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Spring Lawn and Garden
By Donna Flood
5 May 2008 · Misc.
Spring Lawn and Garden, 2008
After thirty years of worrying with this hillside
of clay we finally begin to reap some of the pleasure for having done
so. Last year I invested my annual 200.00 in sage plants, grass
seed, a few tomato cages, a load of top soil, and that was about all.
The sage plants do well on this ridge but must have
the tomato cages around them because the lawn mower will so easily mow
them. They are really nothing but just small sprigs at first. The
effort was worth it because this spring they are blooming in a prolific
way down the drive. I’m impressed enough to go for two or three
more.
The roto-tiller broke up a small portion of my back
yard for a garden. This is where I have marked off four foot by
four foot squares with runways between them wide enough so the riding
lawn mower can
pass through. In those squares I have tomatoes, radishes, strawberry
plants, carrots, squash, turnips and along the edge will be planted
okra.
I always like for the weather to be warm so the soil is through and
through warm before planting okra. This spring has been anything
but that.
“Where is this global warming they are talking
about?” I ask. Some days it is so shivering cold I must put on a
coat to put up with it.
This week-end Rod cleaned up some brush he had
stacked. We like to leave a place for the rabbits to hide from the
snow, but instead, snakes and mice can collect there, too. He did
run some mice out because we had a couple owls that night. Our
tribe does not like the owl and I have mixed feelings about this.
Sometimes, I believe they didn’t like them because they visit,
when mice are around. The mice, of course, are the culprits
for carrying disease. The question comes, “Why hate the owl when
he is just doing what he was created to do, eat mice?” Anyway,
the brush piles are gone and I can rake that area to use the mulch from
where it was. The owls didn’t visit the second night so hopefully, we
destroyed the mice’s protected, place.
A friend so many years ago gave me a start of what
we call winter onions. I had them planted along the drive and
some family objected to their strong fragrance while they were
unloading a car. I moved them to an, out of the way
area, and they must be happy there, because there are
unbelievable numbers of them this year. It is wonderful not to
have to plant onions. These come back every year and, in fact, if the
winter is not too severe, will winter over.
Blooming and fragrant at this time are: long
drooping white flowers of the locust trees, one variety of Iris, and
lilacs. The Privit hedge will soon bloom and they are fragrant,
too. There is no perfume with the Weigela but the pink and
lavender blossoms are lovely. Jasmine blooms are sweet at this time,
too.
The dark foliage of plum trees in front and the
Barberry bushes add a touch of contrast to the over all green of this
lawn.
I did conquer to area of the ridge that was
threatening to wash. My family hated the newspapers with a
mixture of Spagnum moss and Cypress mulch. I sprinkled some of the top
soil over it so the sandwich wasn’t so trashy looking and today a fine
cover of Bermuda grass grows over the whole thing. I imagine I
can hear a crunch of rotted newspapers, but really think this is just
my awareness of what is under the Bermuda grass. Doesn’t matter,
the small area is green and doesn’t have runners of where the water was
washing it.
Here is my gardening page if you wish to go over it.
http://www.electricscotland.com/gardening/america.htm
You can click on the photographs at the top of the page and it takes
you to some of Alastair’s photography of Scotland. He has
actually become quite an accomplished landscape photographer.
Scroll down to Sterling Castle, click on it to enlarge and then again
to see the detail so clearly.
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From the Electric Scotland Article Service (2008–2011). Restored from archived copies of the original pages.
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