Replanting Ditch in Progress

The view from the truck, during downpour.  Chaya cuttings await transplanting

And now for some rainy day fun!  We're planting what Jack is now referring to as our butterfly buffet!

Jack cut a bunch of cuttings from one of the chaya plants and we schlepped those and some sale hibiscus to the newly bare ditch out on the land.  And I had a quart size ziploc bag with ALL the flower and herb seeds ferreted away for the past ten years that I recently found in a closet.  I don't know if a single one is viable, but surely out of that many at least a few will show!

Robbyn abhors a void...

 The bare dirt will surely be regrown in no time, what with all this rain, even if we don't plant anything there.  But
natureRobbyn hates a void :-)

It appears we have to grab our land time when we can get it between showers these days.  It can be raining on one side of the road and be sunny and dry on the other.  And, like today, it can be pouring for 30 minutes and be clear the next 30.  So we packed our work clothes and a bunch of towels for some fun roadside planting.  There are natives among the seed mixes we sowed, and there are plenty of non-natives.  None of the seeds are listed among invasives, and most are edible, medicinal, or nectary.  Let's see if anything appears!

Jack's handiwork...future butterfly buffet in the making!

It sounds silly to some, to intersperse this play time with work like this, but I've waited for SOOO LONGGG for this time to be here, and I'm enjoying it so very very much!!!  I've moved over 20 times in my life so far and never have I been able to put down roots ... whatever I planted was known to be temporary...ultimately for somebody else.  Not so these!  So I've gone a little nuts. :)

At this point, chaya cuttings and hibiscus with multiple herb and flower/native seeds sown throughout

Closeup.  Chaya cuttings planted about a foot deep using post hole digger.  They are the longer, sprawling plants

Tomorrow we hope to continue with some more serious work.  And yet, somehow some extra plants have already made their way into the back of the truck, awaiting transplanting.  Somehow some bargain agapanthus from Home Depot found their way back there (la la lahhhh!) ;-)

The original grandmama chaya from which all subsequent plants have been cut and grown.  This is its mature form, a butterfly magnet!

What they look like when mature

Gulf fritillary...one of the most frequent chaya visitors

What's growing in your rainy days?


(A very happy Robbyn :-))