Excavation

I thought I had done an adequate job of killing the stump of an old flowering quince before I planted the Westerland rose in front of it. No such luck. For two seasons I've been cutting back the shoots as they come up. This past weekend I bit the bullet and started digging. The job would have been much easier before Westerland became a huge, flesh-eating shrub. I'm down about a foot around the stump, alternately digging a trench and using the garden hose to blast around the roots to expose them. I'm hoping I don't find a huge taproot underneath it all.

Later that week - Success!

Weeding

It was in the 60s this afternoon and I needed some air so I edged and weeded the asparagus bed. I had both wire grass and barren strawberry trying to take it over so it was a fiddly hand weeding job. I don't think a bare patch of dirt warrants a photo.

Witch Hazel

Now in full bloom for the first time!

Witch Hazel

My witch hazel 'Jelena' is about to bloom. It has never shown more than a couple of flowers but since my neighbor removed the maple tree shading it it's covered with buds. I'll post photos when they open. The flowers are striking, shading from copper to gold. This is not the native hamamelis but is a hybrid of some of the oriental species.