Lately Benji has decided he likes to be “Benji Yard Waste Man.” In this game, an adult pulls weeds or cuts grass, and then Benji picks up the detritus and throws it into the big yard waste bin. We set up the step stool so he can reach in the top. The great thing about this game is that, as a result, a significant portion of our yard has gotten weeded.

We have a rock wall along one side of our property, and adjacent to this is a bare strip that we mulch, but it doesn’t have any plants. It’s very sunny but wet and seepy, and has virtually no top soil above the underlayment of solid clay. In short, terrible growing conditions, except for weeds, which thrive there.

It’s taken me a long time, probably because I’m not garden-oriented in the least, but finally I had the idea of planting some mixed flower seeds there. Benji helped me weed this patch the other day – it was astonishingly lush weed growth, much to Benji’s delight – and I bought and planted seeds yesterday, while the area was still clear.

I picked mixes that are supposed to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, but I have no idea whether they’ll grow. Most say to plant before the last frost, which was some time ago. But I’m going to keep watering that patch and just see what comes up. Anything with flowers works for me.

In the same gardening session, I transplanted a camellia from the back yard, a spot it’s never done well, to the front yard where another camellia has done well. The new one is on the right.

So, we’ll just generally water copiously and hope for the best.