It is now just a few days since I decided to start the “yard” project. I did take pictures to share with you as I go along. This week I decided my cedars are in desperate need of assistance. I have one row on the east side that are Junipers, which are very happy and doing well. Considering that they are crowded and will attention later on I will leave them alone for now. But on the west side oh no! An entire row of 13 Eastern Red Cedar have red rust are dying out. The only conclusion is to take the worse out and get a fungicide for those I “might” be able to save. Here again, they are crowded. Entirely too close together, I did not plant these, I inherited them with the property but they are mine now to take care of. Nothing breaks my heart as a gardener more than the loss of a tree. And here are 13 in distress!!!!!! Okay so I have a plan for the cedars.

Next I am working on my Hydrangeas. I have three, two of which were starts I got from a friend who is a Master Gardener and runs the Alabama Wildlife Federation. These are doing wonderful but the third one was an inherited one like the cedars and was a potted plant given to the prior owner of my property as a Mother’s Day gift many years ago. She planted it. It is not happy this year. My goal for this one is to wait until the end of the season and prune it down to about a foot and put fresh mulch and fertilizer around its footsies so see if I can save it.

The last two things I am working on right now are; you guess it, another cedar that was planted in the wrong place without thought about how large it would get. The darn thing is crowding a beautiful crepe myrtle. And a Camilla that was planted right next to the house. It could get huge, but I keep it pruned back. The flowers are lovely, the entire bush is loaded when it blooms but I have been neglecting it as you can see. So that will get a haircut, I will send out a picture of it groomed.

Okay! That is what I am working this week! Stay tuned for the next project! This year we are getting a ton of rain and the plants love it, growing faster than I get out there.

Oh, oh! The tomato plants have new babies and the crooked neck squash has two little babies with a load of blooms. I love gardening. There is nothing like a visit to the garden to set everything in life aright. I have hope. Hope that within a year you will see a great improvement with me!!!