Project 2026, part 2

While telling my SO about the last post, I realized that I had forgotten the following goals for 2026:

• Replace dead Canada hemlock with gold mop
• Replace dead/dying ninebark with another? Something else?

How many times does a shrub need to die before it not only gets replaced, but replaced with something different? The Canada hemlock has already been replaced once, as have two of the ninebarks. I let the landscapers remove the gold mop in my front yard, as it had become quite unruly, but if I plant one in the backyard, it can become as unruly as it likes (within reason). I'm not quite ready to give up on the ninebark yet, though.

An odd coincidence with all three plants is the hemlock is located pretty much over the natural gasline that runs to my house, while the ninebark are in an easement where a natural gas main runs. Are there small leaks that I can't detect with my human nose? Would that affect the shrubs? And why these and not others?

It's seed catalog time. Even though I don't order plants and seeds like I used to, I still get offers from all over. This week I noticed as odd phenomonon in one catalog: colorless flowers.

I'm a little surprised anyone would choose to grow beige flowers in their yard, but hey, it takes all kinds.