which_chick | (no subject)

If, in a bout of Sisyphean procrastination, you ignore all weeding until the absolute last minute, you will wind up with towering mounds of weeds. These weeds can be reduced to a manageable pile by running the lawnmower over them in lieu of a chipper-shredder and then you can craftily dispose of them around the bases of shrubberies that need to be mulched.

I pruned out the dead wood on the raspberry canes and tied up the new canes for the winter. While not a bloodless victory, the canes did bow to my sound reasoning, to wit "I can cut you little buggers off at the base while you're busy trying to grant me the death of a thousand cuts. Resistance is futile. Argh, get it off me! Ow! Dammit!" They look a lot neater now.

I cut off all the peony greenery, which was starting to look kind of ratty. I did the same for the irises. I mowed the fenced yard. In passing I noted that the wisteria (outside the fence) has FINALLY started to twine up the alleged trellis thing I built for it some six years ago. It's now almost taller than deer are going to be able to eat. I remain hopeful. Maybe I should move the fence... there's a thought. Hrm.

The white rose Madame Hardy got mower-pruned. It's never done well for me and I'm tired of babying it. The other roses (two rugosas, an unnamed plant-swap rose, Charles de Mills, Stanwell Perpetual, Dr W. Van Fleet, Madame Plantier, and the Himalayan Musk Rambler) are doing well, going into fall. I need to build something for Van Fleet to be on before it decides to destroy the fence. That looks like a job for eyebolts and plastic-coated clothesline if you ask me. I'll get on it come springtime.

The stolen poppies do appear to have taken root at least enough to give me a few glorious orange poppies next summer. We shall see.