the title of the post is apparently some kind of jazz standard i've heard a million times but can't ever place. plus, it's the beginning of a rainy summer in central texas, which is good news for my garden, bad news for my hobby of cycling.
the butterfly garden: it's in the front yard, with southern exposure and no shade all day. everything has gone nuts. i attempted to transplant the butterfly bush this week, since rain was in the forecast, and it was getting squeezed out by the autumn sage and esperanza. if i'm lucky it'll make it. also, the cosmos and zinnias, which began about a month ago, are taller than the fence already. meanwhile, i have significant aphids on some of the milkweed, which is the only host plant for the monarch caterpillar. this could prove problematic if it continues; in the meantime, i'm removing affected plant parts by hand, moving ladybugs to the aphid sites, and spraying the aphids with a solution of dr. bronner's magic soap and water, which kills them.
the vegetable garden: it has begun! i built a 16'x4' bed of 2x10s, placed it in the backyard in a spot that gets direct sunlight from sunrise to about 4pm in the summer, and is filtered through the pecan tree after 4:00. in the winter, minus the pecan leaves, it should be full day exposure, albeit at a lower angle, and possibly in the shadow of the house near the solstice. earlier this week i scored a pickup truck load of composted live oak leaves and worms from south austin, and threw them down. hopefully i will acquire 2 cubic yards of soil by saturday. i got a hot tip from a woman in a training i was at today that soil is way cheaper south of town in buda than west (about half as expensive). i'd like to get some free stuff but it all seems to be in liberty hill. at least buda is on the way to ma and pa.
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