I got the raised bed placed on the other side of the driveway. I did decide to stack the beds. They've been papered and I've begun the filling process.

I didn't seem to have a lot of energy last night.

But it did take me a week to get back to it after Pixel's death. Over the long weekend I started the driveway humming bird border:

- dug out and divided a third of the hosta/iris bed
- laid down newspaper and placed a raised bed and filled it
- transplanted the first clump of hosta under the magnolia tree
- dug out a rain garden by the down spout
- transplanted three clumps of iris to the rain garden
- dug out all the worn bricks by the garage door
- continued removing the white landscape stones from the foundation and putting them in place of the bricks
- planted the first raised bed with gayfeather, foxglove, purple coneflower, lupine, penstemon, violets, creeping speedwell and dwarf gayfeather
- mulched the bed
- finished clearing landscaping stones out of the space between the Bilco doors and the porch along the foundation
- placed the second raised bed, put down newspaper and filled it

I owe pictures, I know.

I'm having 3 cubic yards of potting mix delivered today. Carting around 40 lb. bags of dirt gets old real fast.

Done:

I pruned the raspberries and topped off their pots with fresh composte.
I topped off two chives pots with fresh compost.
I moved the Jacob's ladder and another chives clump from the dismantled 3 x 6' bed to pots.
I moved an iris and a hyssop and replanted the pansies in a stone ring.
I finished digging out the last 3 x 6' black raised bed, newspapered the bottom and refilled it.
I dug up the red onions, shallots and garlic and planted them again in the 3 x 3' raised bed I'd just made.
I dug out the 3 x 3' double-decker raised bed, set the top layer next to the allium bed, newspapered the bottom and refilled it.
I found the salamander again and replanted him in the allium bed. (This time he looked more vexed than surprised...)
I fixed my leaky hose with a new sprayer.
I made four, 2 x 6' raised beds out of a section of dock Dad took apart for me.
I assembled the beds into two, back-friendly new raised beds.
I set the new raised beds in the yard and got the first one newspapered.
I screwed together left-over dock slats into two 2 x 2 raised beds.
I weeded the peas.
I pruned and weeded the blueberries.
I sprayed all the plants the deer tend to munch on with repellent.

I'm still behind, I'm a little more caught up than I was last Friday. ;)

Things leafing out:

Raspberries
Blackberries
Blueberries
Agastache
Flax
Gloriosa daisies
Yarrow
Oregano
Coral bells
Penstemon
Campanula
Euphorbia
Sedum
Monk's hood
Geraniums
Ornamental acer
Magnolia
Spirea
Tulips
Monarda
Phlox

Blooming:

Pansies
Violets
Hyacinth
Hosta
Magnolia

Just in time for next week's cold snap! ha ha. They're well protected with walls of water.  I put a Jerry's German Giant and a Green Zebra in the first raised bed. I still have a few perennials to clear out of it. I think I'll put my spring greens in the rest of the bed. I have all my spring planting to do yet, save for the peas.

With Sean's help, the bed by the fence is now clear. We also did some general yard clean up Wednesday evening.  Hopefully I can get caught up over the weekend.

... and put them into pots before the flies drove me mad. I'm stopping for bug spray on the way home today. I don't remember these flies last year, but every year Manchester seems to have a different plague. Last year was crickets. Perhaps this year is annoying flies.

I'm too far behind to stop to take and upload pictures. Once I've caught up I'll post more than words.

Between Sunday and Monday, the first wood raised bed has been half cleared of perennials and the double high plastic bed has been completed and planted with garlic, red onions and shallots.  The latter two were looking a little iffy, so we'll see what they do.

I had to pull more mint out of the second bed, but noticed the first pea sprout while I was doing it!

The first 50' of the new hose is on, with no leaks. The old hoses will be recycled into padding for bucket handles and increasing the circumference on garden tools to offset osteoarthritis.

The blueberries are beginning to leaf out, and the raspberries that I thought were dead last Wednesday were completely leafed out on Sunday.

Still so much to do. I'm looking forward to my vacation the second week of May.

Just about an hour in the garden and four dozen peas went into the ground, Alaska, Wando, Little Marvel, and Super Sugar Snap. It took me that long because I had to make the pea fence. It's not quite done yet, but what's left to do isn't required until the peas are a couple of inches tall. And unless you think I'm crazy(ier), not all of the peas I plant tend to sprout. We'll see if soaking them in water all day helps this batch.

I've ruined another hose by leaving it out all winter. This year, I'm taking a week off in the fall to put the garden to bed properly. My punishment was hauling water in a can to dowse the peas and blueberries.

I tried to take pictures, but the new batteries I put into the camera were poop and then the light was gone.

On a non-garden related note, my hair is finally long enough for pixie pigtails. (I shaved my head two years ago next month.) I'm probably to old to wear pigtails, but I don't care.

