The snow arrived and blanketed the state with its white crystals. Mother Earth has "changed her gown". The garden seems serene, delicate, and forbidding in many ways. The Birch and Larch trees lend a delicate, haunting to the scene; whereas the mound of snow seems forbidding as it swallows up the plants near it.
In the distance, the clock tower stands over the forlorn garden near the welcome sign.
This past Friday I did some more winter prep in the garden. I cut down the dogwood bushes and weeded much of the rock drain. There is not a lot to do at this time. The leaves on the trees have not changed color yet. The trees may change in a couple of weeks. The daisies are still going strong in the flower department. Anyone can prepare their yard or garden for winter. UAF CES has publications for garden winter prep http://cespubs.uaf.edu/publications/?&s=*&pt=*&cat=7
On this glorious sunny day (after some serious rain), we divided irises and put the divisions in pots. We spent three and a half hours doing some serious work. The first iris we removed from the ground put up a fight. It took 15 minutes of digging and coaxing roots to separate. We used a long (transplanting) spade and a garden spade to pry those roots loose (in the picture you can see the long spade; the other one is a clamming shovel which helped to lift the plant.)
If you rub your fingers on the plant to remove the spittle, you can feel the insects inside the foam.
My partner spotted two guys across the street removing gravel from an area; she quickly ran over to ask if we could have the gravel for our garden. God, or the universe, was listening when we were talking about putting down rock near the drain area.
A few minutes later they are laying it down for us. We not only managed to save some money and time for us but also for these fellows. 
The bushes are coming in nicely and the mulch looks awesome. 
Before we laid the mulch down, we had to dig out some stumps. In the fall there may be a few more to remove. 
The final look for the newest rocks but may have to spread them out a little more to blend with the rest of the design. 
A picture commemorating the start of the maintenance phase of the garden.
The day started out with clouds but cleared to lovely sunshine.
Here is the vetch and grass battleground. It has been turned over by my hoe; I need to remove the materials. We are hoping for some gravel or rocks to cover the dirt. 
My partner is digging under the rock for those pesky grass roots
time to spread the frosting
spreading the frosting
The irises are starting to bloom. They are lovely.
The drain area is slow going. There is still a grass patch. 
but the daisies and wild geranium look marvelous. 
This is the far side of the garden near the stop sign. Lots of grass, vetch, wildflowers, and such growing here. 
We managed to get some of the rubbish/debris cleared and lay the mulch. This area has some of the daisies, irises, and wild geraniums.
See the mulch (aka, frosting) around some of the plants. This will be significant for the irises and bushes to retain moisture. You can see the second area that has daisy and wild geraniums planted. 
My partners for the day. They even have on the new club aprons.
The bush in the center was trimmed. 
You can see where the plants were removed or moved around the garden. Wow, the moves have made an impact on the garden's appearance. Remember to water transplants well to establish root growth and settle the plant firmly in the spot.
On the far side of the garden, we put some irises and daisies along the drain zone. This fall we may add mums or nasturtium to make this a multi-season garden. 
See how lovely the garden is now that we have cleared much of the weeds?! You can even tell the bushes have been removed on the left. 
The area I cleared. I even took the time to move a few wild geraniums. I think they will look fantastic near the rock. 
A different view of the cleared area. I hope the geraniums survive. This was hard work and my hand is a little stiff from all the grass pulling. Don't mind the terrible looking bushes. We plan on pulling the bushes that are struggling, and we will move some around the garden. 
If you look behind the cleared area, past the rock, you can see the next battle area.
Vetch
bush with grass growing among the roots. Had several of these bushes. Took two hours to clear six bushes of the grass. 
horsetail, very invasive. Remove by cutting. If you try to pull it out the spores will scatter.
Yarrow, has beautiful flowers
