Everything's Cool!
Welcome to my shade garden, the Dark Side. This area is beneath the sycamore, and once it leafs out, the entire area there--and most of our neighbor's yard is in shade.
Last fall, Mr. Bojo hired someone--unbeknownst to me--to clean out the bed. He was trying to be helpful, but that kind of help takes a lot of work to overcome. The gaping hole at the right is where a lovely bleeding heart and a plethora of columbine used to dwell. New columbine has been purchased, and, next year, I'll replace the bleeding heart. And I don't want any more "help" in my gardens unless I'm there to oversee it. Not everything that is green is a weed, y'all.
Mr. Bojo: Did you notice that there's been a lot of wild onion popping up in your beds?
Me: That's not wild onion. That's allium, and they make beautiful purple flowers.
Mr. Bojo: Oh.
Me: Have you been pulling them?
Mr. Bojo (sheepish look): No?
In front of the hellebore is a statue an aunt slipped into our car as we were saying our goodbyes after a visit. I didn't know the Dark Side needed a Greek goddess, but she seems happy there. She was too white and shiny, but she is chipping, losing her glaze, and beginning to feel more a part of things. As often as I say that I don't really want "stuff" in the garden, it seems to finds its way there. Mr. Bojo triumphantly told me that he'd been watching a landscaping show, and they said it was imperative to have stuff in the garden for interest. I have lots of interest going in the garden! By the way, hellebores are great plants--low maintenance, healthy, and one of the first plants to bloom (often in the snow). The coleus on the other side of GG is an annual that I couldn't pass up for a bit of color in the Dark Side.
I had to replant the hosta. I doubt the hired gardener destroyed the old one. It was probably just too hot and dry last year.
We had a tree surgeon clean up the crabapple after a windstorm damaged the trees. I was concerned the robins, who always nest there, would abandon the tree after it was trimmed so severely. Happily, Mama Robin made her nest right at the end of a severed limb, where several branches made a natural enclosure.
This little guy must have gotten blown out of his nest prematurely.
I shooed him away from the fence and into the roses. Hopefully, his parents watched over him until he could fly. I haven't seen him, so I hope all is well. Thankfully, we've not had any cat visitors for awhile. (And this baby didn't come from the crabapple tree. Those baby birds still have their little mohawks. I don't know where his parents nest.) I love my robins. They follow me around when I garden, especially if I grab a shovel!
Speaking of baby birds flying on their own--Bojoette called to tell me that she'd taken the storm spotting course. I still expect her to seek shelter in case of a tornado!
Here's why everything is cool once more! Our new high-efficiency air conditioner has been installed. It's been quite the project. Our old furnace needed to be replaced, too. Our humidifier was leaking into the old furnace and rusting it out, so we're replacing the humidifier, too--all resulting in more duct work. The HVAC man told me they needed to cut another register into our kitchen, and we agreed it would go against the wall by the refrigerator. I left to go the the doctor, and when I returned, our new floor (Is it two years old? Still feels new to me.) had a gaping hole between the kitchen and the family room. *major sigh* It's not where I'd rather have it, considering that's where I set my basket when doing laundry. I will cope, but, gee, one should never leave home when contractors are present. The HVAC people will be here again today. That will make three days of work with a crew, but that won't be expensive, will it? Will I stay home to make certain they don't run unseemly pipes through our living room and cut holes into every wall like Swiss cheese? Nope! Today our River Festival starts. Let the revelry begin!