Field Yard Work

Spring is here; it means it's time to get ready for summer with a vengeance.  Any sunny minute we rush outside to pull a weed or two.  I look out one of our many windows to take note of where to start next.  Out the bathroom window I see the line of swordferns overgrown in the salal and rhodies.  There are some huge grey rocks I'd like to see more of and that means trim, dig, prune, and haul excess plantings to the compost or burn pile.  Swordferns die underneath and can get really brown and nasty and long left to their own devices.  Salal is a wonderful addition to the landscape.  It is useful too; florists use it all the time in bouquets.  It just needs some taming once in awhile.  Creeping in between all these lovely native plant is the blackberry vine.  There are good and not so good blackberries.  The low growing vining berries are definitely the best.  They still get wound around everything and they are stickery.  I rarely get any fruit because they grow in the shade when they need sun.  Rascals.

Looking out the front windows is cause for alarm.  You can see too much too quickly.  There are side beds, middle bed, sidewalk that needs redoing, weeds of all kinds....work.  I am using Preen as I weed.  It's supposed to discourage new weeds from coming up for a few months. 

Our garden is kind of in although weather is not cooperating with planting.  Thecooler weather vegetables are in: broccoli, some potatoes, brussel sprouts, onions, etc.  We did put some tomatoes in the ground.  They are going to need some really warm weather to perk them up!  We picked the early varieties with high hopes for success. 

I can't see the garden from inside the house.  It is down the hill a bit and the cabin is in the way.  I can also see the cabin from the bedroom and bathroom...  That is another whole writing project and another huge remodelling effort to redo.  Maybe for the next owner?  We shall see.