Life, food, events, and community in Albuquerque, NM

Two a Day: taking it a little easy

I transplanted something and not only didn't it die, it grew a flower. I love Globemallow!

My Two a Day guideline had a bit of a hiccup this week in the form of me feeling funky on Thursday and being unwilling to work in the rain much on Friday. In spite of the slowdowns I was able to start on a couple of projects that have been on my to do list for as long as I've had a to do list.

Monday:
I didn't do much serious labor on Monday. I spent a few hours helping a friend move on Sunday so my shoulders were a touch sore. I loaded up the car with the bags of yard waste from the last few weeks (well, some of them anyway) and made a dump run. Then I popped over to Lowe's to get the supplies to strip, patch, and paint the woodwork around our house.

Tuesday:
It was a paint-stripping day. I hate working with caustic goop but sometimes a lady has to deal with crap that eats through nitrile gloves and Tuesday was that day. I started on the woodwork in the arch between the side yard and the back yard, it's my test area. Two layers of paint-stripper and a coat of wood-filler and it's ready for some priming and painting.

original wood

after paint-stripper

after wood-filler

a coat of primer

Wednesday:
After my test area got a coat of primer I decided to start on the woodwork outside our side door. It has a little dry rot so I cut off the part that sticks out beyond the overhang. When I cut the ends of the vigas off I found a decidedly more pronounced case of dry rot than what I thought I had. I'll have to ruminate on what to do about it.

side door before

side door after

Then I had to take care of the swamp cooler. I oiled the motor and unclogged a bit of goop from the pipe that distributes water onto the media, the house is much cooler now!

Thursday:
Sick Day.

Friday:
Well, it was a rainy morning so I didn't stay out for long. I moved dirt into one of the areas next to the house that I dug grass out of last week. The basement is prone to leaking when the grading is jacked so I un-jacked what I had done. I also planted three baby Russian Sage that Chantal gave me. She told me that the day's weather would be good for planting because on overcast days the plants aren't shocked by full sun, I'm crossing my fingers for the little so-and-so's. My track record for helping plants live is not so great, here's hoping for better this time around!

Comment by Eckleburg and Grumblecake on July 3, 2009 at 3:37pm: You rock my socks with your amazing productivity. I am inspired by your willingness to fight horrible weeds, play with caustic goop, and drive to the dump. Go, Spring, go!

Comment by Spring Griffin on July 3, 2009 at 3:58pm: Whichever one of you wrote this, you're both awesome gardeners so it's lovely to hear, thanks!

Comment by Masshole in Fringecrest on July 5, 2009 at 12:46am: By the way, I love Globemallow too, everywhere except in my Buffalo Grass lawn, I don't have the heart to do something (vaguely chemical, no doubt) about it, but it is really starting to piss me off. I have seen an amazing and oddly subtle variety of colors in their flowers around the hood, from medium orange, to creamsicle to dark pink. They are an amazing native flower that can survive and thrive in severely harsh conditions, not to mention (have I mentioned?) my awesome Buffalo Grass lawn.

Comment by Spring Griffin on July 5, 2009 at 7:16am: I probably geeked out a little more than was warranted over the Globemallow surviving but the last time I tried to transplant it, the little guy died in a few days. It's so ubiquitous that I felt like a double-failure so this time I'm a little over excited. I'm amazed that it pushed its way into the Buffalo Grass, though, I hope you find a satisfying way to oust it.

Comment by chantal on July 7, 2009 at 9:41am: Keep it up, girl! May the Russian Sage live long and prosper ;-)

Comment by Dick Chingadero on July 7, 2009 at 4:39pm: had i known transplanting globemallow was possible, I would have done it long ago. Honestly, Spring, I think it is a pretty big deal. Wildflowers usually don't like having their roots messed with. Coolness!

Comment by Ben Moffett on July 7, 2009 at 9:13pm: There are at least two kinds of wild globemallow that grow here. One is a low forming variety with light green leaves; the other tends to grow straight up like a hollyhock, with darker leaves. The globemallows are in the hollyhock family or vice versa. I like the smaller wild one. I can't tell which is in the picture above. The more invasive taller one is fairly easy to pull out of the ground. Both are perennials. The idea of potting them never occurred to be, but it certainly sounds like a great way to control them and display them by creative pruning. I'm going to try it. Birds, including hummers, love them for their seeds and nectar, especially in the late fall.