It has been a while since I shared any flowers blooming because of the mess caused when we had three bodock trees felled in our front yard this past winter.
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| My front yard in February. |
We worked on burning the limbs and raking up the thorns of the two trees located closest to the house until the weather became warm. I focused on repairing the flower beds damaged by the dropped branches. We will finish this chore when the weather cools down.
Burning the wood is a slow, tedious process because it is green. Sticky sap drips wherever it's cut.
Good news! The tree with the creepy eyes staring at me is finally gone.
After it burned, this is all that was left.
It smoldered and continued to burn below ground. These are the holes left where the roots were growing. They went deep down and we could not find the end.
This is the tree closest to the house after rain drowned the last fire in April.
Even with all the burning, it continues to sprout new branches. These horrible trees just won't die.
As Bill cuts the wood, I hover around and claim logs for my creative ideas. A fire was built under this branch in hopes it would burn and fall. It didn't happen but when the fire burned out, this is what I saw the next morning. Do you see what I see?
Bill sawed it apart per my instructions.
It is a flowerpot!
A heavy, never again to be moved flowerpot. It will stay in this spot until it rots because my guys said they won't move it again. I keep telling them it's easier to roll the logs around the yard than burn them. They disagree.
This is a charred log placed in the center of a flowerbed. It is behind my one and only rose bush which decided to sprout on the right side of the bed - no longer in the center. My choice was to either have a lopsided flowerbed (heaven forbid), move all the heavy rocks to the right a foot (too much work) or move the rose bush to the left. I chose to cut the rosebush down, bend the new sprout toward the center with a rock, so hopefully, it will grow in the correct direction.
Bodock trees don't grow straight but are warped and twisted. Part of the trunk had an indention which became an almost perfect seat when slid against a cedar tree. Almost perfect because when I sat down, the sap oozed out, covered the seat of my pants and ruined them.
Under the trees beside the fence is the area with the unique stumps. There is no rule as to what is considered special, just whatever tickles my fancy.
This work in progress will be a fairy house. It needs windows, a door, and maybe a chimney.
When Bill sawed the point for the top of the fairy house, the side triangles fell on the ground. He looked at me, sighed and asked if I wanted to keep them also. Of course, I wanted them! They were moved all over the yard until I found the ideal home.
While gardening, I tell myself anywhere a stump sits, is one less spot to weed. Now there are stumps everywhere and we still have one last tree to cut.
Then a surprise package arrived in the mail from Reese!
He was able to buy plants at his greenhouse job in North Carolina for almost nothing. He knows how I love flowers so he splurged! Never have I had so many flowers to plant!
So these pictures are for Reese:
I planted the portulaca in Granddad's old wheelbarrow because they don't need much water (which is what you said), however, a watermelon seed was in the added compost and sprouted. How can I dig up a watermelon seedling after the success I had last year with the monster melon? I think the portulaca has been watered too much which is why it isn't blooming. After I pick the watermelon, I will stop watering and take another picture.
The fennel plants you sent are being devoured by butterfly caterpillars...which was why I asked for them.
The shady area that used to be under the chopped tree is now in bright sunshine and the flowers are exploding with color. I don't miss that tree at all. The grass is also growing faster so Dad has to mow more often. He isn't pleased about that but I tell him to look at the bright side, at least the thorns are not constantly flattening his mower tires.
Reese, I am sorry there aren't more blooms but I picked everything for my arrangement at my garden club's flower show. It was worth stripping my garden of every bloom for a blue ribbon.
When I walk out the front door, this is today's view.
The bodock tree on the left side of the yard by the curve of the driveway hasn't been touched. It still looks like the path behind a tornado. We have learned to ignore it.
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| The left side of my yard. |
This eyesore is how the tree closest to the house looks today. Trimmed branches and fallen twigs are piled on top in preparation for the next bonfire. We have made the best of an ugly situation by making it worse. A piece of trashed cardboard stuck under a limb is used for target practice (with a pellet rifle) as we sit comfortably on the front porch.
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| The right side of my yard. |
For now, the view is improving and we are satisfied to be almost two-thirds of the way finished burning the trees. Having a thorn free yard has been worth all the work.
