MONDAY

Well, let’s just say, I earned my keep today! I was charged! Today was the last day with the use of the dump truck, and I wanted to maximize my time with it. Friday, I picked the first load of composted leaf mulch to see if we could get an assist from the Gardeners of Wake County. More on that when I get some downtime.

Sadly, you will have to take my word for it. My iPhone was disabled. I was dark for three days. I didn’t miss a thing unless Jeff Bezos called to say I won two seats on the Blue Origin. If so, my husband will never forgive me. We both want to go zero-G. It turns out, the phone in my back pocket kept entering my password to the point, I had to restore it. The rest is so boring, I'll spare you. I will say, Apple at Crabtree saved me!

It was mulch Monday. While I asked for five cubic yards, it was a dump truck full. After I had 1/2 removed, I dumpted since it was too compacted to really work with well. Once dumped, it looked to still be five cubic yards. Then again, as I move mulch, the pile seems to grow with every load!! So while it might not seem like I did much, I worked straight seven hours. And now I’m writing about what happened this Monday. It was hot, but oh, so rewarding.

TUESDAY

Today, I can breathe….

I didn’t realize how fast and furious I’ve been working since January. Today, after yesterday’s heroics, the mulch, for the most part, has been staged.

I decided, I’m not in a race, but will now put one foot at a time to finish weeding and covering with mulch. It will take the rest of the week.

Those Rascally Rabbits. Today, I made an organic solution to deter rabbits and deer. It will take a couple of days in the sun to be ripe.

• 1-gallon jug. I used two 1/2 gallon vessels and both will be used in a gallon sprayer.

• 5 cloves

• 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers

• 1-gallon water

• 1 tablespoon dish soap

  I just hammeedr the bulb or some type of heavy masher. Then I pull away the papery skin and use the putty knife or some flat service to mash the cloves further.

  The garlic went into the containers where they could cook in the sun for a couple of days.

  Add readied garlic water to a sprayer, and a squeeze a dish soap. Dawn is the best to use as a surfactant, and finally added a teaspoon of crushed red peppers. It really works.

Starting at the lamp post, I weeded and mulched. The bed was overgrown with soapwort, Saponaria officinalis. No thank you. It reseeds everywhere. This is the first impressions bed; I want to make it a good one!

I then moved on to the left entrance bed. Still more soapwort, but I left it along here. It’s in the shade and not as invasive. As I find plants for this area, I will be removing it. Too bad it has a pretty flower.

Today, we also had a gardeners meeting via Zoom. I learned a few things.

WEDNESDAY

As I was on my haunches, atop of steaming hot pile of mulch, Art stopped by. Just seeing his kind and friendly face cooled me down. Art is busy for the next three weeks. We’ll miss him and the help he provides.

I continued weeding and spreading mulch at the entrance paths. I have about another hour in this area before I can move on.

Doing my best to have the mulch moved from off the driveway by tomorrow. I think I got this. Tomorrow’s focus is to just move the mulch to staging areas. I’m also storing mulch in garden carts.

Stopped by the greenhouse today. Picked up a few more plants. My least full load. Mind you, Kim wasn’t there and I could really remember what all I asked to be tagged. haha. I got what I could remember.

THURSDAY

Nell worked on getting the rest of the soapwort removed from the entrance bed. Plus some other weeding. We will get these weeds. The mulch will help tremendously!

Aillene planted, again, the most recent run to the City greenhouse. This should be the last batch until we can purchase fall perennials.

I finished the mulch! I only have myself to thank/blame. Despite the heat, making it even hotter when dealing with steamy mulch, I got it moved!. The first load is either down or staged. Next week, I’ll dedicate my time to removing more weeds and spreading mulch. The Formal Garden needs me. I removed enough weeds in each quadrant so I could stage in those areas. It was senseless for us to keep weeding and not being able to top with mulch.

We still have to address the truckload at the street. This will be best handled with many hands. I’m thinking of the Gardeners of Wake County Saturday visit in August. While we don’t have anything of importance planted there, we will. We need to get the irrigation fixed, but in the meantime, the mulch will outline where the new bed will go. I see lots of daffodils in The Joslin Garden’s future!

Are you wondering where the pictures are? Since the reboot, I have had another problem with my iPhone.I’m unable to email me pics from my phone! But I still want you to know what I accomplished today. So, visualize this. I’m shooting off fireworks, at high. noon on a sunny day. You can’t see them, but know they are there.

First off, I knew, after decades of laying the City’s composted leaf mulch, there were more than five cubic yards of mulch in that truck. When Drew and Neal stopped by, I asked, “How many cubic yards does that Ford, Super Duty, 450 hold?” They both agreed to about ten cubic yards. I knew it! There was no way I was off my game in estimating the amount, but particularly, I was thinking I was off my game! How could that be? I can put a yard down an hour. My son laughed when I told him by rate since he can do two in an hour. Did I mention he is at the coast where land is flat?!? Ha! And he is a fit 20-year-old? Anyhoo, I got the ten yards down this week; half weeded and laid, the other half staged.

READY FOR SOME FIREWORKS!

Driveway Entrance bed

Weeded, planted, and mulched. This bed is looking mighty fine! Do you see the Poppers, Snaps, and Snakes going off? No not that kind of snake, although I did see our resident black snake today!

Entrance Bed left side as you enter

Entrance Bed right side as you enter

That’s all, folks!!!

Until soon,

Helen. Yoest M.S. Environmental Science

The Joslin Garden Program Coordinator