IMHO

Now that I've been watering (and watering and watering) post-installation, I'm discovering that the donut-shaped watering bags are not the time-savers I imagined them to be. While filling, they need babysitting to keep the water in the bag and not running out of the hole. Also, they block rain. So I am going to remove them from the shrubs.

The zippered watering pouches around the trees, however, are easier to manage. I can insert the hose and walk away, to deadhead flowering plants or fill birdfeeders. They don't work for shrubby plants, though, and are too tall for the hickory tree.


The plants are not only settling in but thriving (except for a few ragworts that get disturbed by Finn who thinks all that mulch is just a giant outdoor litter box). Some are even blooming, like the nodding onion and columbine.


And the ragwort is spreading, just like it should.

Last weekend, my daughter, granddaughter, and I went to Indianapolis to shop. Our first stop was Brickyard Ceramics, which has a field of wildflowers for a front yard. This photo doesn't do it justice.

I sowed more grass seed on bare areas in the lawn. After one round of Roundup, I've discovered that it doesn't work well on vines, just as the herbicide I have for vines doesn't work on other weeds. There is still some trumpet vine that needs to be erradicated, as well as some grape vine and poison ivy. The yucca and false indigo are popping up, unfortunately. And nutsedge is the bane of my lawn and nearby beds.

I updated the plant list for your viewing pleasure.

Today is HOT, HOT, HOT, but the next week or so promises to be milder, plus maybe rain. I'm ready for a break from watering.