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What a fantastic surprise package! We have a multitude of challenges here. I'm glad bodock trees are not one of them! I'd never heard of them before your fall post, but they sound brutal. I also had a caterpillar on my fennel last week. Like you, I try to focus on the pretty bits, and not all the unfinished projects around here.
ReplyDeleteNobody wants a bodock tree, nobody. We are making progress and that is what matters.
DeleteHours and hours of hard work for you and your husband, but the efforts paid off!
ReplyDeleteNow you have an area where you can create even more of your garden ideas.
Reese knows how to give you a treat. His parcel must have been a wonderful surprise.
Those caterpillars of monarch butterflies on your fennel look very similar to the caterpillars
of the swallowtail butterfly (papilio machaon). It seems they love the same plants:
Carrots, dill and fennel.
I wish you many more hours of happy gardening !
Christel
I researched both and I can't tell the difference between a monarch or a swallowtail caterpillar. Someone more experienced would know but as for me, I chose to update my post and delete the word "monarch". It is now only called a butterfly caterpillar because I hate to mislead someone with incorrect information. Thanks for your suggestion.
DeleteI So love that first shot of the butterfly! And I love your flower pot! I don't think I would ever have thought of that, but hope I remember it. I love your surprise package! WE call those trees hedge apples....they are plentiful up here.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome to copy my flower pot idea but realize, it will weigh a ton. We thought we were going to have to tie it to the trailer hitch on the car to move it but my big, strong, handsome guys handled it (Bengay and heating pads were required later). Notice it has only been moved a few feet from where it was burning.
DeleteI have also heard them called Hedge apple and Osage orange. "A rose by any other name would be just as sweet." A Bodock tree by any other name would still stink."
I love your garden/home! So gorgeous! And how on earth did Reese send you plants in the mail without dirt getting everywhere? Were they packed in so well that they couldn't fall apart? What a perfect gift for you! A lovely son!
ReplyDeleteAvoiding spilling dirt everywhere has never been a concern of Reese. Nor has a fear of making a big mess ever stopped him from doing any thing at all.
DeleteIt is easy to mail plants and they do surprisingly well. The root plugs are lightly watered then wrapped in plastic wrap or sandwich bags. The roots are bound up securely but the tops must be open so they can breathe. If you pack them just before you go to the post office, they can easily survive 3 or 4 days in shipping.
I knew they were coming so I watched the mail box then immediately opened the box. They were smashed in as tightly as possible to save on postage (my thrifty son). I spread them out on a pan so they could recover from the shock of traveling. After a few days, I transplanted some straight into the garden, then put others in small dirt cups. Almost everything has survived, except for some petunias. I have a hard time growing them.
Love your tree flowerpot, Jeannie and your create use of tree stumps. We are losing a beloved catalpa soon -- just waiting to hear from the arborist -- and my 'shade' garden will be no longer! Oh, well. That's how nature changes things up from time to time. You have some lovely spots in your garden. Enjoy the rest of your summer. P.x
ReplyDeletePam, I am sorry to hear you are losing a tree you love. We lost my favorite tree last year in the woods behind our house. We never knew what kind it was but it was the largest tree on our property. Since it is in the woods, and not close to the house, we let nature take its course instead of chopping it down. Branches fall whenever the wind blows hard. Hiring someone to remove it would have probably cost about $5,000.
DeleteI hope the arborist might have some good news and perhaps you could save it after all. Losing three trees has made a big difference in our yard.
I just had to come back and comment on this post! This is so much like our yard was for a while! The power company cut our trees since they were so close to the lines and they removed the limbs but we were left with the big naked logs. One tree was a pecan and it had a lot of nuts on it this year. :( Since we have a wood burning furnace for heat, we will use the logs this way. I raked up little sticks so the yard could be mowed and salvaged what I could in the flower beds. I have three huge stumps that could be used, but the tree that blew over still has an ugly mess of dirt and we don't know how to move it. So, come spring, I'll remember how you've made use of the stumps and find inspiration for planting.
ReplyDeleteWe wish we could have burned the wood in our stove but it is not good for that. It puts off a black acrid smoke which would be bad for the chimney, the house and your nose. We tried to get a couple of lumber mills to take them for free but no one wants them. Burning seems to be the only option. We still have one more to burn and it is a huge pile. I will be doing something with all those stumps also, don't know what yet. Keep checking back because I will certainly share pictures, plus I am open for any ideas you might run across.
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