The weather was relatively mild today, 45 degrees in the morning. I worked an hour or more before breakfast in anticipation of rain forecast for this afternoon.
I turned over the new bed along the back of the house, mixed in the Raised Bed Topsoil, and raked it over to even it out. I planted four plants in this enormous 120 square foot bed – the grevillea lanigera, the Australia fuchsia, the white native iris and the garnet aeonium. The instructions for Quick Start say to fill the planting hole with fortified water, set the plant in and add that water to the surface of the plant. The water in the plant hole drained slowly, most likely due to rock shelf one to two inches below the original surface of the bed. Those four plants at roughly the four corners of the planter box looked pitifully small. I will see how hey grow and fill in. A large shrub is still needed for the center of the bed.
I was delighted to see that the three yarrows have taken root, and I applied Quick Start again one week after the original dose. I planted the kiwi aeonium next to the yarrows and spread over the soil amendment.
I tried to untangle and spread out the ice plant that I had buried in a clump between the two oleanders in the back yard. The remaining ice plant in the front yard has made a lovely carpet under the white oleander and has a profusion of deep purple pink flowers at this time of year. Those flowers are sun sensitive, and I watch them grow in size and color as the sun proceeds through the day. I want to see if the blossoms die off during the summer heat.
The new growth on all three crape myrtles is another delight. The largest myrtle that I transplanted a month ago is the slowest to come to life but has lots of buds along its main stalks. I pruned away the spent berries from last year and the dead wood in the center of the largest myrtle. I also pulled away the grass from the Myrtle of the Lawn.
The pot in which I planted the lamium does not drain well and took on quite a bit of water. I dumped out the water, and apparently the lamium is content to grow in saturated soil. Sun predicted for the next three days should help.
A Year at the Snake 