Monday, Labor Day of course, I spent about 2 hours on the slope in my backyard finishing the left top of my slope so that it matches the right side that I completed on June 23rd. Again, too bad it was on a project that doesn’t look like much. I dug up and moved a large Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica) which is not a bamboo at all but a shrub. I moved it about 3 feet to the left as the landscapers didn’t have it in the right spot to match the other side of my yard. Then I planted a new Sourwood or Sorrel Tree (Oxydendrum arboreum) so that it matches the location of a shrub I have on the right top slope. I then put down landscape cloth across the left third of the top of my slope and beauty barked the area. The new bush is happy and the area is looking good. This project used up 5 bags of beauty bark and 1 bag of planting compost the moving of which, when added to the two large holes I had to pick ax into the ground left me rather exhausted. I toped things off with 3 slices of pizza and a coke while admiring the view from my patio.
The next big project will be dividing and relocating perennials. I won’t start this until the plants start to go dormant, probably in October. In the meanwhile, I’ll probably start planning the planting bed on the slope and perhaps pick axing some new holes for the relocations. The Lake Wilderness Arboretum is having its fall sale on September 13th and I’m hoping to pick up some trees at 50% off. Yes, that will mean digging/axing even more holes.
