Meanwhile, Back In The Garden...

Spring beauty continues.
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Salvia 'Blue Hill':
Salvia 'Blue Hill' photo 4-17-5964_zpseadc0c54.jpg 
Rose 'Bolero', better every year:
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An unexpected but welcome display of California Golden Poppies on the west slope.
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The Calothamnus villosus begins to bloom.  Nectar drips from the flowers--no wonder the hummingbirds love it.  I had a taste myself--it was discernibly sweet.
Calothamnus villosus photo 4-15-5883_zpsce316220.jpg
While all that beauty displays itself, I'm laboring in a different part of the garden, moving a retaining wall.  It needed adjusting after the addition of the top section of concrete culvert in 2012.  I'd intended to do it last year, but this year proved better because of the snapping off of the large Eucalyptus branch that hung over the area from the neighbor's tree.  Now that the branch is gone, there's more light and less litter there.  I'm glad I was not working there when the tree snapped. 
This area of the garden has changed a lot over the years:
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I've ended up using those same concrete blocks over and over again in all sorts of places.  Legos for gardeners.  
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Not the most fun of garden projects, but easier than digging up a stump.  I need soil to fill in behind the shifted wall.  Since we wanted to flatten out the adjacent area slightly, soil from there is the perfect fill--"perfect" meaning I don't have to lug it far.  
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There was a large piece of granite to move.  I had to flip it uphill a little at a time.  I tried dragging it on a tarp but it was too heavy.  But easier than digging up a stump. 
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I needed breaks from the ugly...
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The first Dahlias--'Arabian Night':
Dahlia 'Arabian Nights' photo 4-17-5962_zps65066637.jpg
'Duet':
Dahlia 'Duet' photo 4-15-5858_zps55bd82f9.jpg
Clematis 'The President' amidst Euonymus 'Chollipo':
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Aloe pseudorubroviolacea is almost ready to open:
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The koi are fine, and hungry:
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Now, as usual, back to work!


Comments

  1. Your Spring flowers look beautiful. It looks as if you have a lot of work ahead of you with those large blocks and leveling out some of the area, I am feeling exhausted just thinking about what you have to do. Don't overdo it dear Hoover, take care.
    xoxoxo ♡

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  2. Beautiful rose, that Bolero! I have never dug up a stump (thankfully), but did once severely injure my back in moving a large stone... Take it easy!

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    Replies
    1. Luckily I know my own (lack of) strength.

      I hope your back is better--it's better, right?

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  3. "legos for gardeners"...ha! That's good. And I'm glad you weren't working there when the branch fell too.

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  4. Beautiful pictures of the kois and you have so many beauties in your garden, I love the Californian poppies, which I sometimes sow as an annual in my garden. I see you still have lots of heavy work to do, wish you happy gardening!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Janneke. The poppies are technically perennials here, but they bloom best the first year and reseed, so most people (me included) just pull them out when summer arrives.

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  5. We gardeners must be Amazons, but you have taken it to a new level.

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    Replies
    1. Maybe not the gardening, but the swearing has certainly reached a high level of refinement.

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  6. such a great post :) thanks for sharing... stop by at my blog sometimes

    ReplyDelete

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