I'm not as strong as I think

The front yard has been looking particularly bad lately. The house needs to be painted and the landscaping is non-existent. If we neglect to mow the lawn our house goes from looking rundown to looking abandoned.

To wit:

The grass has spread under the rhododendrons and has sprawled well past its edges on the sidewalk and driveway. Greg was away on a crazy business trip all last week, jet-setting to amazingly humid locales like Atlanta. He came home and I was like, "I missed you so much! Let's spend some quality time weeding!"

I am the worst girlfriend.

We got the area under the rhodies cleared and discovered there are bricks outlining that area! I wanted to mulch the area under the rhodies but was worried about using a wood product and possibly encouraging termites. I asked the two instructors at my Naturescaping class and they assured me that mulching with bark or bark dust would not cause termites. Now I know where to send the Terminix bill if they are wrong.

While we were clearing out the area Greg started whacking a rhododendron stump. There were, at some point, FOUR rhodies and one azalea in this area. The stump popped right out with a few whacks.

Greg: "Well that was easy."
Heather: "Nice job! Now go remove that one."
Greg: "Where? I don't see another stump."
Heather: "Right there. And there."
Greg: "You mean the live rhododendrons?"
Heather: "Yes. Just go whack them until they fall down."
Greg: "That won't work."
Heather: "Yes it will. Just try."
Greg:
Heather: "Please?"

I was convinced (convinced!) that it wouldn't be that hard to pull the live stumps out so the next day I cut down one of the rhodies and started working at the stump. Mothercusser wouldn't move. Greg came out and nicely didn't gloat. I was hoping to trick him into picking up the pickaxe but he wouldn't go for it.

Whatever, I don't care. I'm glad this thing is no longer blocking all the light into our dining room. LEAVING THE STUMP WAS PART OF MY PLAN.

Instead I weeded the parking strip, spread a nice layer of compost on it, then mulched it. Again. I have weeded and mulched that strip so many times. My coastal strawberries are finally taking off but my kinnikinnick is just sitting there, not forming a nice ground cover.

It doesn't help that I never amended the soil after I removed the arbor vitae. This fall I plan to have a couple of yards of compost delivered so I can spread it on all the beds. I always thought compost only helped if worked into the soil. It turns out that if you leave it on top, the worms will come up through the soil, grab it, and bring it lower. Working it in initially would be better, but laying it on top will eventually improve the soil structure. It will also work as a mulch during the cold winter months.

I plan to build compost bins this summer so I can start making my own soil amendments. And a new fence. And a deck. We're gonna be busy.

A borrowed view

The entrance into the side yard is so much prettier because of my neighbor's trees. I love borrowed landscaping.

 

Just ignore the trashcans.

Insert Rep. Weiner joke here.

My freakshow bulb is HUGONGOUS. Ginormous. Really really big.

I want to plant a thousand of these.

Housekeeping

Just a quick note to say that I've changed over to a non-blogspot URL so you can point your browsers to http://www.justagirlwithahammer.com.

The more succinct "girlwithahammer.com" was already taken. Boo!

I made some changes, including adding a blogroll with my favorite bloggers ---->

If anything doesn't work, or if you have any suggestions you can email me at Heather [at] justagirlwithahammer.com.

Looks who's all grown up.

For the thirty or so of you who regularly read my stories about my house: thank you. Your comments and encouragement mean so much to me.

My lens was dirty.

It looks like I just needed to clean my camera lens. Again. Is it normal to have to do that every 2-3 days?

Looks better, ya?

Real yards have curves

We got our first real summer weather this weekend! It was sunny and 85 and perfect. Greg and I hit up the "Naturescaping for backyard habitats" garden tour through EMSWCD. They showcased six homes where people had achieved the gold or platinum status from the Audubon Society. There were some really beautiful gardens . . . and there were some really sloppy ones. It turns out I like my gardens a little tidier than some folks. I was sort of bummed about that at first, especially since I'm always telling people, "I like it wild!"

I like it wild but only in a controlled manner, apparently. This comes as a surprise to absolutely no one.

I did come away with an overwhelming need to obtain some meadow rue. It's the airy, lacy, beautiful stuff on the top of this photo and it makes me DROOL.

Thalictrum occidentale. Crappy photo courtesy of my phone.

Then I spent all of Sunday taking the leftover stones from the dogbone and using them to define the hillocks in the backyard. The grass has a way of trying to creep up into the beds.

Before:

And after:

As I'm sure you've noticed, my camera can't take a sharp picture to save its life. I keep cleaning the lens to varied effect. I think it's the universe telling me to buy a nicer one?

I packed the spaces between the retaining stones with mulch to try and stave off the encroaching grass. It won't work but it should slow it down.

It was tricky under the hemlock (Is it a hemlock? Shit if I know.) because you don't want to bury the roots of the tree or you'll suffocate it. And then it will fall on your house. I had already stupidly dumped soil and mulch on top of the area beneath the tree last summer. We wanted the stones to look like were actually retaining something, which meant scootching some of that soil and mulch down toward the stones, hopefully giving the root system more air. Or not. Anybody know how to remedy this?

The blurry photos, they make me so sad. The lack of varied color in this area makes me sad as well.

I'm liking the formality of the retaining stones so much that I'm tempted to continue some sort of boundary in the new raised bed area. It would really tie the whole yard together.

I also brought the center curve out a bit, making it easier to mow around it and giving us a spot for the old birdbath.

My freakshow bulb is awesome.

Allium schubertii

I'm having a love affair with fringecups. The cups start out green, fade to white, then turn pink. They are gorgeous.

Tellima grandiflora

My dianthus bloomed again, making it totally worth the $2.99 I spent at Home Depot last summer.

And my Farewell to Springs bloomed this weekend! Oregon, LISTEN TO THE WILDFLOWER. No more rain, please. It's time for summer.

Clarkia sp.

Also: I figured out the secret behind Colony Collapse Disorder. All the bees are in my yard. Sorry about that!

And suddenly we have a garden!

One single month ago the stump area looked like this.

The peonies and lupine are growing like gangbusters. I want to divide this lupine next year because the lime green foliage makes me tingly. I want it everywhere. It doesn't hurt that lupine is a nitrogen-fixer, so other plants benefit from its proximity.

Alas, I think I need to declare the DIY birdbath a failure. The wood is discolored and I suspect it's going to rot, despite being coated in something protective. I'm hoping to possibly use it as a form to create a new birdbath out of cement.

I've set my phasers to "lush."

I've set my phasers to "stunning?" Man, I'm bad at the puns.

Pretty pretty, shiny shiny! That's more my speed. Things are growing and I love it.

Oregon iris Iris tenax