Here in the sorta mountains of Eastern Pennsylvania, summer has taken a turn for the wet. I always prefer wet to dry, but others are complaining about bad pool weather and an endless train of cloudy weather that seems to be tracking here. Honestly I’m not sure what they really want though, because yesterday when it was over 90F (33C) and humid they complained about the heat, so maybe they shouldn’t talk about their dream of moving to Florida.
Fortunately the garden doesn’t go on and on with complaints. A once-over to remove the browned stems and shriveled dreams of a dry spring and we’re back in business, with lush flowers and even lusher weeds.
The front border is at a summertime peak with the yellow lily ‘Conca d’Or’ taking center stage.
I will also try not to dwell on complaints. Summer is going too fast, not enough is getting done, and I don’t have enough space for my daylily farm, but at least I’ve finished clearing the dirt away from the side of the house.
All the dirt has been removed, now it’s on to doing something with all the stone, and then figuring out the grass path which will lead around the corner.
To celebrate this dirt moving milestone I decided to tackle the mass of concrete down by the street and finish cleaning up the front of the yard as well. It was as much fun as you can imagine. At first I thought I was overdoing it by bringing the jackhammer back, but when the concrete turned out to be a foot thick in spots I guess the pickaxe wouldn’t have been enough.
All the concrete has been broken up and the chunks are ready for hauling away. They’re bigger (and heavier) than the photo suggests…
Don’t let the pictures scare you. Last week I not only moved the concrete out of the way, I also graded the path, but in a few stones, seeded grass, and planted out a tray or two of coleus cuttings. It looks much nicer and I hope to share those photos as soon as I get out there and take them…
Enjoy the weekend! I’m hoping for enough of a break in the rain today to fit in a garden visit and a daylily farm trip with friends. I guess it’s not all work and no play in spite of what I like to pretend 😉
sorta like suburbia 
What is the concrete from?
The lily in the front border is a beauty. Sounds like our summer is progressing very much like yours… weeks of heat and no rain until recently and now daily showers which have revived the garden. Good to see progress has been made around the new extension. Where did all the concrete come from? Was there a driveway there? Enjoy your day off and the trip Frank. Look forward to seeing the day lilies you come home with! 😉
Pour yourself a beer!
Glad to see your post, Frank. I was thinking of you just yesterday, hoping for an update. You must have got my ESP message! Glad you are getting the tough work behind you, and soon it will be ‘just’ regular maintenance. Right in time to head back to work, ugh. 😩
It has been raining nearly non-stop here for 6 weeks, such a contrast to last year’s drought. No worries about the water table this year! We’ve had a lot of erosion on our roads, washed out culverts, and our stream and river are all re-sculpted. Nature keeps us on our toes.
Enjoy your trip to the daylily farm, I can’t wait to see what you bring home. 🙂
You do more work than I even think about. ha… Good for you getting the soil away from the house. I love that tall yellow lily. Waiting for some nice rain here. I would like to complain about too much rain for a change. Concrete is heavy. I remember when they tore out a narrow little sidewalk here. I kept a bunch of it to line a pathway in the back yard. There were some pieces I should have let them take away since they were too big for me to easily to move around. Keep cool.
That front border is beautiful. I agree the summer is going too fast. Weather issues have been frustrating but nothing like some parts of the country. I just bought a big splashy daylily of the type I said I didn’t like. Those daylilies just suck your resolve right away. Be careful at the farm visit.
Lily ‘Conca d’Or’ deserves accolades. (I need to learn more about lilies–there seem to be many, many choices I don’t know about.) Your entire front border is stunning and I like the rhythm of the echinacea winding its way through. Happy Gardening, Frank.
Yes, that lily is a showstopper. Looking at all that concrete and soil shifting makes me want to sit down and have a rest. Sometimes, gardening is just too much like hard work. Perhaps you need to get back to your day lily farm.