CHUCK IN A BOX

Well for the second time this summer, we’ve tried to kill off everything beside the sidewalk and grow something.  The damn grass just keeps creeping into whatever you put there….sneaky grass!  The first time after it was killed, tilled, and prepped I planted 96 salvia plants – which I’ve learned might have done okay if I hadn’t gotten so impatient and decided ‘These things aren’t doing anything and they look like crap.  KILL ‘EM KEITH, JUST KILL ‘EM ALL!’  *insert maniacal laughter here* 

So, he kills everything – salvia, the bits of grass that had AGAIN began to creep into the flowers, and quite possibly any other living thing that happened to be in the general vicinity of the spray.  A couple of weeks go by to make sure that everything is ‘good and DEAD’ (did I mention how much I HATE that grass!) and we even put in some – not super attractive albeit functional edging to …. you guessed it…. stop the grass.  I also decided to empty the composter and till that in with the cultivator to try to enrich the soil a bit – I’m sure that can’t hurt can it?

Cut to this past weekend  which is very hot and humid … come on! It IS Virginia after all (remember we’re slightly South o’ hell) so I have to pick this particular weekend to finally put something in.  I decide to try my luck at Knockout roses again – the first few I tried didn’t do so hot so we’ll see.  Maybe this go around they’ll do better.  They were quite nice I think, I ended up at Homo Depot (yes, I meant to do that)  and left with 6 of them.  I was a bit worried six wouldn’t be enough but, by the time I spaced them out…it looked okay.

A few more photos for posterity sake -

Almost ruined this little guys hard work.

So I have this new routine, after I get home from work, I change out of my ‘work drag’, grab the camera and do a walkabout in the yard.  From what I understand that is something I may have inherited from my mother’s side of the family.  I’ve been trying really hard to get some close-ups of the honey bees, butterflys, bumble bees, and such in the butterfly bush.  I’ve gotten some not-so-bad ones actually.  Today walking to the back patio, thru the boxwoods, I almost walked right into this little guy’s web.  Glad I didn’t I H-A-T-E walking in/thru spider webs…..icky!

Olivia keeps trying to eat these!

Butterfly on the Butterfly Bush!