Gardening 2023

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Last week for garden tours, 4 to go.  68 people so far but that includes the private tours.  Little over half the people who reserved a spot don't show up.  Might be a problem with registering too far in advance.  Drop off happen further into the tour dates.  I've already got the tours lined up for the fall.  Haven't set the dates yet.  I'm thinking maybe just over a two week period.

Get through this week and I slow way down until September.  I've been going at this now since we started growing in February.  Ready for a break.

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This is working out well.  Beka is going to take the lead on the trainee renovation project.  I'll still be involved but she'll be doing the teaching and I'll be pushing the organization.  I hope they pick the moon garden.  I like moths.

We have a name for the project:  From the Ground Up  They will be doing all kinds of stuff including learning how to map out a garden, how to select plants and install them.  They will also be learning how to be a garden lead and keep a garden log.  Works well for me.  My beds get renovated and I have people prepared to become leads over gardens.  I'm also training Beka, it's a secret, to take over for me as the overall lead of the gardens.  She knows more than I do, more talented and could take us to the next level.  Draw backs:  She's pretty young.  This job doesn't pay and it takes a lot of time.  She has her whole life ahead of her.  I've put the bug in several key people's ear about getting the botanical gardens involved on the property and we are university connected.  One of those could develop into a career path for her.  I'll see what I can get to cross her path and what takes.

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First time I found a tick crawling on me at the gardens.  Probably shouldn't have mentioned that during the tour.     With one tour left to go we're sitting at 99 people.

Marsha came today and we even went out to lunch afterwards.  She's in the third week after chemo.  She gets another round Monday.  She's a country girl, you can take them down but you can't take them out.  Tough woman.  My other friend, the kid, has to stop chemo as it's causing liver damage.

Really liking these sleeves.  Comfortable enough I forget I have them on.  I'd say they are neutral, not hot, not cold on my arms.

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Told ya that girl is good.  Beka found a cluster of dead honey bees on the parking lot.  Somebody probably used a pesticide but the beehives are not to far from that location.  We're going to send the dead bodies to the university to see if they can figure out what happen.  Only she would notice dead bees on the parking lot.

Maureen came into the meeting tonight and said she found dead bees on her flowers.  She's wondering if it has anything to do with the poor air quality we've been having.  It just so happen we had a professor there tonight from another university talking about bees.  She took one of the dead bees and will look at it in her lab tomorrow.

Cool lecture tonight on how bees choose flowers.  They are really a complicated little creature.  They don't see the color red.  They see ultraviolet light.  Prefer bright blues and purples but will chose a bright color, especially yellow, over a muted blue or purple.  They can taste with their atena, mouths and feet.

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Visited a lavender farm today except it was more of a tourist place.  Pick your own lavender for an expensive price.  Place was really cute hence the cost of lavender.  Hot, long line to get lunch, lots of people and strong lavender smells.  Same people I've been spending the last 4 years with, talking the same shit we've been talking about.  My heart says, head west girl.  It's cool and quiet in the Rockies.  Yeah but you've got to cross Kansas. 

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Papa Smurf, Marsha's husband Bob, showed up today with his chainsaw.     I've had my eye on our wood pile area for sometime and today was the day.  Oh yeah, it went down and almost bye bye.  There's only so much I can put in the dumpster at one time.  I have a couple more wheelbarrows to go but they are already cut up and in a pile.  Gave fair warning, I'm not living with that mess much longer.  Apparently several other people were of the same mind set, pitched in and it took no time at all.  Not sure what Kevin is going to say.  It was his responsibility.  Whatever he says, my response is the tool shed is next on my list.    We only kept about 7 boards out of what would be a full dumpster of wood.  Kim and I think a like when it comes to cleaning up, it's out of here.

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Massive storm coming down from the northwest.  Looked like it was going to pound Illinois and I would just get clipped.  But down it's shifting back to the east.  That's never good when it passes us by and turns around to come back at us.

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Went up to the garden to see if I could get the rest of the wood in the dumpster.  The renters yesterday put 2 large pallets across the top of the dumpster!

That large storm evaporated before it got here.  Not even a drop.  Chicago and Indiana got the brunt of it.  We're in the 90's and I'm in the house.

