Iris and Backyard Projects

"Thou art the iris, fair among the fairest,
   Who, armed with golden rod,
And winged with the celestial azure, bearest
   The message of some god.

O! flower-de-luce, bloom on, and let the river
   Linger to kiss thy feet!
O! flower of song, bloom on, and make for ever
   The world more fair and sweet.

 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Flower-de-luce (1867)

This spring, we are investing carefully in the services of a skilled handyman to take care of some of our backyard projects that I like delicately to refer to as "deferred maintenance."  I think it would be more accurate to call it making up for years of neglect, but in the meantime, there isn't much time for me to be blogging let alone playing in the yard.

But, we're almost done. The crooked four-footed trellis where the white wisteria lives is now a straight tripod resting on solid ground instead of sinking slowly into a raised bed where nothing but invasive ivy grew.

The pond was drained, cleaned, and re-sealed. In a few days the pond guy will be back to remake a more modest waterfall and fill it. He has cleaned out the clogged pipes and the filter which was so full of gunk it acted more like a plug than a filter. The pond guy was initially horrified when I told him I didn't want him to just dump the pond gunk at the back of my yard, but instead wanted him to dump it into some raised beds that could use some organic amendments. It cost me a few days of nasty smell as the stuff dried out, but after adding some good potting soil the beds are now ready for me to plant tomatoes for the critters in the canyon to harvest.

Finally, I've finished the decorative touches around the back door leading from the master bedroom to the backyard. I scored an old wooden window with six panes that I've painted to match the door frame and Dean, the jack-of-all trades has hung it above a window box that only remains to be planted.

Dean will also be repairing some irrigation and some low voltage outdoor lighting to make the whole yard not only lovely again but maintainable without frequent hand-watering during the long hot summer.

Meanwhile, I'm doing my gardening inside arranging flowers and trying to finish a quilt. The quilt is at that I-hate-you stage where it's gone on so long I'm sick of it and just want to finish it and move on to the next project.