2009 MAY - KARLA'S GARDEN DAY 2

Part II - Previous post has Part I

A week after Karla's rained-out garden day the Divas of the Dirt tried again - hoping the possible storms would wait until evening. We started in quickly, determined to finish at least part of what Karla requested. Last June we'd worked in Sophia's garden when the temperature hit 96°F ... the same heat was predicted for Karla's day.

This time Diva-Annie was with us and she'd brought her new pruning stick with her. The ligustrum seen in the last post was brought back into line and dead branches pulled down.

We fanned out and tackled all the work we'd talked about the week before - starting with the front of the house and the sidewalk edge.

The front entrance was dug up and redone and the new liriope was planted. Cheerful gazanias grow in the sunnier spot to the right of the liriope.

Karla puts impatiens in the shade at the far end of this bed each summer - this year the color is a cooling white. Mattie designed a rock path across the side border - with so many flowers it's good to know where it's safe to step!

The front looked lovely when composted, watered in and mulched.

Around the back Diva-Annie and Sophia tackled the back border and the woodland area an to the north of the patio. This is one of those jobs with no end - it will absorb all the hours a person is willing to give.

Karla didn't have to make breakfast for this make-up session, so she decided lunch would be a Fiesta. All the elements of a Mexican Stack-Up were arranged on a colorful, placed on different levels around the table. She instructed us that to properly enjoy this vintage recipe we needed to go around the table, spooning some of every single ingredient onto our plates, in exact order and no exceptions!

We obediently piled on taco chips, rice, ground beef, cheese, tomatoes, olives, peppers, sour cream. tomatoes and could that be pecans and coconut? Yes!

Peach cobbler with ice cream- oh, yes. In the shady back yard Karla had this Fatsia japonica/Aralia and the variegated Aucuba in containers for awhile. She's used lattice to screen the utility boxes in the back yard and these shade lovers went in front of the lattice as further softening and screening.

Karla still had some decomposed granite piled in the driveway - it came in handy as a path to the compost corner Mattie had in mind. An open wire composter collected dry leaves, grass and twigs. Buffy, Mindy and Mattie got the black plastic composted assembled and ready and Mattie edged the path.

Diva-Annie, Sophia and I were still working on that woodland bed and trying to reset the birdbath when the first lightning bolt and crack of thunder made us jump. This time there was no period of hesitation when we thought the rain might lighten - this was a toad-strangler and Karla's Diva Project was declared officially over.

Karla: Good Morning Divas ...I have seen my yard get more beautiful each day. After the rain storm ... I had to replant a couple of things, move some dirt/mulch back in to the beds and prop a few plants up, but everything is looking so perky and happy. It is such a delight to look at now – as opposed to the very overwhelming feeling when looking at it before your great effort. I love all of the revisions to the back yard and how it just keeps evolving into something more wonderful each time you are there. Thank you so much for all of the hard work!
Have a great wk and again, thank you Divas – you’re the best!!!

2009 MAY - KARLA'S GARDEN DAY 1

This is part 1 of 2 garden day posts for Karla

Karla: Bring the usual tools – mostly we will be cleaning up the beds (I know, it’s mid-May and I haven’t done that yet!!), composting, mulching, trimming – planting a few things. My goal is to have breakfast on the table at 8:30 so we can get in the yard before the temp reaches broiling point.

I might need some limbs cut on the ligustrum, Glinda, so if you want to throw your pole cutter in, that would be great. The only tilling we will need to do is a small bed beside air conditioning unit.

Looking forward to seeing everyone!!


By 8:30A the buffet table was ready and the flowers were on the table. One-by-one 5 Divas arrived for Karla's May garden day, dressed in work clothes with every tool in our arsenal. Diva-Annie was not in town - we'd miss her calm presence. With Karla almost everything has a backstory.... usually one that has us in stitches. It turned out that Karla saw the flowers when she went to check on her sister Callie's house while the family was on vacation. Such a giant bouquet obviously needed a group to appreciate it so Karla liberated the lavish floral arrangement and brought it where it could be admired.

We enjoyed Karla's menu of Baked French Toast Casserole w/Maple Syrup, Hash Brown Quiche, Berry compote and juices - isn't the Scottie napkin ring cute? After breakfast we went out to survey the garden and take a few "before" photos of the areas that Karla wanted us to do. The Rose of Sharon in the front corner was getting an established look and the parkway (AKA Hellstrip) mainly needed tidying - that rosemary badly needed pruning.

When grass grew in the parkway it never did well but the Lantana that replaced the grass was very happy indeed! A little snipping and mulching and they'd look great.

This didn't look like too bad of a work day - the long front border we worked on last year looked pretty good - just needing neatening and cutting back, composting and mulching.

The edge where the entrance walk meets the foundation bed has been a problem area for most of the years we've worked in Karla's garden. It gets too much sun at some times of the year, not enough sun at other times and gets washed away in heavy downpours. Karla wanted to plant some variegated liriope in this spot - it's a tough plant that might be able to take those conditions.


Karla was right - that ligustrum needed the pole pruner.
After Karla's garden day last summer we'd left this path edged and ready for decomposed granite. Since then a mountain of granite had been delivered and used to fill in the very Austin looking walkway. We like the result, Karla! In back the beds needed a Spring Cleaning, too - Karla and Mattie had some ideas about a compost corner and screening shrubs for the utilities. Maybe this wasn't going to be a short day after all!

CRACK!!! Thunder and lightning suddenly changed the focus of the day - we headed inside, in hopes it was a passing shower. Weather info was pulled up from TV, phone and computer. Mattie decided to work on the houseplants while she waited - taking them to the kitchen for grooming and watering them one at a time. "What's the usual procedure when weather interrupts a garden day?" Mattie, our newest Diva asked.

The rest of us looked at each other and realized we'd never dealt with this situation in 10 years of Diva-Days. We'd cancelled a few dates the night before and or very early in the morning, and on more than one occasion we'd worked through steady drizzle but we'd never had a lightning storm hit after we were already together.

The weather reports grew more ominous - it was time to quit and go home. It wouldn't be fair to make Karla cook breakfast again - we'd eat that at our own homes next Saturday, then arrive at 8:30AM ready to work....but would still hope for a great lunch.