There were new blooms to visually consume this weekend and that was cool:
And more to come in the immediate future:
But this weekend was all about getting shit done ... in the dirt ... with tools ... and the bare hands.
Here is a running list of what failed to survive the winter and was subsequently removed:
6 Emerald Green Arborvitae
1 Arborvitae (forgot the cultivar, had white tipped foliage, oh who cares, she is cooked)
1 Variegated Boxwood
1 Green Velvet Boxwood
1 Ilex glabra (Holly) 'Shamrock' (with one to go as seen in my foundation planting below):
The cupboard is bare with lots of work to do. Annoying, frustrating and exciting all at the same time.
Oh, there are three more Arborvitae that need to go (for those keeping score at home, we are down ten arborvitae in total):
A lot of death to handle but in my world of crappy conditions you quickly grieve and move on. Truthfully, good riddance to all of the Arborvitaes. I won't make that same mistake again.
On a more uplifting note, I planted 5 bare root trees that were given away at my local park as a means of tree restoration after Hurricane Sandy. Two Red Oaks, a Pin Oak, A Bald Cypress and a Sweetgum were all added and it will take some nursing to keep them going but I am up for the challenge:
Most of my winter online plant orders are in and after a day or two of them breathing outside of their boxes, they all went in the ground. Most of them replacing their aforementioned fallen brethren.
A Viburnum 'Brandywine':
Two Pennisetum 'Desert Plains':
An Ilex 'Berry Poppins':
Additional plantings included: 3 Andropogon 'Red October', 1 Schizachyrium 'Blue Heaven', 1 Ilex 'Mr. Poppins', 2 Viburnum 'All That Glitters' and 'All That Grows' and 1 Rhamnus 'Fine Line'. Good times.
There was additional dead foliage clearing to allow the new growth to come in:
Exciting times to see the deciduous shrubs starting to really leaf out:
Even had some critters to chase around:
We were all happy to be outside again:
