Plantings at the Aerie

A beautiful spring day here at the Aerie. The sun was shining all day and the temperatures rose to around 58 degrees. More importantly, things were able to dry out considerably under the sun and a steady 20-25 mph breeze.

I went out to Lowes this morning to pick up some shrubs for around the Aerie. I got four Rhododendrons, two Burning Bushes, two Forsythias, two Spirea, and three Bleeding Hearts. I also picked up three bags of potting soil (32 quarts each) and two bags of soil modifier (1.5 cu. ft. each). As you might surmise, my afternoon was planned for me.

After lunch I dug four holes for the Rhodies just off the covered deck. Digging necessitated the use of a long handled shovel and a 16 pound steel bar. Have I ever mentioned that the hill (and consequently the fill) upon which the Aerie is constructed is stone and clay? The stone was hard and the clay was wet.

The four holes produced about four cubic feet of a mix of stone and clay--a 50-50 mix. I screened that to get the larger stones out and mixed it 50-50 with a bag of soil enhancer. The four plants went in, the mixed soil was placed around them and tamped down and then all four were given a generous drink of water.

It took almost three hours by which time I was a hurting puppy. My back ached. My knees ached. My arms ached. With luck, however, those Rhodies will grow to descent size and produce lovely pink blossoms in late May early June. Each currently has 5 or 6 buds that will open this year--and they are only about 16 inches tall.

Terry planted the three Bleeding Hearts near the front door. That area gets almost no sunlight which is perfect for these shade loving plants. We already had three there and they are loving it! There had been a fourth, but when we had the stone applied to the foundation last year, Don couldn't help but stomp on one and killed it.

Tomorrow I get to plant the other six plants. I think I'll get the backhoe out to assist.