I enjoyed a nice, quiet morning today, here in SW Ohio -- sitting in the
living room, watching Sesame Street with the munchkin curled up next to me,
and sniffing the subtle mix of lilac and honeysuckle shrubs.

Well, it got REAL dark REAL fast this afternoon, so I snuck outside to knock
out some quick yard work before the blower hit. Just a quickie -- about
15 - 30 minutes long, little thunder, lots of rain, just what we needed.

I was able to do another quick seeding on the lawn -- it's doing fairly
well, looks like last year's lime treatment did the trick in adjusting the
pH just enough to help the grass out. Dug a hole for a lilac I've had in a
pot for 2 seasons now (got it late two seasons ago and wasn't up to much
gardening last year) -- found a bunch of really thick roots I couldn't get
through, so I filled that one back in and dug another a couple of feet off
to the side. Plopped 'im in the ground and backfilled then covered with
mulch. Found another, smaller one that was in sad shape when I got it has
survived so I'll find him a place soon as well.

We had several bags of mulch left over from last year and although the
plastic is falling apart on them now the mulch is still good for spreading.
Hit both the lilacs with a generous helping and moved some other junk around
(bags and such -- gotta clean the front yard up).

All the blooms are gone from the trees now, the maples are dropping a
billion windmills which are sure to turn up quite a few volunteers as usual.
The redbud is leafing out quite nicely and the azaleas I have potted beneath
it are still blooming nicely. The lilac blooms are starting to brown but
the honeysuckle shrubs are just starting to bloom. The peonies have a
number of buds this year and most of my surviving roses are making a
comeback as well (I hired a lawn and landscaping service last year -- boy
was THAT a mistake -- they collared and chopped most of my roses). Looks
like a pair of climbers, the Touch of Class, and maybe a Sexy Rexy will make
an appearance -- far cry from the14 or so varieties I had before the
butchers hit them. Sigh

I've been hearing that a number of bamboos are in flower of late and that
seeds are becoming more and more plentiful. A little research found that a
particularly large and hardy clumper called bambusa arundinacea has seeded
rather heartily -- I'm thinking of planting some as a screen in the back,
make a small grove. It's a rather impressive specimen IMHO, and although
our winters get a bit chillier here than it typically likes I have something
of a micro-clime in the back yard that may serve it well. Now if only I
could find some gigantea arundinaria seeds.

Well, that's about it from here for a bit. Just thought I'd drop a note on
how things are coming along. See ya'll!

James
Zone 6, SW Ohio