The garden beckons to be tended after winter
You know that when you go outside and everything starts
attacking you, it may be time to go back in the house.
Right now, I am suffering from mosquito bites, scratches and
weird bumps from rose thorns, splinters in my foot, and to add
insult to injury, allergies to pollen.
The garden beckons to be tended after winter
You know that when you go outside and everything starts attacking you, it may be time to go back in the house.
Right now, I am suffering from mosquito bites, scratches and weird bumps from rose thorns, splinters in my foot, and to add insult to injury, allergies to pollen.
It’s a tough world out there in the garden.
Last week, when winter abruptly turned to spring, it was time to don the ol’ gloves and ripped-up tennis shoes, and to go forth and do battle with the weeds. Well, not just the weeds, but a whole host of garden duties that had gone neglected in the wet and the cold.
Much as I hate to admit it, there are rose bushes that still need to be pruned, fruit trees to be fertilized, leaves to be swept, and vegetables to be planted. In addition, I have five rose bushes that were given to me from a friend’s garden that need to be planted somewhere, and I’m not quite sure where they’re going to end up.
Plus I have evil pampas grass that needs to be removed from my hillside, which is a grueling task for which I will definitely need to hire someone. Pampas grass is horrible stuff – hard to kill and almost impossible to remove, because it has a long taproot that goes down to China.
To get rid of pampas grass, you either have to have some patient diggers or someone wielding a big chainsaw. You have to be careful any time you get close to the long thin leaves, because they have razor-like edges and will cut you if you hold onto them without gloves. They’ll also cut your arms, face, or whatever gets in their way.
And then once the plant is removed, you need one or two strong guys to take it somewhere else, because a big one will weigh 60 pounds or more.
And then there’s my little front yard project which has been going on for a year, which involves replacing my lawn with rocks and drought-resistant plants. I’m not a speedy landscaper, I’m afraid.
Gardening … yeah, it’s some fun, all right.
My property is an acre and a third, which sounds like a lot, but is mostly filled up with oak trees. It doesn’t require much care other than disposing of fallen branches, and some tree trimming every few years. The area that is actively gardened is the 10 feet or so right around the outside of the house – not really a very big space, but one that for some reason seems to take inordinate amounts of time.
I think it’s because I dither a lot about what I actually want to do.
Over the years, I’ve realized that it’s best to keep everything as simple as possible, which is why I no longer try to grow anything exotic or likely to die from neglect. I stick to plants that will most likely live if I forget to water them. Believe it or not, there are quite a few that do well enough.
Geraniums, for instance, are just about impossible to kill. So are iris and African daisy. That’s why I have a lot of these.
At any rate, I am way behind on my yard work. Luckily, the weather is finally cooperating, and even though I bear the scars of the encounters with plants and insects, I am happy to report that I have made a little bit of headway.
I have weedwhacked the dog yard, and the dog can now find his way outside once more. He’s happy. And that makes me happy.
