OT: A much needed outing...

[DBJohnson]

After having been cooped up for three weeks due to the foot surgery, Lovely Wife and I took some time off from work and she drove me for a much needed outing. We visited White Oak Lavender Farm (also the home of The Purple Wolf Vinyard) near Harrisonburg, VA, in the Shenandoah Valley and then Edible Landscapes in Afton, VA.

Holy cow! If you've never visited a lavender far during full bloom, you need to treat yourself to the experience. Watched them harvest some lavender and then distill out the essential oil and floral water byproduct. Very interesting! The gardens, duck pond, and wisteria-covered pergolas were an inspiration for what I want to do on my place.

Edible Landscaping was a great experience, too. Seeing the figs and pawpaws and persimmons and other fruit trees was wonderful. I really liked seeing how the trees fare in zone 6...so they should do as well or better at my place in zone 7. I got two pawpaw trees--a Shenandoah and a Mango. Just need to figure out where to put them.

Big thanks to Lovely Wife for getting me out of the house. The exercise and fresh air was a tonic!

[WillsC]

That sounds like a great trip How is the foot coming along?

[DBJohnson]

As well as can be expected. I'm following the doctor's instructions to the letter--have been warned by college friend who is an orthopedist that going too fast might mean doing more damage and having to do this all again. NOT going to do that!

The iWalk is a godsend! I plan to do some yard work tomorrow with the trimmer and see how that goes with the peg leg. If it goes well, I may try the tiller to prep the places for the pawpaw trees (Lovely Wife says I'm nuts for considering it...she might be right). If I have any doubts about it, I won't do it...but Lovely Wife doesn't have the same dedication to breaking up the soil before planting that I do.

[cjmach1973]

BEWARE the wisteria. My parents removed theirs 10 years ago, and it still pops up from little pieces of root left behind. And that's in zone 5B

[DBJohnson]

In the late 80's, my parents moved onto my great-great-grandparents' homestead place. The house had burned down 35 years before but Great-Nan had had a well-maintained wisteria bush in the front yard. After 35 years of the forest encroaching on the place and the wisteria given free reign, every tree (mostly locusts) on the hilltop was warped in one way or another. My wife at the time and I spent many weekends helping them pull wisteria out of the trees and the runners from the ground. Now, 20+ years later, Mom says she finally didn't have any try to come back in the yard this year.

On my farm, the wisteria patch is where the tree the wisteria killed was removed before we moved in and the vines have been kept low with the mower. It is conveniently located near the fire pit, so I'm thinking some flagstones to make a patio over most of the wisteria. Build the pergola over that and then let the wisteria vines that inevitably will appear near the posts stay and climb the pergola.

And then keep the monster under control.

[Rewton]

Yes, the asian wisteria is incredibly invasive and hard to get rid off. I had a neighbor who had it on his place and I was always fighting it on my side of the fence.

[DBJohnson]

Here's a pic from inside the wisteria pergola at the lavender farm's duck pond that inspired what I want to do at my place.

[fitzski]

Glad to hear you're doing well. Sound like a great trip.

[Jamie0507]

Sounds awesome Bryant! Glad you had the chance to get out a bit! 👍👍👍

[hstark]

What a fun field trip! I grow some french lavender in my front yard, but it's not doing so well with our heat. You guys have the best soil there too.

[cjmach1973]

spanish lavender will probably handle more heat

[DBJohnson]

I wish! My soil here is all red clay with a very liberal smattering of quartz and some granite. Every tree I put in here gets a couple of bags of topsoil worked in first with some black cow top dressed just under the mulch.

[hstark]

I had a house in Arlington/Falls Church Va for years (went to Georgetown U), and what I best remember is that roses grew like weeds. A 1/2 bag of bone meal and 1/2 bag of cow manure in the bottom of the hole, and you can just forget the plant and have gazillions of roses without doing another thing for years... sigh. I also planted a peach and apricot tree there (haven't seen anyone do that successfully in Central Florida).

The clay there is not good for growing certain things for sure, but the things you can grow there will simply refuse to do well here in Florida. Heck, you can grow Peonies even. That isn't possible in Florida (tho we can grow citrus, bananas, papaya, avocados, and of course figs). I had horrible luck with veggies there tho...

[lilfiggy]

ok I vote no on that tiller thing just what you need to do trip and pull the tiller down on top of you sounds like you need to eat a pint of ice cream and get over that. LOL

[DBJohnson]

Yep! I've been informed that if I don't stop the crazy-talk there will be a call made to get me committed and fitted for a jacket with very long sleeves.....or a divorce attorney.

I'll keep Lovely Wife, thankyouverymuch....so no on the tiller.

[DaveL]

DB, your a smart man! When I had my hips done the hardest thing to do was nothing. The body needs time to heel.

[DBJohnson]

Well, compromised. No tiller, but she let me use the trimmer to trim around the greenhouse (can't get to that area with the mower so the grass hasn't been cut at all this summer). That was enough to wear me out, so now I'm propped up on the front porch watching Lovely Wife weed her flower beds.

[lilfiggy]

That is called baker act sorry for kcaps cat laying on part of keybord doesnt like to be moved once there sorry all

[DBJohnson]

Hi, everyone!

[SarinaP]

Hi buddy!

[lilfiggy]

you are so innovative i bet that is the jumbo tidy cat container.

[DBJohnson]

It is indeed! (aka, pre-mod version of fig planter bucket)