Black gold aka organic compost with bio-char
I called the compost company on Wednesday morning to see when they thought they’d have the compost. This time last year, they were underwater from flooding. But this year they are dry, have compost made, and are delivering already. They asked when I wanted some and said that day was an option. I hadn’t planned to get some so soon, but thought it might be wise to do so.
I’d also thought 4 yards was what we’d brought in last year with the pickup. I can’t drive the pickup with the plow on and my helper was busy with the carpenter on Friday. So I’d have to have it delivered. Minimum delivery is 4 yards. It turns out what we got was around 3 yards, maybe, last year. I wasn’t sure I’d use 4 yards this year, but they said if I kept it covered, I could store it.
So a truck with 4 yards of compost arrive about 9:30AM and the driver dumped 3 yards up by the barn and 1 yard in the driveway. I’ll have to get someone who can drive the tractor to move it up from the barn as I need it.
Wednesday morning was cloudy, cold, and raw. It was supposed to warm up, then rain towards evening. So when my intern got here, we inventoried the seeds. I planned to go plant and seed shopping with a friend on Thursday and needed to know what I already had.
New East: l-r, top: species spiderwort, crocus, bleeding heart, Jacob’s ladder
l-r, bottom: astilbe, wood hyacinths, lungwort
Big garden – lungwort before transplant
After lunch we went out to finish transplanting the plants from the Big garden into the New East garden. We moved plants first, starting with the lungwort. Last time I looked at it, there had been no flowers. But half the plant had pink flowers on Wednesday.
New East, l-r, top: bleeding heart, Jacob’s ladder, columbine
l-r, bottom: 2 lungworts, sedum
New East, con’t, l-r, top: Jacob’s ladder, columbine, lovage
l-r, bottom: lungwort, sedum
Then we moved the lovage, veronica, sedum, and my Sylvia violet. We still had an hour left, so we started on the bulbs in Bulb Area #1. I wanted to get bulbs that would be spread through the body of the bed first.
New East, con’t, l-r, top: columbine, lovage, veronica
bottom: sedum
These photos don’t look like much. At best, there are a few tiny green leaves. But they serve as a sort of “before” picture.
New East: Sylvia violet (I hope)
Jumbo purple crocus with white tips gone by, striped crocus flowering
We did the crocus and the wood hyacinth first (up 6 photos above) and it was sprinkling on us as we worked.
Big garden – Chiondoxa lucilliae ‘Violet Beauty’
I had hoped to get these chiondoxas in and a pot with a few grape hyacinths.
But the rain started in earnest around 2:30 so we quit.
Here’s photos of the Big garden with all the holes in it:
From bottom up: soapwort, lambs ear, creeping veronica, lambs ear, tulips
Same photo, but showing the garlic up in back and the little quince on left
That’s white iris top right
Lamium (2 types) left, and Bulb Area #1 center
When I was putting away the equipment, I noticed the hellebore had finally flowered. I think this is the latest it’s ever been, to start flowering.
Thursday is the shopping trip and I hope to make a double batch of French toast for the freezer.