Glorious Long Weekend

Three whole days with nothing scheduled is a rarity in my world. While I didn’t officially work, I did write columns and work on the 2013 MG Conference program, but that did not take up much time. I also cleaned the house, did laundry, went to the grocery store, cooked, and yes, gardened. I fertilized all the winter annuals and the hellebores, which are absolutely stunning now. Joseph Lemper has been in bloom for over a month. The pure white flowers turn green when they are fertilized, and you can see the center seed pods at work. There are still plenty more blooms coming on. Cleaning up some of the old foliage can freshen them up a bit. The Cinnamon Snow is blooming great now and the Pink Frost is absolutely loaded with buds. If you don’t have hellebores in your shade garden you are missing out.

Surprisingly the mahonias are blooming already and so is the dreadful Vinca major. It doesn’t seem to have slowed down at all, but it does look pretty in my vase.

I also pruned out more of the broken branches, and found even more as I walked the whole yard. My tulip magnolia had a big split, and of course the hollies and loropetalums, but also a big branch in a cleyera had to be sawed out. Using a pruning saw is great exercise.

We also took time to go see a movie-The Hobbit. The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings was my generations Harry Potter. We all read the books, so it was a walk down memory lane seeing the movie. It was well done, but a bit long for me. And this is just part one! Clay didn’t know it was in three parts. 2/3 of the way through the movie he leaned over and said they better speed this thing up, or they aren’t going to get it done! If you liked the book, you will like the movie.

Today Katie and I also went down to Two Rivers Bridge and took a walk on the trail. It was crisp but absolutely beautiful. I hate to admit that was our first trip there. The bridge is so easy to walk–hardly any incline at all. It was delightful and there were lots of folks out biking and walking. We took Skooter and he still isn’t quite sure what a leash is for. The road leading closest to the bridge has washed out or collapsed, so it is temporarily blocked and you have to park in the adjacent lot and walk in. The landscaping around the park is quite nice, and we saw little damage until we walked into the park on the other side. There are a lot of downed pine trees and debris, but they have cleaned up the trail quite well. If you are like me and haven’t been, make plans to go. It is an easy walk.

There is still a whole afternoon free, I may just read a book!