Central Virginia is hot today, with an expected high of 88. We usually hit our highest temps in the mid-afternoon so this morning was dedicated to outdoor work so we could get as much done as possible before things got too warm. We became a bit uncomfortable around 1, so we had lunch (fruit salad and peanut butter crackers) and are now putting the Boy Wonder in for rest time (not nap time, as he repeatedly points out because he's "too big for naps").


I'm pretty pleased with how much we've accomplished so far this weekend. The Boy Wonder and I planted radishes, mesclun and bunching onions in the one small raised bed after spreading peat and compost over the layers of newspaper and kitchen waste and then moved on to putting some flower containers together for the front steps. I pulled out two rather anemic roses, some creepy groundcover thing (the main job of which appeared to be sitting around looking ugly) and a huge stand of distressed looking irises (which didn't bloom last year and showed no sign of doing so this year). At our house it's perform or get out.


Since the green area we euphemistically refer to as a "lawn" is really just a mix of rough weeds, we decided to be proactive and create a little 5 X 8 space near the patio to be a soft play area for the babe. First we mowed the weeds down as close as possible and then overseeded with some grass that we've been assured can handle our region's extreme wet/dry cycles. Because grass can continue to grow even when it is cut short, we'll do that through the summer hopefully killing the weeds while allowing the grass to take a good hold. Since we operate on a great deal of theory around here, all I can say is, "We'll see".


The big project for later (when the sun begins to fall and the air becomes more comfortable again) is to complete the Great Hosta Removal of '04. I really don't like hostas and I have a bed that is just covered with them. Out. Out. Out. Getting them out takes some doing, though, because they've filled this entire 2 X 8 bed and they're all connected under the soil. So I'm chopping, pulling and twisting their moist little alien bodies a bit at a time - I took almost an hour to clear a 2 X 2 area and I'm guessing I'm looking at another day of hard time before I'm rid of them at last. Once they're gone I'm going to just go with bedding plants through the summer and put in some bleeding hearts and lilly of the valley for next spring.


The final project is to lay the landscaping fabric down where I want the herb garden. This is another long and narrow space, maybe 3 X 10. I've promised myself that I won't spend a dime on plants until I've sketched it out and decided what to put where and how much of any given thing I need (i.e., want). In other words, to do the job right. I know I want a couple kinds of basil, some cilantro, a few scented geraniums, two or three mints, thyme, rosemary and lavender. Then there are things like verbena (which I love), catmint and a host of others.


If you have or wish to have an herb garden, what would you plant? What would you leave out? Why?