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helwenUpdate on garden experiment. Tried a little digging Monday on the long narrow strip by the driveway, but the soil has only softened 2"-3" down. And too wet too, so after turning a bit of the soil I opted to stop the experiment, as it isn't good for the soil to be messed with when it's mucky.
I was putting some things into the print shop and it was so nice and warm out, and the breeze so inviting, that I left the door open so the building could air out a bit, and checked on things in the backyard. I chopped up a bit of the ice/snow by the side of the studiolo, and was able to make it over to the large raised bed to see how the plants are doing there. I was particularly interesting in checking on the Germander.
It's more tender than Lavendar, and I'm rather fond of its pretty dark green bushiness and the shape of the leaves. The winter having been so mild for the most part, it has quite a bit of green on it. Some parts are reddish, no doubt from the snow and cold, and I think some of it is in the process of perishing, especially if it gets very cold again this month, which is quite likely. But it has quite a bit of green growth near the base, so I think overall it will be able to handle the rest of the wintry weather. I removed a couple of broken bits so it wouldn't be trying to heal things that can't be mended. The Lavendar are quite dormant and are not ready to be doing anything for a little while yet. They are somewhat fussy plants, but they do know what they like and don't like.
I did a bit of tidying up in the front yard, moved some of last year's leaves to mulch around the exposed side of one of the heather bushes. It's quite windy in our area, esp. this time of year, but I think now that bush will fare better for the next month or so. I also looked over the front yard to see if there was some place I could put some food plants, but so that it wouldn't be too tempting to passersby. I'll be moving the thyme away from the sidewalk and nearer the gravel/stone path, to protect it from winter salt and sand, and the perennial flax can be moved out of the kidney-shaped bed to around it, perhaps. The Russian Sage has to stay where they are, as they are quite firmly placed, and the bees like them. There's a big heather bush in the middle of the kidney-shaped bed that I need to find a new home for, I think. And the house leek has to move as well, because it's alive but not multiplying in its current location.
I'm thinking of putting a bush or two in the k-s bed, something I can make jam with. If I pick something odd like gooseberries, the kids probably won't recognize it as food. Besides, they're a bit tart, IIRC. I might see if I can make some space for chamomile in front. We seem to drink quite a bit of it in the evening, so we might as well grow our own.
Most food plants will be in the side or backyard, but I think it would be nice to have every plot contributing a little something to our cupboard. So, increasing the herbs in the front might be a smart thing to do. And the bees won't mind a few more flowers :)
There's a forecast for thunderstorms for today, but perhaps that's tonight. At any rate, once I could finally get myself back inside, I commented to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fitzw that it was too bad he was working, because it was so nice out that we could go for a good walk. He paused, checked his work projects, and said "Let's go!" So off we went, up the street toward the Highlands, turning after a bit and going up to Rt. 5 before walking back toward Sargeant and then back down to Sycamore. Today was trash day so there were empty cans everywhere, some needing dodging around. But the breeze was pleasant, warm mostly, with a touch of moisture off the snow and ice in the shadows. We were looking about to see what people are doing with their homes and such -- some places for sale, a business closed, a new one open, construction and repairs underway in many places.
Overall, Holyoke is seeing many improvements, and thankfully the water sewage system is finally being overhauled and cleaned up -- our poor river has been the victim of many sewage treatment systems that can't keep up when there's a major storm. Slowly it's getting better, but I don't know as I'd eat a fish out of the Connecticut just yet, myself... I observed that while the city is getting cleaner and nicer-looking, the increase in sewage and fuel costs, in addition to the national problem with irresponsible mortgage companies, is likely to cause a lot of the poorer people to have to move out. Also, we lost a couple of apartment buildings to fire this winter past, and I don't know when those will be replaced. Holyoke government does seem to be concerned about this sort of thing, but there's only so much you can do on a limited budget.
Last year I accidentally helped out the parks dept. -- I was clearing out the garden bed by the garage so we could build the studiolo there, and needed to find a new home for all the pacchysandra. Happily the head of the dept. is on Freecycle, and answered my post for giving them away. He brought over a crew of volunteers and they took the whole lot. It was great to be able to help out, and also great that once I'd showed them how to dig up and plant the plants, I didn't have to do any of the work of removing them :D
Ah well. Guess I should do some more cleaning and sorting. And bring up a mirror I remember is in the basement. It should make an excellent reflector for the candles, and I really need more light for reading and drawing.
