leafette's Blog

I chose 'leafette' because my new motto should be "leave it alone"!  8^)

I know it is good to move plants but dizzy, they should not be! VBSigh

This is all my dear hubby's fault.  He said I should not sit sewing all the time.  Get some exercise!  This is all a dear daughter's fault.  She planted a flower bed in annuals for me one summer, handed me the water can and fertilizer and said "if you don't water, they will die!"  I was still reeling from the sale receipts from our little trip to spruce up the yard so I did it.  (I was blissfully unaware that more and longer receipts were in my future.)  Now I quite enjoyed my morning rambles along that bed.  Next year I decided to repeat the experience.  I guessed at what she had purchased.  I planted widely and weeds filled the spaces.  I fertilized weakly and blooms were sporadic.   Morning rambles dropped off!   So I do what I do best; I bought books.  I enrolled in a landscape course.  I got Dh to drag his farm tractor about the yard and I grabbed a cheque book and headed off to the nearest plant sale.  I did not, I repeat, I did NOT start small as was frequently mentioned in the advice given.  It has been a few years.  I had barely got one thing done than I leaped at another good idea, and another, and another.  Last year I decided to pull the plants I had along the woodland walk and just keep the pathway open.  But I must admit that I am going down for the third time and it is time to ask for a life preserver before Dh starts adding up sales receipts and trys to tally the plants/shrubs that should correspond!  ;O

So first I must deal with zone denial.  2b or not 2b!  That really is the first question.  We are right on that line between 2 and 3.  My garden sources and sales people say 3.  My farmer says 2 not even 2b!  I like 2b better than 2.  Three really appeals and gosh, I do recognize some plants that have lived to tell about there survival at my place and they are rated 4 in some books!  If I could identify a hot spot on the yard that lovely arching grass (5) that is  winking at me could be on next year's must have list. 

hmm, you see my difficulty!  Leave it alone, leafette.  Get back to basics and figure out the secret to mulch.  You don't have old sheep manure sitting around for nothing.  If you had figured that out earlier you wouldn't have solid dandelions waving their leaves at you from where they are firmly entrenched in all the front beds!

I don't probably qualify as a newbie.  I've read far too much!  But I am not getting any younger as 'they' say.  I need to do this smarter.  So more shrubs in the beds, an understanding of how to mulch,  a strong plant base and a moratorium on ideas!

So the few stalwart members of my garden party, the peonys, lilies, native meadow rue, hostas and my lovely JP McConnel rose, which has surprisingly survived its dizzy regimine, have pushed me up to the keyboard and have said type! 

So: we/they/I have only one last thing to say-  HELP!!!

leafette