The remnant edge of an old flowerbed

This was a fun week in many ways, but you can’t beat having a Monday that takes a turn into a fun day.

The day started quite normally – mild, Monday-ish but nothing special. My garden helper (Dale) arrived about 9 and we set to work roping off the daffodils. These are perhaps the remnant hedge the George Camp had referred to in his late 19thc letter: “the jonquil hedge is in full bloom” – helpful but didn’t say where!

Last year around this time we noticed this sort-of line of daffodils coming up near the spirea hedge.  They are late blooming, and alas had not bloomed before the landscape crew missed them as daffodils and mowed them down – eek! So this year I want to rope them off. 

Dale and I put stakes into the ground, wound twine around and secured one patch along the hedge.We also noticed a few in the grass to the left of the hedge heading north, so we started roping them too. As we were figuring out where they went I espied a little clump up under the winter honeysuckle bush.  This is an area that is 2 foot deep in leaves from decades of accumulation.  The little daffs were in a sheltered area so not too buried. 

I wondered over to see if there were some more over there. I unearthed another little patch, then my hand hit a rock sticking up from the ground. Scooting leaves out of the way, I found another rock, then another.Dale came to join me. Together we pushed leaves aside and exposed a line of rocks. This was more fun than weeding, but to help the matter along, I decided we had better go fetch some rakes rather than using feet and bare hands to remove the leaves.  Finally by 11 o’clock we had exposed some 50 or so feet of remnant flower bed edging. The daffodils may be in the bed, in which case the edging is at the front of the bed, or, more likely, the edging is at back of the planting area as it is in the exposed part of the property. This puts the daffodils behind the garden bed, which was typical for 19th flower beds (daffs not being highly thought of until the turn of the 20th C). We followed the edge under the clump of winter honeysuckle, around an old tree. Then came across a tree that butted up against the edging showing that the tree was not there when that tree started growing. This delineates the timeline for when the edging was installed.

The next step is to remove all the leaves and see what else comes up – I have already noticed a little iris that was glad to see fresh air again.

Things like this make the job fun – yes indeed the city pays me to play in the leaves!!