Basically this is a post to remind me to buy more of this Phlox. I bought some last year to test and seeing how well they did this year I’m hooked.

Phlox paniculata ‘Peppermint Twist’

‘Peppermint Twist’ was developed from ‘Candy Floss’ which is pink. I’m wondering if that pink set of flowers to the left might be a plant reverting back to it’s original color. Peppermint Twist has sterile flowers and will not set seed, if somehow it does the plants will not come true from seed.

Both the Purple Flame and Peppermint Twist are dwarf garden Phlox supposed to top off at around 18 inches but these are pushing 2 feet in height. I can’t complain about the extra couple of inches and it may just be my fault they grew taller by feeding them the composted horse bedding/manure from ‘Mulch Mountain’ across the road from the stable at St. Lawrence University. (what are you waiting for? It’s free for the taking so go get some you yokels)

Both the Purple Flame and Peppermint Twist have proven to be resistant to Powdery Mildew. I saw no trace of any at in this garden I planted on Judson Street last year.

I went to see the hole. I knew the house and garage was history but it still seemed a bit odd not seeing them when I pulled into the driveway. From this vantage point things almost look normal.

Once past the gate it’s easy to see things are far from normal. Small mountains have sprouted in the lawn. Thank goodness the excavator left the area between the trees undisturbed. I was afraid the trees would be killed if he smothered the whole root zone by piling dirt there too.

There’s the remainder of the house but where’s the hole?

Holey Moley. That is one mother of a BFH*.

Guess they decided to shore up one side rather than go any farther into the neighbor’s yards. Thank goodness, I really didn’t want all that extra work putting their yards back together too.

*Big Freaking Hole

I didn’t drive 400 miles to just go look at a hole. Tomorrow I’m headed to the east end of the island and my favorite perennial grower. I need to find out exactly how many potted plants I can fit in my truck.

The house suffered a few minor scratches before the main event on Friday. When I left the site on Thursday the house looked like this:

By 8:30 Friday morning the excavator had already chewed up the entertainment room, the garage and most of the kitchen.

Within minutes the claw had ripped into the main house.

And a few minutes later the entire back of the house was chewed into rubble.

From the front things didn’t look so bad.

OOPS

Not everything was demolished. One addition was spared in the hopes of saving it.

Hard to believe but once the house was chewed up it fit into 9 dumpsters. The last of the rubble was hauled away by Saturday afternoon. The only reason it took so long was the trucking company couldn’t keep up with the excavator. It should have been gone the same day.

A few answers:

No it is not my house. I have to drive 8 hours to get here. The landscape was ‘mine’ and it really hurt to see 6 years of gardening wiped away. The good news is that I get to do it all over.

What is the 26 foot deep hole for? – The new house’s basement is going to have a really high ceiling. You can guess why the ceiling needs to be so high. I doubt very very much anyone can guess correctly. If you do, you have a better imagination than most.

I’ll be headed home tomorrow. The dig isn’t going to start until the end of next week and there’s something a bit more important I need to take care of. After 32 years it’s still a good idea to be around for my wedding anniversary next Thursday.  (think about that date for a minute) And no, it’s no joke.