Garden Update

To really fully appreciate this you have to know that when I bought my home back in 1994 the backyard was a barren wasteland.  Grass would barely even grow!  The soil was a rock infested clay nightmare.  At one point the previous owners had kenned a dog in the lower north end of the yard and that was the only place where the soil was not compacted and without loam.  (I owe that to a couple of seasons of wood chips and a lot of dog shit and piss.)

So to look at where I am today, I have a very profound sense of accomplishment.  Plants thrive and seasons fill with a natural succession of native plants that bloom and transform the spaces from season to season with tons of interest and beauty.

Today, I took charge of a small patch near my sunroom and planted three buckets of hardy looking monarda (Bee Balm) in the space.  I have tried to establish a colony of bee balm twice in the past.  In the past it has succumbed to mold and dies out.  I have neighbors with very successful patches of this plant, so I know it is possible.  Perhaps the third time will be the charm.  I am trying this in a new location.

Looks almost heart-shaped.

While doing this I was strafed by a wren and thought, 'What the hell?'  It was very deliberate, and wrens have always gotten along with me.  Then I noticed that they had taken up residence in one of my bird houses suspended from the arbor entrance.  I love wrens.  They are such tenacious little architects of nest building.  Another score in my quest to establish a sanctuary.