Epic Weekend!

So, you know that big rock Chris rolled up the driveway to position triumphantly by the mailbox? I had added a few companion rocks to it. Then I piled up some dirt behind those rocks, and transplanted some lupines into the dirt. Chris retaliated by adding more rocks.



Yesterday, I upped the ante by expanding the rock ring around the lamp and mailbox, filling the whole thing with dirt, adding in plants gathered from around the yard, and – gads – I even mulched the darn thing.



Plants used: lupine (sprouts and mature plants), iris, lily, New England Aster, winter squash, ground cherry, and obedient plant. The lamp and mailbox already had a few plants around them, including tickseed, alliums, and some other native plants bought on sale last year at the end of the season from Garden in the Woods.

As if that weren’t enough, I used the remaining rocks to edge the bed across the driveway from this one, and mulched it to match. And today I planted some seeds: alyssum, marigold, pussytoes, bartram’s Ixia, dill, and nasturtium.



It’s not as easy to see, but today I worked on the bed in the woods along the little path to the frog-pond. I brought in more soil and relocated ferns and other plants that had been creeping into the lawn.



Plants used: at least two types of ferns, spiderwort, and a couple of mystery plants. The bed already contained more spiderwort, trillium, the likely-dead nursery plants, and a very much alive bleeding heart. I also planted some ramps here.



This photo shows fern fiddleheads next to a soft green leafy plant – both of which I planted in the new bed. But by the way they seem to grow next to each other, I’m not sure if they are two separate plants. I moved some root-snarls that had both sets of leaves, and I couldn’t tell if they were just tangled, or actually springing from the same roots. The leafy plant has more in common with the bleeding hart than with ferns, so I’m hoping for flowers.

Today’s critter count includes two more salamanders, which seem easy to find on cold mornings, when they are still sheltering from the cold under rocks; and a snake! The little fella was right under my (gloved) hand when I swept back some leaves looking for ferns. I think it was an Eastern Brown snake (which are harmless and can make great pets), but since it could have been a baby rattlesnake, I didn’t handle it. Instead I ran for the camera. Alas, the snake didn’t wait around to become blog photo fodder.

Tomorrow is Patriot’s Day, which is a holiday here in Massachusetts. So, more gardening ahoy!