TB Failure

I’m afraid I’ve failed to follow through with my weekend plans. Terese Bugnet still sits in her stairway obstructing position. I was stymied by frozen earth. I managed to remove some of the rose’s suckers (and potted them up as insurance), but the closer I got to the deck, the more like Ben and Jerry’s fresh from the freezer the dirt became.

So, I took a break, hoping the earth would thaw, and did a number of other garden tasks. I finished pruning the roses. I removed all of the babies from the potager (leaving behind neat, eggcrate-like holes in the earth) and worked in 100 lbs of compost and manure. I direct sowed cleome, sweet alyssum, and foxglove. I bailed out the leaf-choked pond and filled it with fresh water. I filled the hanging baskets with Johnny jump-ups. After a few hours of garden house-keeping, I returned to Terese, but my shovel was still only as effective as a plastic spoon.

So, I took a tour of the yard, looking for emerging plants. I found that the tulips are indeed emerging (including the beautifully spotted foliage of this tulip). I photographed the breathtakingly lovely dodecatheon rosettes (pictured right) pushing through the leaf litter in the shade bed. I discovered that a few of the crocus along the front walk have begun to bloom. (Has anyone else noticed that the yellow crocus bloom first?)

I returned to the rose. I chipped away at the softening dirt, but, encountering more permafrost, I finally gave up. I always feel bad about leaving a project half finished. It weighs on my mind, and, this early in the season, my neighbors also have to endure the view of work in progress. However, I still accomplished a great deal for a Sunday, and returned inside with an overpowering urge for ice cream.

Spring Season Switcheroo

As I mentioned in November, I’ve spent the winter acting my butt off. I’m currently in rehearsals for my last show of the season (Vanities with Wyoming Players) and itching to GET DIRTY! I think that will happen this weekend. I plan on starting off the gardening season with the Herculean task of moving a very large and well-established rosebush.

I’ve raved about my Terese Bugnet’s vigor and scent, but I have become terminally annoyed with the annual intrusion of prickly canes into the stairs leading from the deck to the yard. I’ve tried pruning, cautiously the first year and recklessly the second, but I cannot escape the fact that the rose is simply planted too close to the deck and stairs. Luckily a prime space has opened up just a few feet away…

The deck was built in an odd shape to accommodate a red maple (visible in the left side of this photo). The tree must have been much loved by a prior homeowner. Sadly it succumbed to cicadas and Tim chopped it down for me last Fall (2005). I stuck a potted saucer magnolia in the dirt for the winter, but plan on permanently moving the rose here. The magnolia will be planted where the rose presently is. (Switcheroo!)

Advantages:
1. The rose will get more room, sunlight, and air movement.
2. The stairs will be passable during the summer!
3. The roses will scent the dining area. (We put our little outdoor table in the cut-off corner of the deck.)
4. The magnolia, once it grows up, will shade the deck. Right now, after the sun clears the house, the deck is blasted with light and heat from late morning to early afternoon.

Disadvantages:
1. I’ll be moving a very large and prickly bush.
2. The rose may die.
3. I will get very muddy.

I really don’t mind getting dirty and the rose is not rare (i.e. it’s replaceable), so I’m going to give it a go this weekend. Despite the certainty that I will be cursing and bleeding, I’m looking forward to it!