I dug out the ivy from the container camellia, ferociously ingrown, and left one or two outlying sprigs. Hopefully, the camellia will have greater fill of water and room to root and grow. I also applied plant food to all three camellias – Grandmother, container and triangle garden.
I finished clearing the last section of the border garden at the downward slope of the back lawn. A section of only 10 1/2 feet but heavy soil and compacted grass. Next to the planter box for Big Mama Myrtle I unearthed the pipe to nowhere. I will need to check if it drains now that it is open to the ground. I wandered down the fire lane and along the driveway to collect stones to support the eventual retaining wall on the downward slope.
I removed the center yarrow, originally billed as a salmon color bloom. The center of the plant was almost entirely dead under a few new branches. The two remaining yarrows will fill the space nicely. I said a sad goodbye to the Crown of Thorns euphorbia and adjusted the feeder lines to the remaining plants. Perhaps verbena will work in that space as it is a shallow rooted plant. The verbena in the triangle garden have thrived with only 4-6 inches of topsoil.
The edges around the sewer covers are overgrown and need ongoing weeding. Eventually, the septic system company will need to pull up the covers for routine maintenance.
A Year at the Snake 