This weekend was sunny and warm. Perfect weather to spend in the garden. In terms of workload, it was an easy weekend. Compared to what we’ve done the last few months. In that time, we’ve removed 4 very large climbing roses and planted a laurel hedge in their place. We’ve created new beds and planted a shrub garden. We spent one weekend trying to rejuvenate a stand of lilacs that hadn’t been touched in years. We’ve planted a vegetable garden and raised beds. We’ve grown lettuce, zinnias, herbs, cosmos from seed. And tried to stay on top of the weeds. So, to have a weekend where our project was to simply paint a picket fence, was a joy!
This is the same bed mentioned in previous posts but with a cheerful, whimsical fence added. A few things we learned from the experience. It might have been a good idea to paint the pickets before they were attached to the fence. And because many of the plants are doing planty things…like growing very close to the fence and poking through in some spots, it was impossible to paint the backside of the fence. We will need to do that this fall when everything dies back.
My mother planted this tree in a whiskey barrel probably 20 years ago. Each spring I think it has died because it takes awhile for it to get going again. A few years ago, the tallest bit of the trunk snapped off. I thought for sure it was a goner then. But it seems to have recovered, although it sports a very squat appearance now. We have talked about planting it in the garden somewhere so that it can really take off. I don’t know how the relatively small amount of soil in that whiskey barrel supports this gorgeous tree. We will probably transplant this fall or early next spring. It’s a Japanese Snowbell tree. And when it’s in bloom, it’s absolutely gorgeous. The white blooms hang heavy on the branches and have a lovely scent. I love this tree.