I was putting some things into the print shop and it was so nice and warm out, and the breeze so inviting, that I left the door open so the building could air out a bit, and checked on things in the backyard. I chopped up a bit of the ice/snow by the side of the studiolo, and was able to make it over to the large raised bed to see how the plants are doing there. I was particularly interesting in checking on the Germander.
It's more tender than Lavendar, and I'm rather fond of its pretty dark green bushiness and the shape of the leaves. The winter having been so mild for the most part, it has quite a bit of green on it. Some parts are reddish, no doubt from the snow and cold, and I think some of it is in the process of perishing, especially if it gets very cold again this month, which is quite likely. But it has quite a bit of green growth near the base, so I think overall it will be able to handle the rest of the wintry weather. I removed a couple of broken bits so it wouldn't be trying to heal things that can't be mended. The Lavendar are quite dormant and are not ready to be doing anything for a little while yet. They are somewhat fussy plants, but they do know what they like and don't like.
I did a bit of tidying up in the front yard, moved some of last year's leaves to mulch around the exposed side of one of the heather bushes. It's quite windy in our area, esp. this time of year, but I think now that bush will fare better for the next month or so. I also looked over the front yard to see if there was some place I could put some food plants, but so that it wouldn't be too tempting to passersby. I'll be moving the thyme away from the sidewalk and nearer the gravel/stone path, to protect it from winter salt and sand, and the perennial flax can be moved out of the kidney-shaped bed to around it, perhaps. The Russian Sage has to stay where they are, as they are quite firmly placed, and the bees like them. There's a big heather bush in the middle of the kidney-shaped bed that I need to find a new home for, I think. And the house leek has to move as well, because it's alive but not multiplying in its current location.
I'm thinking of putting a bush or two in the k-s bed, something I can make jam with. If I pick something odd like gooseberries, the kids probably won't recognize it as food. Besides, they're a bit tart, IIRC. I might see if I can make some space for chamomile in front. We seem to drink quite a bit of it in the evening, so we might as well grow our own.
Most food plants will be in the side or backyard, but I think it would be nice to have every plot contributing a little something to our cupboard. So, increasing the herbs in the front might be a smart thing to do. And the bees won't mind a few more flowers :)
There's a forecast for thunderstorms for today, but perhaps that's tonight. At any rate, once I could finally get myself back inside, I commented to
fitzw that it was too bad he was working, because it was so nice out that we could go for a good walk. He paused, checked his work projects, and said "Let's go!" So off we went, up the street toward the Highlands, turning after a bit and going up to Rt. 5 before walking back toward Sargeant and then back down to Sycamore. Today was trash day so there were empty cans everywhere, some needing dodging around. But the breeze was pleasant, warm mostly, with a touch of moisture off the snow and ice in the shadows. We were looking about to see what people are doing with their homes and such -- some places for sale, a business closed, a new one open, construction and repairs underway in many places. Overall, Holyoke is seeing many improvements, and thankfully the water sewage system is finally being overhauled and cleaned up -- our poor river has been the victim of many sewage treatment systems that can't keep up when there's a major storm. Slowly it's getting better, but I don't know as I'd eat a fish out of the Connecticut just yet, myself... I observed that while the city is getting cleaner and nicer-looking, the increase in sewage and fuel costs, in addition to the national problem with irresponsible mortgage companies, is likely to cause a lot of the poorer people to have to move out. Also, we lost a couple of apartment buildings to fire this winter past, and I don't know when those will be replaced. Holyoke government does seem to be concerned about this sort of thing, but there's only so much you can do on a limited budget.
Last year I accidentally helped out the parks dept. -- I was clearing out the garden bed by the garage so we could build the studiolo there, and needed to find a new home for all the pacchysandra. Happily the head of the dept. is on Freecycle, and answered my post for giving them away. He brought over a crew of volunteers and they took the whole lot. It was great to be able to help out, and also great that once I'd showed them how to dig up and plant the plants, I didn't have to do any of the work of removing them :D
Ah well. Guess I should do some more cleaning and sorting. And bring up a mirror I remember is in the basement. It should make an excellent reflector for the candles, and I really need more light for reading and drawing.
