Temperatures had warmed up considerably by mid afternoon. In the sun the outdooe temperature was warmer than inside the house.
I shoveled out the ashes from the fireplace and scattered them heavily, just over the retaining wall beyond the back porch. Not much new growth in the area that I dug out and poisoned.
The fringe flower is now in full bloom. A few roses are budding, and I may dispense with the deep pruning this year.
I addressed the narrow bed off the back porch where weeds were beginning to show through and becoming way to comfortable. I dug up the weeds and remaining Spanish lavender roots, applied and watered in the Preen, and laid down a layer of Preen mulch. The removal of the Spanish lavender left a whole in that bed that I conveniently filled from the Lowe’s collection of unspecified succulents.
The ivy in the container has now imbedded in the ground. The long tentacles waving off the edge of the pot eventually worked their way underground.
Deep watering of all plants in the back yard followed. Due to the extended dry period this January , the maida elegans and Crown of Thorns euphorbia may not make it. Still, I was pleased to see new growth on the firecracker plant. I finished the chores of the day with a deep pruning of the shrub daisy in the large box garden.
A Year at the Snake 