So yesterday was my annual mulch day. I usually do that in late April/early May when the oak process – old leaf drop; tassles; pollen – is completed, but I was exceptionally busy with the Legislature this year and the oak process seemed to go very late. Anyroad, this was the first weekend I could get to it. Note to self – Never wait this long again!
This year, it was 70 bags. Usually, I go to Lowe’s and collect the stuff myself, but somebody kept saying I was too old for that sort of thing, so I had it delivered. Hopefully I don’t look 49, but this afternoon I feel like 149. If I’d’ve picked up the mulch myself, I’d probably be dead now. I didn’t realize what a chore that was. The Highlander can only hold 24 bags, so that’s three trips where I load the bags on the flat-bed cart; push with all my might to overcome inertia; and pray there’s a straight shot to the cashier. Then it’s unloading the cart into the car; schlepping them home (looking like a low-rider in the process); unloading them out of the Highlander; then repeat twice. Of course, the folks at Lowe’s think I’m either a gardening god or a complete freak. I missed that attention this year.
On Friday morning, a huge truck pulled up with a folk lift and quicker than you could say ‘Jack Robinson,’ I had two pallets of mulch in the driveway. Yesterday morning was unloading the pallets and distributing the bags. Then the work began.
Here are some photos – mainly as evidence that I do this crazy thing every year.
Here’s the front – before and after:
And the back:
During the day I stopped a couple of times – when I thought I was going to keel over and die – and got some fairly decent photos. I’ve seen a lot of dragon flies this year. This one was particularly colourful – orange wings and a crimson abdomen.
My white Rose of Sharon (hibiscus syriacus) is doing very well.
I’ve noticed that the crepe myrtles (lagerstroemia) in Austin seem to be doing exceptionally well this year. The ones I planted behind the fence started blooming about a week ago.
For some reason, my clematis (ranunculaceae) is blooming again. That’s always been my biggest complaint about it; there seems to be an exceptionally short blooming season. It might be getting more light this year than in the past, so perhaps that’s it.
And I noticed that a titmouse has build a nest in the hollow part of this wrought-iron bear – extremely ingenious!
Well, that’s another mulch day for the history books – Oy gewalt…
The Runcible Existentialist 
nice, too much work tho, i would hate that backbreaking work, the flowers are pretty have a few crepe myrtles myself even tho i am in zone5/6 I have to bury the tops but the past couple of years none of the tops that were uncovered died so now they aer growing really big, one is purple red, another pink and the red one is most sensitive to the cold as despite protection it had alotof die back or it could be because I let the soil dry out (I potted it and brought into my insulate covered porch which seldom goes below 30 degree probably from residue heat from the house)it is growing really good now,, your crepe looks really pretty.
I suppose we’re pretty lucky in Texas that crepe myrtles seem to grow like weeds here with almost no special care needed. Our biggest problem is ‘crepe murder’ – over-zealous gardeners who cut crepes back to almost nothing. It looks horrible (http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/crape_murder/crape_murder1.jpg) and has absolutely zero benefit.