Record breaking high temps here this week end. Hope it's a fluke.

Planted two tomatoes in containers out by the road. A Sweet-100 cherry and some patio tomato - I forget what it was. As the trees have leafed out, I'm increasingly doubtful they will have much of a chance - but we shall see. Also popped a few basil plants in the herb garden, planted a ghost fern and a japanese painted fern, and got a bunch of stuff mulched with chopped leaves I had piled up in a corner last fall. I've spread the rest of the leaves out over roughly an area where I eventually want to put a flowerbed and unrolled a length of chicken wire over it so the cats don't use it as a litter box. I'll start dumping coffee grounds out there also. If the earthworms will do their thing and I am patient, I'll end up with a rich, loamy bed with minimal effort.

That digging of new beds is hard work, Maggie! I'm finding the soil quite variable here. In places there is 6-8 inches of good top soil over red clay.   In others, nothing but red clay that will take a lot of work and amending. I think building up is going to be the only viable thing to do here. I need to figure out a place to put wire bins for leaves next fall - loard knows I will have plenty.

Also put up a humming bird feeder. I'm wondering how long before a hummer might discover it. I saw one hummer a week ago checking out a red azalea, but don't have anything planted right now to draw them in. I bet when the red poppies bloom they will come check things out again.

Haven't been able to find garlic chives, and my son keeps forgetting to dig up some from the old place to bring to me. Maybe some one at the farmer's market will have them. I wanted to check on Saturday, but we slept in.