KV's Backyard: Hand Axe and a Sledge

I was finally able to get that damn root out of the garden. My "big" brother was over on Saturday and he tried getting it out and could not budge it, that's how stubborn it was. After Rick left I decided that root was going! I grabbed my handy dandy axe and whacked it several hundred times then hit it with the sledge hammer! Taaaaa Daaaa, good bye root! Now I'm ready to plant the River Birch. I found a nice clump at Linder's Garden Center tonight. I just need to find a truck/trailer and get it to the backyard. I know it ain't going to fit in the Focus, I can haul a lot in that little car but ain't no way a tree is fitting in there.

The infamous root

I worked several hours in the backyard tonight, I planted Pincushion Flowers, Columbine, Asters, 'Black Barlow' columbine, Coronation Gold Yarrow and Purple Coneflowers in the Memorial Garden. Over the weekend I went to the Living Green Expo at the Fairgrounds and bought a little Paper Birch sapling and planted it in one of my big pots with some Petunias and Pansies. I figure it's going to take several years before it's big enough that I can put it in the yard and not worry about it getting trampled so it can hang out in a pot for a while.

The Living Green Expo was great; I attended a workshop on Cold Frames and Green Houses. I don't see myself building a green house but I've already figured out where I'm putting a cold frame for next year. I also attended a workshop on salvaging rainwater. It gave me an idea on how I can divert the water from my sump pump to the Memorial garden. This will be great I wont have to worry about watering any of the plants and I can use all the fresh ground water from the sump pump. I'm also going to put in a rain barrel under one of my downspouts to capture that water as well. With the size of my roof I shouldn't have to use my hose to water anything, I'll get it all from mother nature!

I had a couple visitors in the backyard again, this time boys...