Fireflies

It was a warm week in central Oklahoma and it ended with a rainy Sunday. We went to the farm on Tuesday and Saturday to do maintenance in the garden. We planted the new hydrangea and also put more clover around the fruit trees to block weeds. Clover is preferable to weeds because it improves the nitrogen levels in the soil. Weeds are preferable to bare soil because bare soil dries out faster. So it is okay to cut the weeds and use them as free mulch. This method is called chop and drop. The weeds were really overgrown. We got most of them but there’s still a few spots that need to be finished. It seemed to be mostly prickly lettuce, horse weed, and chervil. We took out some poison ivy also. I saw a few frogs and I saw the rabbit again on Tuesday. The opossum had babies and we saw them on Tuesday. The Blue Girl rose and the Turk’s Cap seem to be recovering slowly from transplant shock. The lantana still has not started to come up. I think we also lost two rosemary plants and a catmint last winter. Three of my four new dahlias have sprouted. I saw a few butterflies around the coreopsis, including a goatweed. The scarlet flax has started blooming in the bulb garden. The roses are all blooming, except for the Blue Girl. We have sunchokes coming up from last year and the new ones we just planted already have a few sprouts. I saw lots of fireflies around sunset and it was an amazing show. I didn’t draw as much as usual this week because I needed to fix my pants. I also found a free scrunchie sewing pattern so I want to try making a scrunchie soon. The balcony garden at my apartment is looking good although we had light hail on Friday. My boyfriend set up a new feeding area for my squirrels and birds. I think it looks good and I will add a few more things in the future. Next week, I will be planting the ginger outside in a shady area.