The starting point: a flowerbed overgrown with weeds. The potted crotons that were in this space passed away from lack of water. Two of them were revived, one's passing was permanent. (That's another post.) Meanwhile, mom brought these verigated (something or another) that would be easier to take care of. I actually wanted to round out the flower bed but we ended up with enough to do just to freshen the existing area. The elephant ears were easy to uproot but there were strong, deep roots from baby oak sprouts and an entire network of roots from a huge oak tree removed just after I bought the house 14 years ago.
Everywhere we dug or raked there were roots, some as large as one inch in diameter. I borrowed a serrated knife from the kitchen and sawed some of the roots out of the ground. The larger roots were a problem when we dug the holes for the plants. These roots are definitely responsible for my cracked driveway and sidewalk and possibly even my leaky bathtub.
Mom, the gardener in this operation, knew that the mulch in the bed contained valuable nutrients and should be left as layer underneath the fresh cypress mulch. I knew enough to make sure that the new plants were far enough from the house to be out from under the roof overhang and in reach of the benefit of rain water.
The finished product was tiring but rewarding.
Note to self: replace dingy shutters
Next outdoor project: find something that fits in that tiny space between sidewal and house. OR, jackhammer sidewalk, replace with stepping stones and .....oh, I better lay down until this idea goes away!
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