Dodging Heat

I really wanted to include an expletive in that title because that's just how I feel today.  (Oops, that's starting out with a negative attitude, isn't it?  There's probably some Blog Best Practices List somewhere that gives that as the Number One "Dear God, whatever you do, DON'T do THAT" rule.  Well... whatever.)  

It's hot.  I mean HOT.  Freaking HOT and soul-smotheringly humid.  The "feels like" temperature is hovering somewhere around 105F as I type this.  Today's weather is a no-go for this gardener; it is, however, perfect for this gardener to stay indoors and watch the second round of Wimbledon.

But, since our house is virtually all glass (which I LOVE, mind you), I can't help but look outside.  I can't help but stare at the garden and think about the marathon-long list of things I need/want to do.  Why did I start that new bed yesterday? 

Reclaiming part of an old garden bed is better than starting absolutely from scratch.

Okay, to be fair, it isn't technically starting a new bed as much as it is reclaiming part of an old bed that, up until yesterday, was an overflowing cornucopia of morning glory, grapevine, and poke weed seedlings.  Oh yes, I mustn't forget the Grand Digging Out of the seemingly immortal Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon' that I've only been trying to eradicate for 15 years or more.  People, hear me when I tell you: Don't. EVER. Plant. That.   

It started out variegated, but it ends up like this.  And violently thuggish.

Before you even ask, yes, I have sprayed it with toxic chemicals.  Three years in a row, I have.  Actually, that did knock it back quite a bit, but, if there's any piece of a root that lived through the Great Poisoning, boop! up it pops the next year.  Or worse, that piece of root keeps growing underground for a couple of years, splits off to create multiple roots and then pops up (boop! boop! boop!) with renewed vigor and reckless abandon.  I swear it emerges laughing. 

Getting back to that bed renewal project... I know why I stupidly undertook (and didn't finish) the work yesterday: I have too many plants in pots, waiting to get in the ground.  Instead of asking myself why I did what I did yesterday, the question should have been, Why did you have to acquire all of those new plants before setting out the dozens of older plants you already had?!  Great question.

This lovely arrangement of pots is hiding holes in our deck.  So practical!

 

I'm a plant junkie.  And I have plans; I just don't yet have the roadmap to realize those plans.  I live in the eternal optimism that I'm not beyond hope, though.  In years past, I potted on new plants in nice containers, even arranging them a la Great Dixter on our driveway.  Like I was even close to masking my addiction with all of that.  (Actually, now that I think about it, I created that arrangement to somewhat mask the stack of granite curbing we rescued from a street downtown.)   Now, I don't have any more nice containers to pot on all the members of the Big Botanical Queue.  There's no hiding it, no dressing it up, no masking it.  

Not AT ALL a la Great Dixter... and not even beginning to hide that stack of stone.  😂

Plants are loitering in multiple groups on our driveway, on our back deck, in the garden...  They're anxiously awaiting the day I finally get enough ground amended properly to set them out.  Sure, I might move them around a couple times after that, but at least they will have a chance to stretch their legs and get their roots under them a bit.  They'll be so much happier.  Helloooo, optimism.

This is more the reality... times about 10.

So, yeah, that's why I started that bed renewal project yesterday, when it was at least 10 degrees cooler and the humidity was a little lower.  Finishing it will just have to wait until another day, when it isn't like walking into a blast furnace when I open a sliding glass door to go outside.