Ready or Not?

What should you NOT do right before hosting a garden tour?

1)Tear all the gutters and old fascia boards off your house to prepare for a new roof.
2)Remove your chimney and store all of the busted masonry in your driveway.
3)Dig up a 7x3 foot section of lawn and lift it up 4 inches.
4)All of the above.

Well I managed to get into all of these projects just in time. I didn't think about it until I was lifting up the lawn section at 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon in about 90 degree heat. It crossed my mind that it might look like I laid sod down in strips so I stuffed the cracks with dried grass from raking. The lawn has not been watered other than where Lila's pool is and we try to move that around fairly often.

The roses are coming back into full bloom just in time. One of my favorites is Dapple Dawn. It is a beautiful single pink rose that flowers most of the season, kind of loose open flowers. And of course the lovely Sally Holmes, a blushed pink single flower in huge bunches covering the shrub.

I do plan on having the place cleaned up for the Rainier Valley Garden Tour this weekend so please stop by and take a look!
See you on Saturday!

Gregory Smaus

Native Root Designs
sustainable garden management, design, and exploration...
206.227.4458
www.nativerootdesigns.com