Late May
Crowded June schedules meant we had two meetings in May 2010 - Karla's turn went well at the beginning of the month and Mindy planned hers for Memorial Day Weekend.
The temperatures were in the mid-90's but it was Red-White-and-Blue gorgeous inside the house...I may have taken as many photos of the spread in the dining room as of the work in the yard. Mindy's buffet arrangements were super!
Mindy's dining room always looks inviting and holiday dress suits the French dishes
What a spectacular fruit platter - every bite was perfect...
Outside, the border plants looked as if they knew it was late May - the Shrimp plants, impatiens and iris were fine...
but what about those Barbados Cherries/Malpighia? These small native trees bloomed so beautifully in this photo from 2008!
But January 2010 brought record breaking low temperatures and many native plants died.
A close inspection showed that although there was some green under the bark at ground level, the entire tops, branches, and trunk were completely dead. What a shame!
Cutting down the cherries began in front, with weeding, thinning and redoing the border started near the pond. Salvia darcyi does beautifully there, but repeated tries at transplanting divisions have not convinced this lovely Mexican Mountain Sage to live in Glinda's garden... phooey!
Mindy and Warren had a special houseguest - Warren's mom Ginger, who was staying with them while working on some health issues. Ginger is a great storyteller! Also with us were a few extra Divas of the Dirt, pals from our group of family and friends who joined us for some of the 2010 meetings and helped with a video. They worked under Mindy's direction to enlarge & redo a border near the side fence that we made back in April 2006... that border just wasn't working anymore.The weather was already hot - after working for hours we were ready for air-conditioning and lunch and a chance to chat.
The menu reflected this cooperative day - the enormous Build-a-Salad was supplied by Mindy (with fabulous bread made by Warren) 
and more dishes were brought by the guests including Deviled Eggs, pasta salad and beans.
More time outside resulted in a good looking entrance, a redone pond bed, and a terrific new long border ready for new plants.
Mindy walked with Ginger out to see the new border and its extra special centerpiece - a real plow. This farm implement wasn't just a decoration! 
This tool didn't come from Ebay or an antique-vintage shop. Some years back, Ginger herself plowed fields with it and planted vegetables, growing food for her family... she can tell you all about being a Pioneer Diva of the Dirt!
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