Today was chilly but it was a day of many different skies. Above is one sky “look” I captured.

Today was also the day for poison ivy removal. Yes removal. Dr. Umar Mycka has a wonderful business. He is known as the poison ivy horticulturalist. I don’t think there are very many people that know as much as he does on the topic! Dr. Mycka’s crews are miracle workers and gentle on your gardens. They have helped us in our woods and on our property since we moved here.

Last year everyone was so busy I talked about scheduling Dr. Mycka’s crew but time got away from me and it never happened. So when Dr.Mycka told me they had time for me right now I literally jumped on the opportunity because I had these two spots where the poison ivy was just running rampant. And they did the removal all masked up and COVID19 responsible. It’s hard work and they also will remove other invasive species. They also removed some newly sprouting burning bush, multi flora rose, and bittersweet. They remove everything that is dug up.

Someone today also asked me what some of my favorite tools were. Other than ratchet action printers and loppers. Well one of the things is something that Dr. Mycka actually introduced me to: the spear headed spade. It’s genius. It cuts through tough soil and roots like a dream. Yes my spade is pink. And my husband won’t touch it because it’s pink which cracks me up!

Other things I love are my gauntlet gloves. And a good pointy hand trowel.

Now onto some sad news for fans of Gardeners’ World and Monty Don. His Golden Retriever Nigel has gone over the rainbow bridge. I was sad to hear the news because I loved seeing Nigel on Gardeners’ World. I can’t imagine gardening without our pets.

Also today? Winterthur Azaleas are starting to open. They are so special to me. I bought them a few years ago and they are hard to come by. Mine came from Applied Climatology. The purple ones are opening and the white are about to open.

Happy gardening!