At last The Wedding Department page is finished and uploaded so we can continue with other things, like work. There will still be some tinkering to do but at least the basic architecture is there.
The weather today was in the low 80s and its a good thing we built the small greenhouse with a removable side. Even with the side off it was over 80 inside. The weather is going to go back down to the 50s and that is a good thing. If the weather stayed warm we would be forced to put the shade cloth on the greenhouse.
The shade cloth cuts the sun 60 percent and that is not what we want this time of year. The plants that want sun “need sun” to look the best and stay healthy. To much cloudy weather or using the shade cloth will make the plants leggy. The cool weather will allow us to leave the shade cloth off and still take advantage of the light. Even a cloudy day has more sun than a 60 percent shade.
We are making good strides in the gardens. The perennial bed is cleaned up and edged around the border. Its always a mystery what will come up so we just watch and cross our fingers. Some of the plants are starting to show like the lupines, the Shasta daisy’s, sedum and that yellow stuff that Phyllis got from her sister the used to be around the bird bath in Black River. Can’t remember the name and we did not get any pictures but its coming up in good shape.
Hold it, Phyllis just said its Yellow Loosestrife, not to be confused with the intrusive Purple that chokes swamps. Although it is very prolific.
We put the benches up on the side of the greenhouse, see the photos. The benches are made of larch which is the Monty Python term for tamarack. Its so full of pitch that it does not rot. We use larch for the foundation of the greenhouse and anywhere we need wood that will be in contact with the ground, with the exception of cedar posts. For years prior to pressure treated lumber larch was used as the wood posts that supported road way guard rails.
It requires no finishing and weathers to a nice soft gray.
We put stone around the outside of the greenhouses, 3 feet out on all sides. The stone is held in place by 1 by 4 larch that we anchored with pipe driven into the ground. We laid landscape fabric down and covered it with small red granite. This way we do not have to weed under the benches. It is really tidy because we can use the weed whacker against the boards to trim the grass. The mower gets the paths.
In the summer the benches are supported with regular cinder blocks. This gives them a nice height and there is space under the benches for storage. Some plants can be placed on the gravel to save space. This system works good in the early spring when the days are warm but the nights may be cold. We can just hustle the plants under the benches and if its really cold we can put some plastic on the benches to protect the plants. Next morning they go back on the benches. This is a lot better for plants than just covering them with plastic as the strong morning sun will not cook them as can happen when plants are covered with out ventilation.
In the winter we lay the benches flat on the gravel to make a road for the snow blower. They have to be stored some where. The snow must be kept clear around the greenhouses and the snow blower would pick the stone up if we just ran it around with out the benches in place.
So we have them up and the hearty herbs are being brought out. We put them under the benches for a day or 2 to harden them to the wind. Its amazing as to how well plants respond to getting out doors in the breeze. The English daisy’s were limp and lifeless but 2 days under the benches and they are holding their leaves up.
So time to hit the hay. Its been a long weekend.
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