Creating the Plum Tree Well in 2022

This is the bottom of the plum tree in April 2022.

This is the plum tree in May 2022 after creating the tree well.

This is the plum tree in November of 2022

This is the plum tree well with crocuses in March 2023

This is the plum tree well with some scilla in  the foreground

This is the plum tree well in June of 2023.  The June drop of the fruit has not started yet.

 A good source of information for creating a  https://www.edmondok.gov/1401/Tree-Well-Maintenance 

  tree well.  Finished making the tree well around the plum tree on the 28 April, 2022.

It has boards along the Pees side to keep his freaking weed eater off the roots of the tree, I hope.  I moved the little yellow leafed veronica -- a piece to the little back rockery, a piece to the front little rockery, and another piece to the rockery next to the pond.  After weeding, somewhat, and cutting back the wild hawthorne bush, I put in the boards with clay backing on my side and some stones and the left over grass stuff on the Pees side.  I stuck little honeysuckle pilea cuttings in along the side of the boards and hope they catch hold.  I added compost from the old bin, and then some leaf mulch from under the bench on top of the compost.  I put in 3 fertilizer sticks around the roots about 4 feet from the trunk.  Still more weeding to do.  It rained overnight on the 29th, so this should all be good.  I may add some more soil of some kind over the leaf mulch to hold it down.  Perhaps some clay from under the deck, with sand added to it. Kept the tree watered over the 2022 year.  Cannot find where we had plums last year, though.

  There was a lot of June drop from the tree, this year, in June.  And still lots of plums on in September.  Some kids were under the tree with their ladder picking plums.  Pat had a word with the people (Syrians ?) next door, and told them that the tree was ours as we planted it and take care of it so they are not allowed to pick the fruit.  Haven't seen any kids there since.  But we came home from grocery shopping a couple of weeks ago and that demented old Pee was out under the tree pulling down branches.  His chair was sitting under the tree.  I was furious.  I had to physically throw him off my tree.  I haven't seen him there since.  We have managed to get quite a few pounds of plums this year, after all this hassle.  I have made 2 batches of plum sauce, each of about 2 cups.  We have had a huge pie with another pie plate of sliced plums frozen.  And then I have 5 more cups sliced and frozen in 1 cup little baggies.  We have been eating them fresh, for about 3 weeks now, too.  So, making the tree well and keeping it watered, despite the drought has been a success.

The taking down of the Virginia Creeper in 2022

 In 2022 we had many renovations done in the garden.  And the heat pump installed. Some of the garden renovations are shown on the composite of the Synopsis of the Journal entries for 2022 included below.  The taking down of the Virginia creeper was not mentioned on the composite... just too many things done in 2022.  As I am starting to do up yet more gardening pages I am doing this post so I can link it to the page about the Driveway Strip garden room https://www.mmmee.com/listDWS 

The text is an excerpt from my daily garden journal.

August 11, 2022: 

 Pat was complaining about the magnolia and the tree/shrubs on the other side of the driveway, including the virginia creeper. He has to get up on the ladder once a year and bring it down so that it does not get up on to the wires. Poor Pat! So after talking to him about taking it out or keeping it; I think I compromised at bringing it down to manageable height. I started this chore at 3:00 and came in at 5:00. I have a lot of it pulled down. There was a squirrel's nest or two under there. It has a lot of dried out vines. The ivy is very healthy. When I got to the top of the vines I see that the ivy has grown into cracks in the post. So, it is a good thing we are taking it down, I guess. I am now contemplating cleaning out the area around the post, entirely. I do not know if round up kills ivy, creeper or St.John's wort. 

August 12, 2022:

 I have the piles of debris along the driveway with the virginia creeper stuff. So, it is quite cleaned up.  I worked at taking down more of the virginia creeper from about 3:00 to 3:40... came in for iced cappiccino and a cookie. Was back out till about 5:45. I have about 3/4 of the thing taken down. Pat and I do not know just yet how much of the creeper we are going to take down. Ground level would be good for me. The lower I go on clipping down the stems the thicker the stems become, so I do not know how much of this I can do with the long handled pruner. It has been a very good tool, but I think this bashing and crashing the creeper is taking its toll on it. This year has been full of this 'taking trees and shrubs down and cleaning up over-grown things', and renovation everywhere. 

August 16, 2022:

Was 18 degrees when I went out to the garden to continue taking down the creeper. I have it down to a knarly bunch of stems that look like a stump. I think I will leave it at that. Need to get the St. John's wort mowed down. Then I should be able to find someone to hall away the debris. The Davey Tree arborist comes tomorrow morning. Pat thinks I should ask them to take this debris... Would be nice if they could. 

August 17, 2022:

Saw Ben from Davey Tree this morning about 10:00 ish. We got all the things listed that I want done: copies of everything in the gardening folder.

August 20, 2022:

 At about 9:00 Ben came by with his silver pick up truck and his tools. He has a good big hedge pruner, rake, shovel, broom and a tarp. Also has a pressure washer and other things I don't know about. He used the tarp to load debris onto, folded it and lifted the stuff into the truck box. He clipped the St.John's wort; on the Saanich property and up to the agave. I said I would do the rest, as there are plants in there that I do not want clipped down. It must have taken him a couple hours. The truck box was full and covered with the tied down tarp. I got his private phone number and his wife's cell. He uses his cell number for Davey Tree stuff, and the ipad they gave him. He uses his private phone with Davey so he does not need to be answering several different phones. $150. paid. 2 more months and he will be able to form his own company. I don't think Davey Tree minds him doing this side work, as long as he is not doing tree stuff that Davey would be able to charge for. 

On August 18, 2023 I dug out some of the ivy at the base of the stump of the virginia creeper.  The creeper has gone wild, with great big leaves that are lying on top of the St.John's wort along the ground. I pulled down the pieces that have grown up the post to about a 6 foot height.  When I get the time I will move the creeper vines and cut back everything beneath them, and put them back along the ground again.   The St. John's wort also has been growing like crazy.