Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Sisyphean Struggle

Spring weeds and not using weed killer is killing me. I should have put down my mulch before the season was over last year....but did I? No. I did put in the dry creek bed through the garden, so I wasn't sitting on my laurels all winter. 

This was the garden last May -


It was full and lush, visited by many pollinators. I resisted cutting back spent foliage over the winter as the stems and seed heads are beneficial to birds and insects for food and habitat.

Here is was blooming in June last year- 

I was very happy with how the garden filled out, looking forward to this year's growth. We visited our each of our grandchildren since we have been vaccinated. With one visit in mid-March and the other in early April I tried to attack the winter weeds in between trips. Ha! 
You can see in the photo below an abundance of winter Poa anna winter grass- all going to seed. I really thought I had knocked it back a good bit before we left for our second trip. Between the bird bath and the Magnolia you can see light green seed heads. 



For the last few days I have been pulling weeds. In the center of this garden are seedlings of last years blooms, none of which I want to disturb. Yikes.  In the photos below you see a sea of weeds. The first photo I marked the edge of the garden. Boy do I need to get busy. Seems like each night the weeds grow by leaps and bounds, my Sisyphean struggle, starting over again each day. 


In the middle of this mess is a tiny Oakleaf hydrangea, Little Honey. Hydrangea quercifolia 'Little Honey'


My success yesterday was that I finished getting all the weeds (well mostly, am sure some will reappear this morning) out of the center of the garden where most of the blooming plants are. I had gone to a plant sale on Saturday and had some Salvia x superba 'Merleau', Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus Superior' and two different varieties of Asclepias tuberosa, the standard and 'Hello Yellow' to plant. I did have two Asclepias tuberosa in the garden but they have disappeared, late in emerging?


You can't see a small fence around this center area, it was put up to keep the dog from walking through the herbaceous plants and hopefully keep the rabbits out. The bamboo stakes in the photo above are marking some Amaryllis bulbs outside the fenced area. I stepped on them one time too many, so they needed to be marked. 
Today's job? I think this area-


Oh, did I mention that the place I get the pine straw to mulch my garden doesn't have any? Crossing my fingers for it to be in by the end of the week. My resolution is to keep a good thick bed of pine straw to retard germination of the weeds for next winter. Wish me luck!

p.s.- tick bite yesterday, yay.

©Copyright 2021 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

10 comments:

  1. Oh dear, sorry about the tick bite. You've been so busy, and it shows. Weeding can be so time-consuming and frustrating, but your results are impressive.

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    1. Thanks Beth, tick bites are standard fare for working in the garden in South Carolina. Weeding is ongoing, but the mulch will help a good bit.

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  2. I'm right there with you, pulling mostly creeping charlie and running buttercup. Plus volunteer seedlings of my own beloved asters and goldenrods. Sorry about the tick, damn them.

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    1. Jason, we sure have lots of volunteer weeds and wildflowers, it is the annual winter grass that makes me frustrated.

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  3. I'm sure you felt satisfaction after your days work save for the tick. I experienced my first tick a couple of weeks ago. It was really tiny and somehow my attention was drawn to it and as I put my hand to it it fell off. So glad it wasn't in the bed. Now I have a chigger bite and plenty of weeds too.

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    1. Jenny, it was very satisfying- ticks are just too common here. Those itty bitty ticks are the worst, glad it hadn't latched on yet. We also have chiggers which make me itch for days and days just thinking about them!

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  4. Woodsorrel is my problem weed here. And annual ryegrass and nimblewill in the beds, too. Your work looks worth it - your beds look great after the cleansing.
    -Ray

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    1. Hi Ray, there are always so many weeds- each season has its stars.

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