High Altitude Gardening: May 2015

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Flowers for Your Hair

I returned from my travels in the nick of time!

In time to fall in love, once again, with my most beloved spring flowering shrub. That being the Flowering Almond.

Flowering Almonds are hard to find but worth the effort. In early spring their branches are laden with pretty, pale-pink double blooms. (Zones 4-8.)

Plant a row of these and you'll get to meet every little girl in the neighborhood. They'll sneak into your yard, steal the flowers and weave wreaths to wear in their hair. I know because I used to do that. And, so did all my elementary school gal pals.

Those gorgeous pink blooms are irresistible. I was simply hanging out at the rental property photographing them, when the tenants came out to see what I was doing.

They hadn't even noticed them. Which is a crying shame.

Gardeners are in tune with the simple beauty that surrounds them, but that's not how it is for most people. We can get so wrapped up in our own little problems, we barely notice what's happening in the world around us.

And, then the very next thing they asked was if they could cut some for a vase!! I should have evicted them on the spot. Instead, I gave them a long, tiresome, threatening, educational seminar on why nobody ~ but me ~ gets to trim that hedge. :)

* Prunus glandulosa 'Rosea Plena' - Zone 4-8, hardy flowering shrub, prefers well-drained soil.
After a gorgeous spring show, the bushes leaf out, creating a nice privacy hedge for small yards.

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Monday, May 25, 2015

Aching Back

Yeah, yeah... I know. Blowing the seeds from a dead Dandelion is big fun. But, you could you please blow them in the opposite direction of my beloved garden? :D

Raking, hoeing, weeding, mowing...

Schlepping hundreds of pounds of compost and mulch...

Digging halfway to China to find the roots of a stubborn dandelion...

Whoever thinks gardening is 'easy labor' hasn't toiled in my yard.

According to the calorie count website, this hard day's work burned off:

3 Big Macs
6 Snicker bars
OR! 10 glasses of wine. (Now you're talkin'... :-)

I live across the road from a wild meadow. So, there is absolutely no possibility to rid my garden of the Dandelion plague.

However! I have found that vinegar works better, safer, cheaper than chemicals. And, they fear to tread where I've done a fine job of amending the soil. So, baby your flowers and at the same time, you'll be babying the Dandelions. To death. :-)

* Dandelions spread 2 ways - airborne seeds and deep roots. Yup, they're perennials, so if you really want to be rid of them, dig up the entire root. And, they bloom twice a year - in spring and autumn - just to keep you on your toes.

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