Now that spring is theoretically here it is time to do some work on the yard. In my back yard I have a little flower bed that has been fenced off with chicken wire since I got Shady because she is a digger. I have planted some Rose of Sharon's and a butterfly bush and I've wanted to fill the rest of the bed in with rocks, but I haven't wanted to spend the money on it. Mom suggested that every time I go hiking I put a few rocks in my pocket, but that would take forever. However, my cheaper side has won out and I am taking her advice. Every time I go hiking I bring my backpack and when I am done with my hike I find somewhere close to my car that I can go to gather rocks. I fill my backpack with rocks, then I dump them into a big box in my trunk. It takes 4 or 5 backpack loads to fill the box, then I take them home and dump them in the bed. I have been doing this for about three weeks, weather permitting, and my bed is about half full.
The rocks are all fist size or bigger, and they are all different shapes, colors, and types. Ideally I would have loved to fill it with all river rocks, but I don't know of a source close enough to a parking spot where I could gather enough of them. Once I've got it all filled in with bigger rocks I will start collecting pebbles to fill in the holes. Hopefully by June I will be finished with this project.
This is my hanging garden. I have 2 zucchinis, 2 heirloom tomatoes, one cherry tomato, assorted hot peppers and some strawberries. The pepper planter has 2 bell pepper plants that will have to be pulled out when they get bigger. The markers fell out of 2 of my pony packs and I couldn't tell which ones were the bell peppers and which ones were the Cayenne peppers, so I put in 2 of each then planted the other 2 in my ground bed. I bought a couple of brackets for the strawberry and pepper planters to hold them out to the side of the frame, but I can't find them anywhere so I had to improvise with some temporary hooks. It's driving me crazy that I can't figure out what I did with them!
I have also planted lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, some pole beans and a few onions in what used to be a flower bed. My lettuce seedlings just started poking through the soil today, so I am happy about that. Marie gave me lettuce from her garden last fall, and I have never tasted lettuce so good in my life. I am hoping that my lettuce turns out as well. And yes, the fence behind the planters definitely needs paint.
Here in the foreground you can see my mimosa. It is officially dead. Technically the roots may still be alive, but I am not going to give it the chance to grow back this year. I am sick of it dying down to the ground every year, and you can see the pear tree in the background that will be taking its place. I talked to the guy at the nursery about the mimosa, and he said that mine is a common problem. Some people have great luck growing them, and others have them die back every year. He said it doesn't seem to matter how you fertilize or care for them, some of them do well and some of them just don't. Mine didn't. I'm sad because it could be such a pretty tree, but lately I have been obsessed with eating pears, so I am looking forward to having my own source.
