The before breakfast chore was thinning the ice plant around the white oleander in the front border garden. The roots were compacted, butting against the sidewalk, and thick with weeds. I removed almost half of the growth and cleared the weeds. The cleared space leave rooms for a bit of lysimachia that self-seeded from the container last year and continues to huddle around its base. I also removed the dead leaves from the white oleander, per instructions from Del.
I applied Mike’s Mulch in the barrel container and around the dahlia.
Later in the morning I dug out the clover and grass around the valley oak in the Circle Garden at the barn. In the process I managed to sever an artery to the irrigation system and will need to repair it. The cistus is a cluster of white flowers and an unexpected joy as I drive in from town. All the intentional plants in the Circle Garden are thriving and weeds too.
Just for fun, I removed the lower branches from the valley oak in the center of the driveway. I guess the theory was to avoid their scraping my car or the truck. Removing lower branches as the dry season comes on is a general drill.
A Year at the Snake 