The Weather is not Cooperating

Today is just too cold and rainy to work outside. Luckily yesterday I finished several outdoor projects just in time for the rain and cold.

One of the projects was putting down a layer of black mulch around the rosebushes in front of the house.This layer of mulch will help to keep the roses from getting too dry. I am also hoping that it will deter weed growth because I do not like pulling weeds from around rose bushes.

We also added black mulch to the hosta bed. This took longer and was more difficult than laying mulch around the rose bushes because we had to make sure we didn't get any mulch on the hosta plant because it encourages slugs.

I also had to keep telling R to watch where he was stepping. Some of the hostas are fully open and others are just starting to pop out of the ground.
Here is a word of advice if you decide to use black mulch. Wear water proof gloves. My fingernails are now stained and scrubbing with a nail brush did little to remove the stain.

I knew rain was coming and decided that I needed to hustle and spray for dandelions. Last year I was able to get just over half the yard sprayed and the results were great since this year I had only a few random dandelions pop up in those areas.

I use Ortho Weed B Gone that I use in a hose end sprayer. I think the results are better than granular weed killer. I also have better control when spraying the area next to flower beds. I always miss weeds along the edge of flower beds when I use the broadcast spreader with dry granular weed killer . Also with the hose end sprayer, if I see a large weed or group of weeds I can hit it with a little more killer than if I used a broadcast spreader.

The rain has stopped and the sun is even peeking through the clouds but I see dark clouds coming from the west. So today is looking more like a good day to run errands.