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The Garden Awakens

Anise 'Woodland Red' ( Illicium floridanum ) A few weeks ago, I thought spring would never arrive, but now the change is astonishing. The nights are still cold (40s and sometimes even 30s) so planting tender annuals and vegetables is unwise although I have already succumbed, but covering and uncovering things gets old quickly. Someone made a wise comment last week and I must agree with them - "Don't plant anything tender until after May 1". Several plants are blooming like never before. One is the Anise shrub (above and below). I don't know if the recent tree pruning, which is allowing more sun into the woodland path, is affecting it or perhaps it is just age, but I've never seen so many blooms. Michael refers to this as "the stinky fish shrub" and I have to admit to smell of the flowers is quite unpleasant. It is so beautiful that I can overlook that. The old pink dogwood tree, which was already here, shades our woodland path and it too is prett

Gifts for a gardener

My birthday was last week and I received some nifty gardening related gifts. Michael's aunt, cousin and a good friend pitched in and got me this wagon - I guess that is what you call it - and I was excited to get it. My wheelbarrow is on its last leg and I'm sure this little guy is much stronger - they say it will hold 1500 pounds!



I had hinted to Michael that I needed a new pair of lopers and he went beyond the call of duty and gave me these which feature an extension - you rotate the knobs and it will extend a foot or so. I had never seen any made like this and I'm sure they will come in handy when I resume the pruning of Rambling Rector.


Comments

  1. I have that wagon and lopers. You will love them both!

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  2. Cool wagon. What a great gift! Our local nursery has a version of that wagon sans sides. They're heavy but very sturdy but be sure to grease the axles well because I believe the wheel bearings are sleeve bearings and not ball bearings. The ones at the nursery are left out in the elements and are not greased often if ever and some of them are difficult to lug around and even more so when loaded with heavy plants. The ones with inflatable tires are also easier to pull if inflated properly.

    There's many a time when I wished for more leverage using the loppers. That's a great idea to have extensible handles. The only problem is that the cutting head and pivot need to be heavy duty too with the extra leverage you can exert as that seems to be the weak spot with the two loppers I have.

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