Today in the garden, the weather is lovely, not to hot, not too cold. I am tidying up some of the more boring area of my yard. Last year when we moved here in June, we replaced the 8′ tall wooden fence with a wrought iron one. It is high enough to keep the dog in, but being on a corner lot, our side and front yard are there for all to see. Our first chore was to replace the lawn. The lawn had been overtaken by goutweed, trumpet vines and virginia creeper.

Now all of these plants can be pretty, but they all can be invasive, and over the years they had taken over the yard. The only thing to do, was to whippersnip, mow, then hand pull. I had read that goutweed would just keep coming back, as it has runners underground, that keep resprouting – and this is true, it does, but we applied topsoil, regularly applied grass seed, fertilized and watered. This has mostly been successful. When goutweed appears, we pull it or more it, and the grass has gradually taken over.

Then we cut out some gardens along the fenceline at the side of the house to keep from having to whippersnip the grass below the fence, and to create a little bit of curve along the fence . As the garden matures, we will try to improve the curve. In some gaps, I have planted Rudbeckia and Rose of Sharon seedlings from elsewhere in the garden. I think that if something is successful in my garden, I should go with it and repeat the planting.

So today, I am pulling up weeds and stray grass. The little hostas that I divided and planted in the spring will appreciate being given their space.

They will also appreciate a fresh layer of fine mulch/soil from my local landfill, which will help their roots to hold over the winter. I find that the winter’s snow and salt from the sidewalk above, causes some erosion in this narrow strip causing young plants to “uproot” so to speak. The extra mulch should help the plants to hold.

I am also reducing the plantings of this nutgrass that came with the house. It’s nice to have a change of texture, but it looks a bit messy when appearing here and there.

A few of my neighbours have commented about these two plants, that I have everywhere in the shade. The fat leafed one appears to be a wild violet. I had preserved it everywhere at first, but I don’t need to feel guilty tearing it up where it doesn’t need my help. It reappears anywhere that it wants where there is shade, when it wants.

The plant in the upper left, seeds freely throughout my garden. I thought it was pretty with interesting oak leaf like foliage and a yellow flower. I left it growing with the violets wherever I had a blank space. The neighbours tell me it’s a weed, and so I’m pulling it – leaving my hands stained with a yellow hue. The weed is Greater Celandine, and I may still leave some here and there next year, but less is best in this case, as it reseeds at will.

It’s time for a rest. Enjoy the day.