We like to do the most errands possible on a truck run, so we managed to get rid of junk, pick up a load of free compost and mulch at the Compost Dump, eat lunch, plus stop at Menard’s for carpet tack strip… all with Benji along too!

The carpet project was easy and ended with AMAZING results.  We finished the edge of the hallway laminate flooring in the 2 bedroom doorways, then measured and cut tack strip for both transitions.  It was super-simple to install, and using a handy instructional flooring book, we followed the directions to cut the bedroom carpeting to the proper length and tucked it in to the appropriate crevice.  Voila!  Beautiful carpet transitions on both bedrooms, and one step closer to actually installing bedroom doors.  (The office transition will have to wait until we have access to a 4″ circular saw again.)

After that was over, we were ready to work outside again.  (Just some minor sprinkles…)  Ryan shoveled compost onto the garden straight from the truck while I planted 4 more patches of day lilies dug up from the well area.  (There are still more left!  It’s unproven, but I think they are multiplying in the bucket.)  We ended the day by spreading mulch over several flower beds.

Good job team!

Our house came with a brand new mailbox on top of 3 rotting boards on top of a rotting post inside a rusted milk can.  UGLY!  But again, the mailbox is very nice looking, black, sturdy, new.

This was a rough winter for our mailbox because every time the snowplow would drive by throwing tons of heavy snow against it, the rotting boards would pull apart and tip just a little more.

Well, Monday’s snow was the last straw.  I came home to find the brand new mailbox in the ditch, still attached to the 3 rotting boards.  The rotting post still stood proudly in the rusted milk can, having won the battle with the plow.

Ryan planned the solution Monday night and got the mailbox back on the rotting post Tuesday night (thanks to Daylight Savings).  Just an interim solution until warmer weather, but it sure is sturdy.  We got our first mail for the week on Wednesday.  Yay!  Netflix can now resume.