mom's yahrzeit

[quietann]

In what is becoming a tradition, I took today (the anniversary of my mother's death, in the Hebrew calendar) off to work in the garden as a tribute to my mom, and one of her very favorite activities. I mostly puttered, but still got a lot done:

== planted perennial sweet peas (plants, seedlings, and a few seeds) around the grape arbor
== fertilized the Rose of Sharon
== moved mini roses that were right by the street back slightly, so they are less likely to get crushed, and built a small retaining wall to hold the dirt in their new location (mini roses are mostly from Detroit, but at least one is from our wedding)
== pruned and fertilized the roses
== planted 48 lobelias
== scattered seed in various places
== planted a lamium
== planted out some sunflower seedlings
== did various tidying

This all took about 4 hours, working semi-consistently (my therapist thinks I might have ADD.... huh???)

There is still a lot left to do, but I am going to wait until Monday afternoon.

BTW -- if anyone out there would like a hosta plant (very nice perennial, tropical-looking greenery for semi-shaded locations; flowers are small and pinkish; almost impossible to kill), please let me know because I have 4 to give away. I have forsythia, too, if anyone wants something that will eventually be a big, obnoxious, but care-free bush. It's the stuff with the bright yellow flowers that is blooming right now.

P.S. As it turns out, my mom and my great uncle Loren (on my dad's side) will share the same Yahrzeit. He died last night at the age of 89, after nearly 2 years of congestive heart failure. I'll miss him some, but it was definitely his time.

Comments

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

This all took about 4 hours, working semi-consistently (my therapist thinks I might have ADD.... huh???)

As I understand it, it's not uncommon for people with ADD to be able to hyperfocus on one particular thing. Think of all the ADD programming geeks you know who can hunker down with a supply of Coke and Twinkies and code for hours on end before re-emerging. :)

[tb]

If no one else wants them, I'll happily take the hostas and forsythia off your hands. Most of the soil on our property is quite poor, so hostas and hardy plants are great since I won't go the chemical enhancement route. As an example of how tough conditions are here, the forsythias I planted a few years ago are still pretty much the same size they were when they started and I actually want them to become an unruly hedge to help block the front view of our non lawn. I have a soft spot for those bushes; there was a huge row of them in the back yard of the house I grew up in and I spent a lot of time playing and tunneling in them.

[quietann.livejournal.com]

OK.... you can get them anytime you want them... but do call first. the forsythias are mostly in a huge whisky barrel but we can move them into something smaller before you take them away.

[tb]

Thanks; will see when in the next several days my and frotz's schedules allow us to take hosta-ges and will be in touch.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Dern it, looked like I missed the forsythia's. I have been planning on getting some to put as cover between my place and the neighbor's in that one little spot where I can see into their yard.

[tb]

I don't know how many there are, but we can probably share them.

[quietann.livejournal.com]

well, forsythia is *really* easy to grow from a cutting. You can just take a branch and put it in water with some sort of rooting solution, and it will grow roots and then you can plant it after a few weeks.

I will see about dividing up the plants, but if you just want to go the cutting route, it would be easy enough for you to either come take your own cutting or maybe for me to bring you one. (or several)

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

I think the cutting route might be best for me, as the area I would plant it is very rocky, and while digging a hole is really difficult, roots can probably find a way to take hold there. I noticed this when I was attempting to dig the holes for the raspberries I put there. There's a lot of dirt in and around the rocks, but it's hard to dig straight down in a big open space (a la "hole"). And since I'm watering for the raspberries, I can water forsys's as well.

You gonna be around this weekend? Now the big question becomes: where is my "rooting powder"????

[quietann.livejournal.com]

or, forsythia branches, when they sag enough to touch the ground, grow roots. That's how the damn things spread so much. It would be easy to cut off a branch that has rooted, dig it up, and replant it.