Back in Ohio since April 1, and much to report.
An event that set me back more than it should have was the much-needed replacing of our street's 100+-year-old gas lines.
Obviously in need of replacing--but nearly fourteen weeks after the first heavy equipment was parked in front of the house, the very heavy piece of ancient (well, in technological terms) pipe is still lying next to what remains of our front-yard sidewalk. The gas company has not hauled it away, the sidewalk repair crew has not hauled it away, and my suspicion is that the trash removal company doesn't want it, either (and it weighs more than I am allowed to lift or even drag these days). At least the removed sections of sidewalk are finally being replaced. The frames went in today, which I hope means the concrete will be poured on Monday.
Unfortunately, digging up the old line and running the new one required very large holes. A distressingly large amount of what had been gorgeous dark topsoil is now several feet underground, replaced by the nearly hardpan--and probably nearly sterile--clay subsoil that had been in that subterranean zone. I have to confess that I grieved as if for a death and found myself not able to do much outside work for a ridiculously long while.
The restoration company has promised topsoil, but amazingly, some plants have started to grow even through that unfortunate clay. Hardy geranium "Rozanne" is thriving in the rock-and-clay zone,
some plants--like gladioli!--are showing up in new places, and most of the plants beyond the most heavily damaged areas are seeming relatively unscathed.
And while spring was late this year and summer heat early, the pollinators are back.
Sighs of intense relief.
On the non-personal gardening front, teams of volunteers have added to the butterfly garden near an historic railroad bridge
though we are seeing more bees than butterflies thus far.
Around the corner from the railroad bridge butterfly garden, the riverbank pollinator habitat is doing just fine.
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| Photo courtesy of Cody Henderhan |
2 comments:
I feel your pain. Rich top soil is the golden child when it comes to microbes and nutrients when compared to hard clay soil. :(
My heart breaks for you, gal. In the 30 years I've lived at 210 Washington, I've experienced the upturned hard pan clay program four times. Once when we were on vacation, the gas company dug through my Mother's King Alfred daffodils and buried them alive under tons of clay. They were my dearest legacy from my Mom, who died in 2015. There was no digging them up ~ too far down. Then there was the dry well in the backyard, which was located in the middle of my garden. Many square yards of my 25 years of organically tended soil went about six feet under. I've spent the last five years trying to restore that section of soil to something that will grow a vegetable. It's an uphill battle. But if you see me out in the fall scrounging every dead maple leaf I can find and dragging them all back to my house in a tarp, you'll know why! I've had my eye on your piece of heaven on my walks, and done my share of cringing on your behalf. But one thing I know is that you can't keep a master gardener down ~ even one with arthritis!
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