All hands on deck

Yes, the strawberries are still in their unweeded state.   The heavens opened yesterday and didn’t let up all afternoon. I just went up the rain gauge to see that we have almost had an inch of rain. Perfect for my vegetable garden, not for my weeding.

So today it’s all hands on deck: decking actually.   The encroaching green over the hardwood decking has to be checked. So decked out in rain wear, and pretending it isn’t spitting with rain I have done half the pool.   Some of the pesky grasses have taken root right under the decking (weedproof fabric and all) so they will have to be zapped with round up when it shows signs of sunshine and dry weather.   But the rest came up rather easily.

Once I have imbibed this tea and eaten my bodyweight in biscuits I will charge out and do the rest.

The bulbs in the picture are a surprise.   Last spring I was at the Vernoux weekly market and the lovely cheese lady gave me a handful of mystery bulbs and said – try your luck.   And here they are. A rather pale yellow so far, but most interesting. I planted them right along the edge of the wall behind my pottings shed: the usual repository of mystery plants.   Very close to some white currant cuttings, rose cuttings, and more mystery bulbs. Daffs perhaps? I’m just not sure. Maybe alliums. The good news is I won’t have much longer to wait. Spring has definitely sprung.  

But not in the verbena bonariensis department. I have cut back all of last year’s growth on these tall statuesque plants and found… not a lot of life. Wrong plant for the right place. I have always yearned for a verbena hedge. But looks like the winters are just too tough for this plant up here on the mountain.   Sensible old gaura perhaps?