APRIL
Ten days at the beach did me good. I’ve been too busy at work planning for the Joslin Garden plant sale, I let several writing assignments pile up. I needed time away from home where I would be in constant motion doing laundry, checking on the chickens, cooking, cleaning, and other endless duties. It’s hard for me to sit still at home. On Emerald Isle, I’m much more relaxed, with focused time to get things done. My to-do list was crazy; I got most of it done except two, but they are at least partially done.
This is the month when everyone is a gardener! Last month, we did a major reno in the garden. We removed the giant Southern Magnolia, which was at least 50 feet tall but 15 feet from the house. So, no more picking up magnolia leaves. Well, that’s after I get all the remaining leaves up. It's the same with taking down the chestnut that drops buckets of seeds, which we all called ouchy balls. No more picking those up…at least after I get all that I missed picking up from the fall. Those two maintenance chores combined took more time each year than all my other maintenance for the rest of the garden put together..
We liked working with this team of tree cutters so much that we had four pine trees taken down and any over hanging branch from the neighboring property. David literally hates pine trees. They were also 50 feet tall, and we always feared they would fall on the house. I didn’t anticipate the amount of light we now have!
The big advantage of all this was have so much more light on the South side where the magnolia stood. We had this stump ground, but not the others since they were in the Back 40 (ft.) See more below.
View from the Garden House to gazebo
The Back 40 (ft) North to South—We had four pine trees removed, a chestnut, and yes a snag I had cut ages ago left for the wild life. Sadly, it is leaning towards the fence.
Gazebo Corner—Picked up the chestnuts and raked leaves into beds.
The Epimedium Patch—Picked up the chestnuts and raked leaves into beds.
The Wildflower Patch Extension—I’m not hopeful the epimediums the rabbits ate to a nub will return.
The Wildflower Patch—This area is coming along.
The Southside—Big changes here since the magnolia is gone!
The Ostrich Fern Garden—Every thing is coming up. I have to wait to see how they do with the magnolia gone
.The Front Fountain Garden—The Japanese Glass Floats are stealing the show!
This is still a work in progress. The beds are laid but I still need to rake out shavings from stump grinding. I also had to redo the Water Harvester, with Nathalie and David’s help. It was put in in 2007 and last year it started clog with debris falling into it. We washed it all out, and raised it another set of cinder blocks. I need to put the camouflage back and I will be good to go.
The Food Forest—In the former shadow of the magnolia tree, I placed four raised beds. They are a Cor-ten metal. Not for anyone who likes shiny and new things. I like brown and rustic-looking materials. I couldn’t be happier!
The Parterre
The Food Forest Extension
The Front Beds
The Blackberry Patch with Chimney Swift Tower
The Raspberry Patch
The Pollinator Garden
The Blackberry Patch
The North Side—Arbor covered with crossvine
The Girl’s Garden
Mixed Border, North to North to South
Rock Garden
The Wildlife Pond
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GLOSSARY
Until soon,
Helen
#WeCanAllBeeBetter!