Vaxxed and exhausted

Today is my first day as a fully vaccinated person. We were planning to have our also-vaccinated friends over to hang out on the deck and celebrate but unfortunately, they had to cancel. So, M and I changed clothes and started working on the garden.

​M used the weedwhacker to trim all the tall grass along the fence line. As usual, there was much swearing. He composted and mulched the rhododendron bush in the backyard, which is just starting to flower on top. He also hauled out the heavy bag of potting soil, a task I never would've been able to do without a wheelbarrow (something we still don't own because they're pricy and take up a ton of room in the shed).

I grabbed a stiff bush, a bucket of soap and the garden hose and began the laborious process of cleaning off the dirt and grime that has grown on the deck banister. My goal is to do one or two sections a day for the next week. Ha! We'll see how that goes.

This morning's effort was particularly brutal, even though I only managed to complete one section. Not only was the work hard on my body, it was also so very sunny. And hot. And muggy. Seriously, someone just kill me now.

Hooks: The strawberry plant is looking a bit suspect. The soil has been drying out in the full sun which is why I've been watering it every day. Yet the leaves continue to appear brown and brittle. I might have to move it to a shadier spot, damn the plant tag.

I also planted the night sky petunias in two hanging baskets and hung those from the shepherd hooks. There's still two hooks open for geraniums, assuming I can find them or successfully transplant the ones from the basement.

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Plants: I pulled out the two smallest banister planters from the shed and filled them with my edible herbs. One has three plants of lavender, thyme and the single stalk of cinnamon basil I was able to resurrect from the chipmunks' carnage (see at left). The other contains basil, oregano, parsley and rosemary (see top image). I placed them in full sun nearest the chairs so I can easily access them while cooking and M and I can enjoy their wonderful scents. 

In the two medium white square planters (see in the center), I transplanted and staked the red pepper plants. Then I surrounded them with marigolds as companion plants to keep out the bugs. I'm actually not a fan of marigolds -- they tend to be too sunshine-y and yellow for my taste. However these are fireball marigolds (tagetes patula), which should bloom from early summer to mid-fall. According to Park Seed, the plant's big double blooms should start as a rich shade of red and then mature to orange, bronze and gold.

​Weather: Low 67/High 89 degrees (a.k.a. so fucking hot that by the time I finished I was utterly dehydrated and shaking), fair skies, 48% humidity, 3 mph wind, 24% chance of rain. UV index 6 of 10. Barometric pressure 30.09 falling. Moon phase: Waxing gibbous.
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