August 21st - Eclipse day

We didn't get much of the eclipse here in northern Ontario. It was less bright during the hour from 1:30 to 2:30 but that was about it. I recall the total solar eclipse of 1963. We were at a cottage not far from here in South River Ontario and at 4 pm, everything went dark as it would when the sun goes down. The birds stopped singing and it remained like that for about half an hour. It was a very strange experience. Today's eclipse was nothing by comparison. I guess you would have to be in the southern States to get a better showing.

This morning I transplanted a sweet woodruff that I brought from Halifax. It is in the bed with the astilbes and looks right at home in this shady location. It is such a pretty groundcover with its delicate white flowers in early spring. The foliage remains like this for the rest of the summer and reminds me of miniature schefflera.

Then I started to work on the overgrown shrub by the front steps. My husband decided that he could help me with this and thankfully he did. It took several shovels plus an axe to get this shrub out. The roots were extensive and very woody; I think it had been there for a very long time. Even our neighbour joined in the effort at one point and he hauled away the debris in his wheelbarrow. What a nice man.

Then I shoveled out the existing soil, mixed it with purchased compost and then put it back in the bed. I put the stones back, these were around the original bed and at this point, I think they can stay until I find something better to replace them. Actually the effort of removing them all seems too much at the moment. 

In the rejuvenated bed, I planted two digitalis or foxgloves and one sweet william plant. This location gets a fair amount of morning sun and then it is shady in the afternoon. I hope they will do well here. Foxgloves are biennials so they won't come back next year; I will plant more in the hope that they will continue to stagger themselves in the bed. 

A closer view of the three new perennials. A much better photo without the ugly downspout in the picture. 

And a photo to show there is some growth on the apple tree. The first photo below shows the tree when it was first planted in late May. Only three small branches on it and perhaps two dozen leaves.

And today, definitely it has been growing. Even though the bulldozer took out the apple tree in the vacant lot, my neighbour behind has an apple tree so this one will be fine. This type of apple tree requires another tree within 500 feet to be a cross pollinator.