I cleaned out the second wooden bed of last year's tomatoes, basil, mint and catnip. I cleaned out the last 3 x 6 bed of sunflowers, broom corn and a carpet of catnip. The two blackberries survived the winter and I got them into pots to await their new home. The Jacob's ladder also survived, but didn't get transplanted.

I tumbled my first addition to the ComposTumbler.

The last two days I've been able to walk a lot faster to work and back to the parking lot. it feels pretty damn good.

What does a Michigan girl on a snowy Sunday in April? Why saw the ends off of 17 pieces of wood sized somewhere in between 2x4s and 4x4s, by hand of course-partly because I'm fat and need the exercise but mostly because I'm too chicken shit to use my circular saw.

I was amazed I could move my arms this morning.

Tonight I built up a new bed by making one and a half of the 3x6 beds into 3x3 beds and stacked two of them up. Cardboard and newspaper went at the bottom, then a bag of oak leaves. I got one cart load of dirt in it before I pooped out.

It was an animal-rific session tonight. When I first walked out there was a rabbit in the lilac. I looked up while wrestling the pegs out of the black raised beds and found myself eye to eye with a nice sized doe about 15 yards away in the neighbors yard. I froze so she could wander off at her own pace.

But the best part? Unearthing a five inch black salamander in the remains of the 3x6 bed. I looked him over quickly to make sure the shovel hadn't harmed him and then nestled him into the loose earth of the new bed with a protective cover of dried grass.

You can't get much better proof of organic gardening than a salamander over wintering in your garden bed!

I got one of the black raised beds cleared and mostly dug out last night, but then lost focus and weeded the blueberry trough and cleared out some of the refuse in the first wooden raised bed.

One of my garden robins from last year is back. It hung out in the lilac and factory pines, barking at me occasionally. The moment I came inside it flew down and closely inspected all of my earthworks. I'd only found one grub, but it happily gobbled up the offering.

They're so funny. They yell at me while I'm out there, as if saying: "Hurry up! Hurry up!"

And I was lame and took no pictures. (Maybe tonight?) I DID, however, get my new compost tumbler put together. I'm so excited! The directions were understandable and I did everything myself save lifting the drum onto the stand. I need to level a spot and move the cardboard and patio pavers again (3rd time's the charm, right?) and then I can start making my own compost!

I'm also giving thought to using part of sfpro.com for a gardening site. I'm having to modify the way I garden because of my horrible back and I'm feeling the urge to share my findings.

My back survived, but barely. Also, the tomato children vastly outnumber me...

The tomatoes will be started this weekend. The basil and onions need to be transplanted and I need to get an order ready for Garden Supply Company. Fun, fun, fun.

New seedlings up: huckleberries (YAY), purple kiwi vine (YAY!), two kinds of onions, rosemary, dwarf, sweet, and lettuce leaf basil. I need to get my peppers started next.

And I need to take pictures!

The cauliflower, broccoli, rapini, onion, and parsley seeds all got started this past weekend. Plus, I got some fun garden stuff at IKEA yesterday.

Lent and little green shoots means spring is on the way. :)

I cat proof the seed starting station with hardware cloth because Pixel just doesn't understand no, bless his wee kitty heart.

Revenge will be mine. All three go to the vet at 11 AM this morning. BWAH HA HA.

The purple basil is up! And lest you think I'm crazy for starting basil this early, this batch is going to be my inside basil. First it's going to keep the tomato seedlings company, and then it's going to be eaten. nom nom.

Best way to beat the end of winter blues? Start seeds!

The two-tier grow light station is now downstairs in the dining room and I only had to take it apart twice and put it back together twice! (I have treacherous, old farmhouse stairs and now the walls REALLY need some attention.)

I'll definitely need to cat proof them. Pixel's been camped out on the bottom shelf for a good part of the weekend.

Started yesterday: Garden huckleberries, purple kiwi vines, rosemary, and Siam Queen purple basil. My traumatized jade plants are soaking up some much needed sun as well.

Pictures to come when it looks nice.

I got a start on rearranging the dining room yesterday morning before being laid low by a mystery illness, which required lots of naps and liquids to resolve. :p

Today I'm going to try again. I need to finish rearranging the dining room and find my rubber mallet so I can disassemble the seed starting station upstairs and bring it downstairs.

I found a useful website yesterday: Weekend Gardener: Horiculture for Busy People.

I mostly used the Growguide. If you put in your last day of frost, first day of frost and the current date, it tells you what veggies to begin indoors, sow outdoors, harden off and transplant.

I am in love.

I'm still loving my new job, all the more so for getting my first check yesterday. Once Sean starts his job on July 9th our money woes are officially over.

Once our savings has been rebuilt from the Menlo years we'll start working on the debt.

And then we'll start working on the house and yard.

Do I miss my free wheeling artist days? A bit. But with my health and our debt, living like that was just too stressful. And once I adjust to 40 hours a week, the art and comics will return.

(Oh, and massive update of the late June garden on flickr.) ;)