Red clay, yellow clay

I left the KY clay for MO clay. They both make bricks. From our back yard alone we could supply enough brick for several very large houses.

The landscaper came this afternoon to give us a plan for our yard, beginning at the front door. It is not that the front looks BAD. It just does not look like a lover of flowers lives here and since I love flowers that is the look I want.

The landscaping will be done in three stages mainly because the landscaping design firm is sssssssssooooooooooo busy. They will have to squeeze us in if we want to get the front yard looking good before the first snow flakes fly. I was glad to hear that he didn't think we would need much in the way of additional plantings and only suggested one more boxwood, a scrub rose(?) 3 yellow mums for fall color and some ornamental grass. And o'yes new mulch.

For early spring color he suggested I buy and scatter plant spring flowering bulbs when they go on sale and plant them around the trees too as well as in both areas on each side of the front door.

The back yard where I had hoped to put a cutting garden has a northern exposure and the flowers I wanted to plant require more sun than the planned area would get. He suggested three berms for the yard to help our back yard view and privacy. We can hold the builting up and planting until next spring. Since he nixed the cutting garden he suggested I incorporate some flowering plants in the berms instead.

Because of the yellow clay,in order to have a manicured lawn look, our yard will need to be ------ (some term) he used first. What ever as the kids say today, the jest of it is, the yard need to be de-crab grassed; leveled for better drainage, have good top soil laid down, and reseeded. He said his firm MIGHT be able to get to the de-grassing by the end of October but he is a little doubtful if they could do more than that because they have the landscaping contract for the two new Super Walmarts that are slated to be opened by November 1st.

Oh!, he said the yellow flowers I see everywhere are wild flowers native to this area and are what was cultivated into a variety of Black-eyed Susans we spend money for today.

Tomorrow morning I am going off to take a toe-up sock knitting class at a very friendly knit shop. Will let you all know how my sock making and people meeting went.