I finally got started 'disarranging' this evening. Heavy rain on two week-ends, my son's lacrosse games, a necessary trip home to WV and private practice clients evenings and weekends had delayed me.

My gardening philosophy has always been "take care of the soil, and the soil will take care of the plants." I won't tell the story from 8 or 10 years ago of turning my front yard into an enormous cottage-style flower bed divided by only 3 grass paths, except to say I started with hardpan and fill dirt, and hauled in good dirt and compost, one pick-up truck and wheelbarrow at a time, and I did it entirely by myself. I thought about that, and the years of tending the soil and the worms as I dug plants out of the rich, deep loam this evening. Even though I will be gone from here, and the garden probably mowed down, green things and creepy crawlies will still survive, and perhaps thrive. Mother nature has been given a little bit of a hand-up in restoring this little piece of earth.

I'm not sure how much I am actually going to dig and take with me. I'm also thinking it is likely it will be at least mid-July before I find another place and am ready to move, so I am going to leave the peonies, irises and daylilies alone until I am ready to move. Peonies start going dormant here by mid-July, and the iris and daylilies don't much care when they are dug up. Tonight I focused on hydrangeas, species tulips, and some of the new hybrid echineceas I planted two seasons ago.

The first big, bright red poppie shed it's cap today and will fully open tommorrow!