Working the Garden

I mentioned that we lost a good portion of the garden due to the drought. Though I am now retired, I have been spending most weekdays doing post retirement work. The weekends have been about rehabilitating the garden. This weekend was the warmest yet, over 90 degrees and very humid. In the background is the shrill song of the cicadas. Here we get them in force about every 17 years. (Thought question: Does anyone notice anything unusual about that number? Why would it be that kind of number?) During the long walk around Sharon Woods lake yesterday they were out in force, their high pitch in the foreground and in waves in the background, occasionally descending on you from the trees. They don't bite and don't do any harm to my kinds of plants. Only a nuisance for a few weeks and then they are gone again for 17 years. Late in the summer, in August, we get very different locust sounds.

Below is a picture of the front garden as of the first of June, compare it to the 2006 picture in the post below. Went to the garden store today and bought in some fill in Hostas and Solomon's seal. Have also been dividing plants to fill in the drought deletions. Bought some Coleus to brighten up some of my only sun, at the bottom of the drive. More on that in a later post. While planting the new acquisitions noted the soil. When you plant under trees, especially maples, some of the top soil can be turned into a fibrous mat. That also makes it hard to retain moisture during dry periods. Using Osmocote to feed these days, learned to use that in my Nursery days. Still quite a bit to do as the late spring continues here. Hope it cools off.