Terracing

Weather: The rain late Monday afternoon was like a gully washer, though those usually come when the ground is dry in late summer. High winds, a little hail. The main thrust last half an hour, then it throughout the night and int the early morning hours on Tuesday.

With the early end of apple flowers, we’ve gone from early to late spring.

Last useful rain: 4/30. Week’s low: 32 degrees F. Week’s high: 82 degrees F in the shade.

What’s blooming in the area: Flowering quince, spirea, lilacs, Dutch iris, blue flax, donkey spurge, lavender moss phlox

What’s blooming beyond the walls and fences: White tufted evening primrose, alfilerillo, tansy and tumble mustards, hoary cress, bindweed, western stickseed, leather leaf globe mallow, fleabane, goat’s beard, native and common dandelions; June, needle, three awn, and cheat grasses

What’s blooming in my yard: Choke cherries peaked, skunk bush, snowball, tulips, daffodils, lilies of the valley, grape hyacinths, vinca, coral bells, pink evening primrose; pansy that wintered over

Bedding Plants: snapdragons

What’s reviving/coming up: Catalpa, caryopteris, Russian sage, buddleia, tomatillo, ostrich fern, black grama grass

Tasks: I’ve been cleaning under trees that were left wild because I couldn’t under the low branches that I had cut this winter.

When I removed cheat grass, I uncovered dandelions and leather leaf globe mallows. When those were removed, one area was thick with golden-spur columbine seedlings.

Animal sightings: Neighbor’s cat, chickadees, house finches, hummingbird, quail, small bees, cabbage butterflies, ladybug, small ants, earthworms

Weekly update: Gardening on a hillside remains a challenge. The slightest incline causes water to run away, taking with it any seeds or nutrients that have been added.

This year I’ve been adding backstops in some beds. They resemble what some called waffle beds when I done: series of small, walled squares. Native Americans created them in the southwest to create small reservoirs in the arid land.

Monday’s rain was an opportunity to see how well they worked. Most were flooded at the end of the torrent, but had drained within half an hour. As near as I could tell, the soil remained relatively level.

Notes on photographs:
1-2. Choke cherries (Prunus virginiana melanocarpa) have had a good year. Each of these flowers will turn into a small fruit that will disappear before I ever see them. 2 May 2019.

3. Retrofitted terraced bed with hostas and daylilies, 30 April 2019.