Zipped up for the season

We spent time this weekend putting the garden to bed for the year. Some steps were completed a few weeks ago, but we cut down the remaining plants that needed attention, stashed the patio furniture and the outside summer lights, dressed the shrubs and perennials with worm compost, and put away the hose and turned off the water to the outside faucet.

I also planted 88 hyacinth bulbs.

Bulb order from American Meadows

We'll see how they turn out in the spring. Confession: I am terrible at bulb placement. It's hard for me to think outside of straight lines when it comes to planting stuff. I tried to cluster them because that's what I think is attractive when I look at yards in the neighborhood, but it's hard to work around everything else that is already established while keeping in mind the landscaping cloth that needs to be cut away when you want to pop something new in the ground, and avoiding the chicken wire buried around existing bulbs as rodent deterrent. As a result, I'm sometimes disappointed with my failure to make my visions a reality with the placement of plants in the yard. 

I am very sorry that we seem to have have neglected this blog a little in 2016. We got busy. It was really hot and gross for long stretches this summer and we didn't spend as much time outside as we would have liked. We also lost some things in the yard this year, which was discouraging. (Goodbye, poppy. Wish you would have stayed, artemesia. So long, caryopteris. Maybe we'll see you next year, weigela?) Mr. H. and I are both in school again, so once September rolled around we have been scrambling to get the necessary things done and this blog just wasn't at the top of the list. I hope next year we can be more diligent about regular updates.