Annuals & Excavating

I finally got around to potting up my last annuals: Flowering Kale 'Chidori Red' (Brassica oleracea 'Chidori Red'), Viola cornuta 'Babyface Ruby and Gold' & Nasturtium 'Alaska Mixed' (Tropaeolum majus 'Alaska Mixed').  Not really sure if the Nasturtium are winter-hardy, but the nursery assured me it was - I guess time will tell.

I like the way the purple coloration repeats itself between the Violas and the Kale.  And I couldn't pass up the cascading variegation provided by the Nasturtium.

The excavation of "The  Rock" continues.  My last posting noted how I had finally found the other edge of the giant stone only to discover another block of limestone laying immediately adjacent to it.  Further digging has exposed that rock (with a nice thick root growing across it) & it's edges, followed by yet another adjacent stone (including one more root growing immediately between the two).

At this point, the overall length of the stone layers measured nearly twelve feet across the front.  The limestone block in the upper left part of the picture is actually the rock excavated from planting the Rusty Blackhaw (noted in a previous posting and considered quiet massive at the time - its actually so heavy I have not been able to budge it with mere muscle & leverage - I will likely have to get out the come-along again).

At this point, the stone was fast approaching the trunk of a Red Oak Tree - so I thought surely its root system would mark the end of the lengthy block of limestone.  But even though initially it appeared that a break had finally been found, deeper digging showed that only the top layer had a gap.

Six inches down the solid rock layer still existed and appears to be forging onward.

Thus far, the length of exposed stone measures fifteen feet.

I'm still amazed (and worried) that I've been able to plant anything in this area.  As you can see from the picture below, plants have been placed into the ground within feet of this massive limestone layer (Aucuba in the foreground, Rusty Blackhaw behind it).  Between the soil removal and the existing stone, I really wonder about room for roots!

The digging continues.