A new border and... well meaning intent from a resident.

 I finally got a board for the front of my bed.

So one of the landscape guys (Daniel) found this board for me. Roughly a 2x4x7? You can see it is longer by a good bit than what I needed.. This picture was taken after I scraped a shallow line with the trowel. Luckily the trowel is just the right width for what I needed and the ground is not rock hard. Still a LOT of work.

 

Most of the trench is dug and roughly deeper than what I need but that's okay. This is where I thought I had dug long enough but it was still short by about four inches. No problem, keep on digging, keep on digging.

This is after I've filled the trench with the board in it, lots of gaps underneath but plenty of dirt to fill it in. Not too worried about packing the dirt on the bed side, used my foot and the hoe on the outside and just the hoe on the inside. (I really should invest in a tripod for my camera so I can take some video).

As you can see the soil is still very dark and relatively moist after two days. Plants are not showing any signs of stress at all which is the way it should be.

 

 

 

Now then... the well meaning resident.

This is the little 4x4 bed next to the mint bed across from mine. I didn't think anyone was using it so I pulled up the small mint sprig that was stuck in there and put it in mine, which it didn't survive sadly. That larger plant...that is a sucker from one of the liquidambar trees that the hose was laying on by the sidewalk. Initially I was hoping it was a grape sprig but I looked over at the sidewalk and was dismayed to have my suspicions and plant knowledge validated. Sigh.

How do I put a sign up politely telling them to please do not plant trees in the garden? Should I get some other veggies and put them on the free table on the patio? I am hoping that it doesn't survive being a sucker pulled out of the ground. Maybe I should start a garden advice paper to put on the patio? I have never wished for the death of a plant so whole heartedly than this time. I think I know who it is and am hoping to 'run into' her tomorrow. 

Now what next on the lesson agenda?

I am dealing mostly with full sun planting but let's talk a little about the difference between surviving and thriving.

This is an abandoned bot that holds an aloe plant of some sort. Long since neglected and not in an ideal place. On the right you can see a monstera leaf crashing the photo. The monstera technically should be thriving but due to the proximity of a large tree and other plants it's surviving. The aloe is thriving and surviving it's cramped quarters. That plant is big enough to put in a half barrel and not grow out of any time soon. So this is nature persisting despite the odds.

This is another instance of shade tolerant succulents but in a cramped situation. The best gardeners are not perfectionists. There is still a small crime against botany when you have a situation like this where the plants have way overgrown their container and would grow much better if divided and repotted. Daniel and one of the other guys recently divided and repotted a snake plant after asking me if they were worth saving. I told them get it out of the sun and put it in as much shade as possible. The only containers they had were 5 gallons but at least they've got more room. Sadly they are getting watered by the lawn sprinklers. Sigh.The cyclamen in the background is the one I talked about before, it should do just fine as I am facing roughly north east in this picture it will stay in the shade most of the day.

I am a 'fix it' kind of personality. I've been trained for over twenty years to fix people's plant problems so it's kind of ingrained in me to do things right. I am having to learn though that if it's not mine, don't fix it. I'm not sure if I mentioned before that I realized that if your garden and surroundings are thriving and looking healthy it will improve your mood as well. Sad, neglected plants and gardens makes me tired and a bit sad. It reflects the owners and in the complex I am in, just in a year due to the pandemic we have lost at least four residents to illness of some sort. 

The gardens are being tended to as best the management can do. Just recently they dug out a five foot tall Norfolk Island Pine that again, had been left by someone. This was in a very very bad place, next to an electrical box and sidewalk and under a sycamore tree. It was thriving of course due to getting plenty of water and moderate shade. It HAD to go and frankly I'm not sad about that one. Could only hope someone took it home and tried to rehabilitate it.

Older people tend to not think ahead too much. There's so much that is just put outside for 'decoration' or to 'add to the garden' that is not done with any thought.

I feel like I'm still in my thirties or forties and thinking about ten years down the road. I may not be here in ten years but I can hope so.

One of the roses growing in the same bed as the Norfolk Pine. It doesn't get a full on six hours of sun and yet, it persists. I think it's a Tiffany rose from the coloring and smell. Couldn't remember what it was until just now, and it is one of my favorite roses. Makes me happy to see it doing well enough to put on four or five flowers in partial shade. It isn't a very thriving bush but it is surviving just fine.