March: Sunny 15 C. Finished spring clean-up on the yard side of the herb border. Pruned the honeysuckle. All the daylillies took a hit from the deer (I guess) while we were gone, hopefully they will all recover. Dug out a good portion of Lucifer, not sure what to do with the extra corms. Offered them on the PNW plant swap but you really need to have the room to let these guys spread out. They look so nice when allowed to be in their natural vase shape, but they do tend to flop into their neighbors and pathways. I'm torn about putting them down by the pond - they are not natives and I'm really trying to keep that area as natural as I can. On the other hand, they could really spread their wings and provide a big pop. Another option would be to intersperse them in the front shrub/tree screen. I'm liking the shredded leaf mulch, it seems to keep the weeds down and looks nice. I'll have to approach Dick about getting some leaves from his yard service this fall, although he's pretty much into 'better living through chemistry' so not sure about that idea. The herb fence is looking pretty ragged, but doesn't really serve any purpose other than delineating the herbs. Might be a good subject for a family work party - spray it with a solid stain to brighten it up. Last time I stained it was when Dad first moved up to Stanwood (2005?), and I could not get him interested in running a brush back and forth to save my soul. He'd just pull up a lawn chair and sit for one beer while watching me work.
March: Sunny, 12 C (mild). Began clean-up, got about half of it edged and weeded. Most perennials are emerging. This bed could use some more evergreen anchors. The hebe is nice on the south end, and there's a young heather at the north end - something in the middle would be good. It's nice to cut back all the winter stalks, really neatens things up. Fens ruby is a thug in this bed, but I'm OK with that, it seems to mix well with the other plants and I have no qualms about yanking it out during clean-up. Think about trying to propagate the honeysuckle by layering, this is the prettiest and most fragrant one I have. Remember to dig out Lucifer by about 1/3, not sure where to put the extras, maybe down by the pond? Asked Gary to secure the iron flower to one of the fence posts, I'd like to rejuvenate that and make it functional again (it has a small oil container behind the bloom for night lighting). He couldn't easily find the drill so on the 'honey-do' list.
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