Of myrtle, maples and Mildred.

Myrtle.  How do I love thee? Not at all, actually, myrtle, not at all.  I spent much of the last week yanking myrtle ground cover out of my way, out of my rake, out of my plantings.  I am so over myrtle.

 

Maples.  We know I love the maple tree.   The lovely maple will provide shade and homes for birds, bugs and beetles.  The “soft” maple that prolifically populates my woods is basically a weed.  When I am not pulling out myrtle, I am pulling out little maple trees, sometimes little oak trees.  I did quite a bit in the area of the moon garden over the weekend and have piles of maple tree saplings from trying to make a clearing for Esmerelda and her white blooms.  More on that next week, but, the moon garden is shaping up.
    

But, Mildred, ah, Mildred, the beautiful hot pink azalea with blossoms almost as big as my hand.  I got braver than brave on Thursday and determined that I could move Mildred on my own.  I equipped myself with the plastic wheelbarrow, 3 shovels and 2 trowels and went to work.  I first had to roll a short section of a railroad tie out of the way, dug in and around to clear roots.  Stood in the flower bed to lift her out.  She fell divided in two large clumps into the wheelbarrow, and there was a heartbeat of panic. Then, a realization -  I have two! Two Mildreds!

The first section, once released from the flower bed seemed to spread open her arms and grow in girth.  Huge.  This thing is huge! I wrestled her into a pre-dug hole by the new shed and prayed I had loosened enough soil to accommodate her expansive drip line and far reaching roots.  Fertilizer, water, dirt, repeat … I hope she makes it.  Say it with me “I hope she makes it”!

The second surprise section took a moment to place.  Where should she go? I decided on a place out from our bedroom window and dug.  This is when some of my most frustrating myrtle removal happened.  This side yard has been largely ignored for years, so much so in fact that our contractor friend, when talking our remodeling plans, said about this area of the yard “There’s nothing to look at over there”.  Ouch.  So, the side yard has made it onto the list, and it is a huge project, filled with nonsensical plants and miles of myrtle.  I need to make this area worth looking at.

 

It’s been five days for Mildred and Mildred II and they still look good.  I will know a lot more after a few weeks and even going in to next spring about their adaptation to their new locations.  I am worried about Mildred II; I’ve tried a couple things there and have not had much success as it seems the soil is great for myrtle but not so much for other things!