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Right at your door Kevin.     I cleaned up the area outside the tool shed today.  Mostly left everything where it normally is.  We don't need 30 weed buckets.  Stacked part of them out of the way and established a new spot for the remainers so they don't have to be nested.  They are a bitch to get apart when you stack them together.  If the hose isn't out in the gardens by now, it's extra.  Only need so many of those.  Threw a few kinked up ones out.  Already had the poles, stakes and rebar separated and organized from last year.

Kevin did say last year that he wasn't very organized when we talk about doing this together.  I've seen men totally lose their shit when somebody has messed with their tools.  Then again, he might have gotten over that with all the volunteers moving shit around in the tool shed.  He does try.  He has everything labeled but nobody reads signs any more.  Too many of them.  And actually, I'm the one bothered by the lack of organization in there.  Kevin just ignores it.   

Gave Beka free rein over the design for the chocolate box garden. Her brain went right to work on it.  So far 3 people have signed up for the From the Ground Up Project.  Most of the new people work so I don't expected them to see the sign up until tonight.

I think our president is freaking over the budget.  We're going to host the state convention in '26 and we have to start saving up for that.  He was giving me shit over $500, wanted it back if I didn't spend it on what I originally said.  Sorry, you have no authority to say that.  What we say the funds are for at the start of the year isn't where it always went by the end of the year.  The leads team decides where the priorities are in the garden, not the executive committee.  And after I offered to assume the cost of something membership committee was going to have to ask for funds for.  Don't really care, take it.  The gardens never spend their full budget.  Volunteer labor and things don't always get done.

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That didn't take all that long.  Got the worst side of the shed and most stuff off the floor, back on the shelves.  All those lose nuts and bolts, screws, shit like that I just dumped into two buckets.  Work on that later, like after I die.  Texted Kevin pictures.  He was happy at first but then said something about seeing how he felt about it Wednesday.     There's still time for him to grab it back out of the dumpster.

I found his little work space and put everything of his right back there.  Somewhere in a big mess people put the stuff they use the most or don't want to lose.  It keeps narrowing in on them but there's a stash.  Kevin's is the top shelf, left corner, hidden behind the lost and found bucket.  Has his little mixing tools, little speciality tools and his orange duct tape.  Did not find his marker though.

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So Marsha called concerned about the hand tools I kicked out of the shed.  Ones we never use are in a box outside of the shed with a note either carry them back in if you think we need them or they are leaving.  No I kept those.  Put out those little side scissors people use to trim their grass with and some aluminum claw things.  Tools that people don't use have a way of making it to our tool shed.  The Garden Weasel, the most useless tool ever.  And how many of the same tool do we need.  Only shovels and rakes get to make a presence.  There's tools in there I have no idea what they do.

The Patio Baby eggplant confuses me on when to harvest it.  They only get 2 to 3 inches long.  Harvest when a nice purple, the skin bounces back when squeezed but it's firm.  Maybe the skin caved in a little but that's firm.     You have to look real close.

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I'm safe from vampires.  Brought home all the softneck garlic to cure.  Takes about 6 weeks.  They are spread out all over my growing room.

Got everybody and we hauled all the metal we didn't want out for the scrap guy.  Said he'd come get it today for free.  Nobody is really impressed with my clean up job.  It's more of an okay thing.

John, Extension Counsel, came out.  He wants to know more about putting all our watering on a separate meter so we don't have to pay the sewer part of the bill which is more than the cost of water.  Would cut their bill in half.  Also heard we needed to replace the zero turn.  No we don't.  Don't know how that rumor got started.  They are working on next year's budget.  He had no idea we had two wood piles.    Counsel has no idea what we do out there.

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This is the stone path Marsha's group is working on.  It's back in the Fruit Arboretum.   Ar bore tum is you're trying to spell it.    Doesn't fit on any of my spreadsheet either.  Even she aberrates it Arbor.

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The dumpster was empty and I wanted to finish up the wood.  So done.

The old place where we got our leaf mulch says we can keep getting it there.  They weren't happy with the parks for not making an appointment so apparently told them a lie and turned them away.  Probably more to that but the parks can work it out with them.

I'm done with major outdoor garden projects until the fall.  Just need to water for the next two months.  I'll be working the trainee project and the fall tours, all indoor!

