It was the Last Haul to the Ravine - until Fall

What a productive day. I raked and (literally) spun my New Balance walkers as I dragged the final three (wet, heavy) tarps of leaves to the ravine. But it looks So much neater now that it's done.

Then I did some more planting in one of the raised beds. I've wanted a jackmanii for a long time. There was one here when we moved in, but it was disturbed and died when we had the front porch rebuilt. So... here we are! It will grow.



Out in the Shady Gardener's sunny spot: You'll spot a few renegade irises. Actually, this bed was completely full of irises 4 1/2 years ago. They had gotten so crowded that there were few blossoms during our first Spring here. So, I took nearly the rest of the summer and dug, and dug, and set 3 big boxes out by the road labeled "FREE." They disappeared! However, after all that digging, the bed was still 3/4 full of iris tubers. ( I did leave one little area of irises... they're not Terrible, you know.)

The next step (almost every other plant succumbs with this technique - even grass and weeds!) was to cover the entire bed with 3 inches of wonderful composted dirt. I planted a few flowers and covered the whole bed with a 2 - 3 inches of cypress mulch.

I figured I had it licked. But I didn't know Irises. By that fall there were many, many wimpy little plants growing everywhere. I couldn't believe it. So, I dug some more. The next Spring, many more struggling irises made their appearance. I have let a few more grow. There are still many more I'll be removing yet this summer. Amazing.

I'm wondering who has more tenacity. The irises... or your Shady Gardener!