Digging in the dirt, part I

Sweet Baboo and I spent the better part of today weeding, rototilling, weeding, planting, weeding, watering — did I mention that we weeded? The reason that the weeding is so out of control is that I haven’t been able to weed effectively for about 3 years. I have arthritis in my right thumb — and pulling on weeds really infurates it. So this past March, I bit the bullet and had 2 cortisone injections — it seems to have helped at least enough to be able to assist in the gardening chores. I’m sure I’ll be sore tomorrow, but at my age, I’m always sore tomorrow, no matter the activity. We have a rock retaining wall in the front of our house and have hosta and daylilies planted in front of it that needed a bit of cleaning up, plus a couple of wild rose bush thingys that I have just decided I don’t like anymore — they were already there when we moved in. The picture above is actually 4 or 5 years old — that lattice stuff around the deck is gone, plus we put on a new roof and painted the shutters. Click on the picture to see it full size. Once we get in front of the wall done, I will post another pic.

I might have mentioned earlier that the prior owners got alot of their plants from roadsides, wooded areas, etc. One of the pests that we have had to contend with for the past 12 years is leafy spurge aka wolf’s milk. I hate this weed so much that it aggravates me to capitalize the name, so I don’t. It’s extremely invasive and just about impossible to get rid of because it can regenerate from the tiniest bit of root. It also leaks this sticky, smelly white sap stuff when you break the stalk. If you would like to read more about it, click here — this is a website in Iowa that lists invasive species of plants. There are alot on that list that we have here in CT, Leafy Spurge being at the top of my list. If you ever see this stuff on the side of the road, leave it there. Nothing good can come from this weed!!