The weather has finally turned warm enough to work outside. The sun is on my face and shoulders. No bugs have appeared. It is time to dig in the garden. I've been gardening inside for some time now. My african violets are blooming their little heads off. My amarylis bulb has three stalks with four blooms on each stalk. Each bloom is as large as a luncheon plate. I revel in their color.
I forced narcissis, planted blueberry plants in pots, and a red day lily that Bob gave me. The lilies and plants will go outside once ther is no danger of frost in our area...the middle of May.
Now it is time to remove the vinca that once was a perfect solution under the burning bush and under the lilacs. The burning bush has been cut down because it became invasive. Its roots were into space reserved for flowering plants. Last fall, I hired a man to remove it. He cut down the main truck, keeping all the wood for himself (for his fireplace). He was supposed to dig out the stump and remove the vinca. Instead, He walked off the job. I thought I knew this man, my neighbor. He had been cutting my lawn for several seasons. I paid him promptly. He never disappointed me. When He presented his bill at dusk, I paid him, thinking He would be back in the morning to finish the job. I could trust him, right? I never saw him again. I pick my battles. This time, I let the issue go.
Now it is spring and the stump and vinca are still there. I can at least tackle the vinca. I had removed vinca from the area now my vegetable garden. I can repeat the task.
In the garage, now my garden shed, for the first time this season, out comes the spading fork, the narrow shovel, hand tools, the cart. Digging . Digging. Digging. Not much progress with vinca. The roots hold on firmly to crossing roots from the lilac. I spy daffodils sprouting through the vinca. They must be dug first and moved to a safe area, or I will distroy them while removing vinca. Carefully, each bulb is rooted out, put in a holding pan and transplanted to the west of the lilacs.
Back to the vinca. A combination of cutting lilac roots, using the spading fork to loosen a clump , and rooting around with hand tools, I get an area about 3 feet by 3 feet cleared of vinca. That represents less than 20 % of the total needed to clear this area.
My hands, back and forearms are cramping up. When I stand up, I move like a 90 year old. The sun is setting, so it is time to stop...and time to set a goal of getting in better shape...after spending the winter without a regular exercise program.
I think I will call another landscaper to finish the job. My excuse is that I don't own a stump puller.