Everything I Like Causes Cancer

I let myself sleep in until about 9 and then spent what was left of the morning drinking coffee and catching up on last week's TV.

About noon I had a bite for lunch, took a shower, and then ordered three roses for the front bed. I chose the Iceberg rose, a hardy and fragrant white which will look awesome against the red brick of the house. After that I headed outside to work in the yard all day.

Here's what I accomplished:

• General clean-up: collected sticks and debris that found it's way into the yard over the winter, discarded the pots that froze and broke, and got rid of the grill cover that shredded in some of the vicious wind we had.
• Burned the ornamental grasses (hoping all the while that no one called the fire department)
• Raked and carried off 6 tons of leaves. Seriously. I filled an entire yard waste dumpster.
• Cut the grass.
• Put down a time-release fertilizer on the roses.
• Sprayed fungicide on the roses. I'm hoping this will get rid of the black spot that decimates the foliage by mid-July every year.
• Made a tentative plan for what I'm going to do with the pots. I think dracena, mini petunias, and potato vine (both the black and bright green). These are the three plants that have fared the best over the years. I'm not sure what color scheme, though. Red and white? Red and yellow? White and pink? Purple and white? Ooooh, maybe purple and white. Any suggestions, dear readers?
• Cleaned up the beds - pulled weeds, trimmed old, dead growth from last season, and cleaned up the edges (weeds, mulch that escaped its confines).
• Cleaned out a couple of my pots. (I replace the potting soil every year.)
• Set out the patio furniture.
• Planned where I'm going to move the plants that currently live in the front bed. I think I am going to be able to re-use everything somewhere else.
• Cleaned the patio and sidewalk.

It really does look awesome out there now. I think this is the first time I've gotten this clean-up done so early. I'm really excited that it gets a little easier every year. Now I can't wait to go shopping for the potted plants and get all the new stuff planted!

BTW, the peonies are about 3-4 inches above-ground which means it's only a week or two before I start a daily rave here about how awesome they smell. Brace yourselves, I get a little nutty about my peonies.

I went back in the house about 4:30, took a long, hot bath, made a huge pot of spaghetti and settled in for more TV. It was the perfect Sunday.