Okay, okay, this is what the space actually looks like but one can dream. Or, one can prepare the site and make it happen! The ground in this 25 feet wide by 20 feet deep space is like concrete because our contractor used it as a staging area for the work he did. He also drove his bobcat all over it. You literally cannot get a shovel into it.
My husband and I are going to use the smothering method. We’re a little later getting this done than we’d planned but life got in the way. This method uses black plastic sheeting to smother the weeds. We had to move a bush and pick up some river rock that was in a pile. I accidentally picked up bear poo thinking it was a river rock. Ugh!
We set the mower to it’s lowest level and scalped the weeds.
Then we (and by we I mean he) raked the loose plants and debris.
Then we laid out 4 mil black plastic sheeting.
Now we just have to wait a couple of months for the sun and plastic to do the job. My plan is to order a deer resistant seed mix of perennial wildflowers and native grasses from Wildflowerfarm.com. However, as I’m writing this their site seems to be down. According to their directions, you should spread the seed in the fall and cover it with straw. So October should work well. They also say it takes three years to get established. I only hope my husband’s school makes it through this mess. I’d really like to sit in the meadow while sipping my dandelion wine.
Another project we worked on yesterday was relocating shrubs that the deer are eating to within the fence.
I still need to move the pinky winky hydrangeas but I’m going to put them in containers and that’s a bit of a production.
Here’s what’s blooming:
Something nasty is killing a bunch of my plants in the cottage garden and I think it’s Verticillium Wilt. I am just beside myself about it right now.
How are your gardens today?