fuss jewelry: June 2013

First of all, I never posted a picture of the living wreath I made a while back. It filled in nicely enough, but I think I much prefer to keep the colors more uniform--either shades of a single color or just two colors..

But a satisfying project nonetheless.

Last week I attacked the gardens in front and back for much needed weeding, cutting back of spent spring plants and choosing a few spots to plant some annuals. I have to say weeding is pure tedium to me and I know I am not alone in this. While some people enjoy weeding as a therapeutic or meditative exercise--this does not describe my outlook. I slogged through and cut back lanky spring bloomers that had long since passed their blooming prime--the poppies, iris, allium, camassia and due to neglect--my peonies.

while a few blooms thrived...


too many others were left to droop and wilt on the ground

Because once again, I neglected to stake them early and each rain shower bowed more and more stems to the ground... such a waste of glorious pink petals. Next year!

It struck me once again while I was cutting and cleaning up, the Darwinian nature of some weeds. I'm always amazed when I find a weedy plant that so closely resembles one of my perennials, that it has grown up through the desirable plant and escaped unnoticed for weeks. I found two shrubs/trees growing within one of my lilacs out back! A more attentive gardener would have shown these party crashers the door weeks earlier... ah, well.

After the work was done and most of the poison ivy scrubbed away with Tecnu, I drove over to the nursery for the fun part. Hollandia Nurseries always has a good selection and is a joy to wander through.

I brought home a dozen perennials and several flats of annuals and set to distributing them around the garden. During the planting I was forced to tie up my Cavalier because she had discovered some baby bunnies in the garden and could not resist hunting them (yikes!). I know it's her natural instinct, and I encourage her to chase them when they are older and faster for exercise, but I can't bear her going after the defenseless young babies. Ironically, she ended up saving one! She was tied up while I planted and suddenly started barking very excitedly. I went over to investigate and saw that she'd spied a little bunny who'd fallen in the pool and was frantically swimming back and forth. I scooped him out and released the poor guy near the wood's edge.