Yes, this was definitely a honeybee swarm. One of the reasons why I wanted a beekeeper to remove the swarm to a place of safety was so that they didn't make their permanent home in my attic or something. I wouldn't want to have to tear down walls to get to them. Even before The Swarm, I saw plenty of bees around, so I assume that there was a hive in the neighborhood. I read somewhere online that they usually don't travel much beyond a kilometer, so hopefully the new hive is not too far away and they remember the nice yard with the peach tree. :-) When I was out there last, after the swarm had left, I saw the occasional bee fly around the area where it had been, going "where did everybody go?"

Great job! The next time you do this, it should go more easily since you'll know what to expect and be ready for it. As you discovered, being anxious to plant can cause more work and setbacks to your smothering efforts. I just started a new spot like this Monday. Drought killed the grass "sort of" in one spot in the front yard and it's never grown back, so I used newspaper - about 8-10 sheets thick, overlapping by at least 6", covered with mulch. I'm not going to dig into it until next year, just set potted annuals there for now, then a big pile of leaves in the fall. Also as you've discovered, without a barrier/border around the edges, separating grass from bed, it's an ongoing chore keeping the grass out of the bed. I'll use anything I can find for that, but try to stick to more attractive materials, like bricks, in the front yard. Just be glad you don't have bahiagrass!

Oh, schoolhouse, I feel for you sister, but you will have that moisture for your spring flowers, so it is such a blessing that you are getting it now, although I don't envy you the dreary winter days that comes with it. valree3, in Oklahoma, we have spells of warm and then cold and then warm and cold all winter. You never know what the weather will be from minute to minute. Will Rogers once said, "If you don't like the weather in Oklahoma, wait a minute and it will change for you." That is totally accurate. The changing weather can be nice in winter, but for gardeners and farmers, it can be dangerous and damaging to trees and plants. We might have a long spell of warm weather and everything starts to leaf out and starts budding, and then here comes a cold spell, which kills all that tender growth. For spring-flowering plants, that can mean no flowers or ones that are severely damaged. It can also mean no fruit on the trees. If we make it through March and April, then in May we have Tornado Season. Ugh! I just finished planting my tulip bulbs and some fancy daffodil bulbs. Dug a bucket of wood ashes from the burn pile and sprinkle them liberally all over the holes and watered it all in good. If all goes well, and the spring late freezes don;t ruin the flowers, it should be a very colorful area in April and May. There are lots and lots of irises, alliums, and of course, my roses. Lavender, sage, and rosemary too. I am going to the Herb Fest in April to load up on some new herb plants. The drought we had in 2005-2006 wiped out so many of mine, about 98%, so have to start over. I will on the scout for some new roses, too (wink wink). In Oklahoma, everything is severe - severe cold, severe heat, severe winds, severe thunderstorms, severe tornadoes, severe flooding, severe droughts. The weather radio always says, "Here's your Severe Weather Report for Today", and they ain't kidding! As most of you know, but the Newbies don't know, my property is all hill and the soil is very sandy, so it dries out quickly. That makes it nice for winter gardening and I can get out in the spring garden earlier, but it also makes it a pain once it gets hot and when we have dry spells. You win some you lose some. Right now, we are in drought since last June, and coming out of a two year drought, we only had a few years of light rain fall amounts before this one hit. Established trees and plants are still stressed and struggling, so I have had to water every day. Even now, I have to water twice a month or more just so the plant's and tree's roots don't freeze dry. I will go take some pictures and if they turn out okay, will post a few for you to see. Not much to look at now with everything dormant and brown, but you can see the bare-bones structure. I really love my new arch. It really sets off the garden having that tall element at the back. With my property on a slope, the back of the rose garden is up hill from the front of the garden, so it needed a tall structure. The American Rose that is growing back there by the gate on the west side will now have something to clamber up on, if the voles will just leave her alone (darn varmints!). Last fall, I trimmed back the Plum tree that grows over the henhouse on the east side and shades part of the garden on that side too. That should give the American rose more sunshine. It looks pretty with the plum tree hanging down on the one side. Will be lovely this spring when it is covered in snowy white flowers. TTYL

Becky & Jean, Glad you liked the water lilies...yes, I would be happy to post some pics of my water gardens, and will do so in the next couple of days. Having water gardens is a challenge here in New Hampshire, since our summers are SO short, and the ponds freeze solid in the wintertime. The Fall brings loads of falling leaves from the trees overhead, so it seems we are always working on keeping up the ponds...but we do so enjoy them. Our watergardens are small, but contain many native water plants and the froggies take up residence all summer. We even had some frogs hibernate beneath the frozen ice all winter, and when the ice thawed, there were the froggies to greet us! Our water gardens are all natural since we don't use any filtration systems and the water plants & froggies seem to prefer the natural balance in the pond...I have plenty of pictures, plus some of the frogs too, so look for them soon. Celeste