Sunday, May 19, 2024

New Bushes

We planted some new bushes today along the new fence in the tree stump area.  I had to remove several plants when we regraded the lot line to get the yards on the same level for the new fence, so we have a strip of dirt that we want occupied by plants of our choosing and not weeds.  We transplanted some vinca back there, but it needed much more.  We considered other perennials that would take up that space, but we did want something that grew a bit taller so started looking at different kinds of bushes.

Enlarge, if curious.
We went to a local nursery today and chose (the last) two of this spirea, which are to grow to 2-3 feet tall and as wide, and one tuxedo weigela, which will grow 4-5 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide.  We planted them five feet apart on center, and with a foot of dirt between the hole and the fence.  This seemed reasonable and we hope they fill the space well in a few years.  I had the trail cam out there keeping an eye on the tree stump and I happened to notice it, so I set it to make a short time lapse video of us planting the bushes, just for the hell of it.  I added these before and after pictures to the video and it turned out okay, so you can see that short video below.  No background music and nothing fancy, it just is what it is.


I'm reminded of when the workers next door were working on the roof.  One called out to us one day to point out how they could see many of the back yards in the area and ours was the nicest.  That was a very nice thing to say, and maybe justifies my pride in our back yard.  We inherited a good yard 15 years ago and have made great improvements ever since, in my opinion.  All contributing to my pleasure in spending evenings back there by the fire, which I was able to do again on Friday evening.


Friday, Saturday and today are the third, fourth, and fifth days we've been able to have windows open this year, though they almost got shut yesterday for the air conditioner with temperatures approaching 90ºF.  And I mowed for the second time on Friday as the grass was almost as long as when I first mowed it exactly a week before.  We still have a full month until summer officially begins, but I feel confident that the cloud of winter and threat of snow are finally behind us for a few months and I'm feeling so much more comfortable in bare feet and shorts.  (Plus a shirt - no one wants to see me go topless!)  Cheers, everyone.

9 comments:

Blue Witch said...

That is going to look wonderful when the new shrubs have grown a bit.

Are those white heads alliums?

And is the time lapse done with the camera that is like the original one you had, or with the second one you bought? Perhaps I am imagining that you bought a 3rd one like the first one, which is like the one we have. Which works well, although Mr BW wishes there was an easy way to run all the individual clips together for ease of reviewing.

Scoakat said...

Thank you, BW.
And you must be referring to the solar lights - they do look like white alium, don't they? You can get a glimpse of them lit up on this recent post: https://scoakatsblog.blogspot.com/2024/05/fridays-fire-and-todays-plantings.html

You are exactly correct. The first trail cam is pink, but otherwise works. The second has no time lapse feature and the screen on the back making it hard to aim and frame. And trail cam #3 is exactly as the first one, and the one you have.

I've been using ClipChamp to put together/edit videos. Clunky, but it works. Have you discovered anything previously unseen on your trail cam?

Blue Witch said...

Yes. Rats. Say no more. All dead now apart from one very clever one. "It's a rat trap, and they've been caught!"

We've found that the motion sensor works best if put right on the floor, rather than looking down from a wall or post.

I don't think Mr BW has found the time lapse setting yet.

And solar lights, ah yes, I can see now. Silly me.

Scoakat said...

Oh, something that may help Mr BW; right click on the first video file and choose Open With, then Photos. (If you've chosen picture and video files then you may have to sort by type first.) Then he can just hit the right arrow and scroll through the video clips as if scrolling through pictures. Hope that helps, I know what he means and it's the easiest way I've figured out.

Scoakat said...

Ugh, my first comment obviously didn't post. Well, it was a clever yet humorful gasp about rats and glad it helped rid you of most, and looking back I'm thinking you may be right about the height and angle, I may experiment with that in mind. I can usually capture some things, mostly mundane, in the back yard on any day.

delcatto said...

They should fill that gap nicely and I can say Weigela is lovely. I will put up a photo on my blog although it is our neighbours. I finally identified it via my sister who immediately knew what it was from my description as photos would not text for some reason.

Blue Witch said...

Thanks, but will videos open with Photos? Or does that give you just the first frame as a still?

Scoakat said...

Yes, videos will open with the Photos program that's in Windows.

Blue Witch said...

Thanks, I will pass that on.