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Damn it.  Storms reaked havoc all over St Louis and not even a drop of rain at my house.  The garden got a brief downpour.  We have more rain coming but it's evaporating before it can get to me.

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Got it last night at 4:45 according to the neighbor.  I only noticed because the electric tried to come back on a few times.  Plenty of tree damage in the neighborhood.  My front tree dropped a branch and there's a bigger one stuck in the tree.  I might be able to pull it out if I get a ladder.  It's not a very good climbing tree.  I've been up there a couple of times.  The branch through is caught in the outer branches, can't get out there.  Back trees are fine.  They are probably over 100 years old and pretty strong.  The front tree is only about 30 years.  It was pretty small when I moved in.  It frequently drops branches.  The gardens are fine.  Don't think they got the wind I did.  More storms this afternoon.  We need the rain.

Okay, not doing that.  The only way I can get to it involves me standing on the ladder directly underneath it and pulling it down on me.  The end of it is campfire size log.  It will fall out of there eventually.  Hopefully not when I'm mowing under it.   

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We've had waves of rain storms passing through.  Do a little tree damage, knock out the electric and rain too fast to get soaked in.  We got a flash flood watch at the gardens yesterday.  Now that would be good.  We'd get a nice soaking.    But with several days of that everything is good and wet.  The shade cloth over the greenhouse needs reset.  One side is completely covered and the other completely exposed.  Should be half and half.  We'll take care of that Wednesday.

I did talk to the Master Naturalist about their door placement on their greenhouses.  Turns out Amy did bring it up at their meeting.  In their reconstruction of their second greenhouse, they have the doors opening to the side of the first greenhouse.  Wanted wind protection except the distance between the two is barely a yard.  Not going to be functional.  And I did ask why they were putting native plants that have to experience cold in basically a cold frame.  They aren't going to bring them in until January.  That's good but maybe March 1st is better in my mind.  Work is going pretty slow over there.  He says none of his group wants to work with Tom.  Yeah Tom is the one causing all the shit between the two groups.  One person isn't going to ruin this for all of this.  If they don't have that done by November, I'm bringing my group over to help.  Not taking over, just setting you back on your feet and pushing you to the starting line.

Emailed Marsha to tell her about the conversation.  This is her chemo week.  Haven't heard back from her.  That was her last chemo until surgery later in July.

Home today working my own yard.  Didn't get enough wind to blow that branch out of the tree.  There's one branch kind of holding it up there.  Bet if I cut that the weight would cause it to fall out.  Once again can't do that without it hitting me.  A grappling hook and I could pull it out but I don't think I could work one of those without seriously hurting myself.  I throw like a girl.     All the Hosta are in bloom.  Purple flowers on spikes.  Planted the Swamp Milkweed seedlings in pots on the patio.  Since they are natives, they need their roots to go deep.  I'm going to have to dig one big hole to get them in the ground.  You plant milkweed for the monarchs.  These are slated for the drain basin.  Planted in two big groups.  I need plant groupings to attract the monarch.  A single plant doesn't help them.

Rather liking these wind spinners, wish they were bigger.  The wind chime isn't sitting in the right spot.  Have to find it a new home so I can hear it and it lights up.  Suppose to look like this at night:

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Shit, they put a white light bulb in it.  Doesn't look like the sun or fire.  Maybe I can paint it orange.

Brian can't stand that branch in the tree.     Asked if he could try to get it down tomorrow.  Have at it.

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Brian got the branch down.  My brush pile has doubled.  He says that rubbling around noise I heard in my brush pile the other night is probably the armadillo he caught on camera in his backyard.     We're not use to them here.  They have been making their way here since climate change.  I think they are a little creepy.

Joey should be coming over tomorrow for the parade.  I think I need my canopy raised again.  I can almost jump up and grab some of the ones hanging down and I have some branches touching the house.  That's how the mice got in here the last time!  Looked at those chainsaws on a pole but I think I'm too short and my canopy is too high to feel safe using one of those.  You aren't supposed to use a ladder with those.  Joey just straps in and moves around in the canopy like a monkey.

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I'm cutting out of the GNR concert tomorrow for class:  The Nature of Things: Botany, Ecology, and Medieval Art, learn how artists of the Middle Ages drew inspiration from trees and other plants, capitalizing on their distinct properties to create extraordinary sculptures, cloth, and books.