As I look out on a sea of melting snow and mud, I ponder how I’m going to reseed the now-missing front lawn. That’s something I really didn’t want to tackle, especially since I have to go out of town in April. Don will have to be in charge of watering and that doesn’t inspire me with confidence!
Thank goodness my garden was undisturbed in all the septic/tree removal mess. I find I am counting the days until I can work in the garden again and lose myself in planting and pruning and mulching. Nothing makes me happier than puttering in my garden.
I waited a long time to have my very own garden. I spent hours dreaming about it. When we rented in San Diego, I put in a garden, knowing that I would eventually have to leave it. Same thing for the cottage we rented for 4 years when we first moved out East. I took a strip of grass bordering the side of the cottage (with my landlord’s permission) and created a garden. When we moved here, I knew that I was finally going to have my own garden, not a temporary garden.
I am a fairly successful gardener who knows that she has much to learn. As all gardeners know, some plants thrive and others inexplicably fail. It’s a trial and error process – learning what your particular soil needs, where the shade is, how much sun a particular area gets.
There’s a lot of clay-like soil in these parts, so I’ve had to amend the soil in my garden beds. And now that the Willow has been removed, the pattern of sun and shade in my front yard will change, no doubt affecting my plants. Oh, but wait…that means I can plant more roses!
What about you? Do you dabble in gardening? Are you a passionate gardener? Or do you leave the gardening and planting to someone else? Is your gardening thumb green or black?
Do tell, my friends. And let’s all count the days until Spring planting season together.
I’m spending the weekend with some crochet and the new Lee Child thriller: The Affair. Just checked it out from my local library – thank goodness for inter-library loans!
I hear you about the joy of having you very own garden. This will be my first “real” garden, ever….
Have you though about alternatives to grass in your front lawn, they do vary according to your climate, and soil type but there are other options.
And then you wouldn’t have to depend on Don watering, LOL.
Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams
Oh you know I am a gardener. Have been getting the veggie plot ready this week. Hopefully have it planted by Monday. It is such therapy to get out there don’t you think?
I have always loved to dig in the dirt, and work in the yards! When we bought this house, 20 years ago, there was no place for a garden. We have over 100 trees in the grove, and it is mostly shaded. So we built boxes and put them in the front yard, on the side area where there was a lot of sun. But I didn’t like it there, so I only planted a few things, and used some pots to plant too. But a few years ago, I had a brainstorm, and we moved the boxed to an area in back that works perfectly. It is near the garbage bins, and not the prettiest part of the yard, but it is the sunniest. I have a great garden!!! I am expanding it this year too. I plant on Good Friday, but may venture out a bit earlier this year with such warm weather!!! Gardening is so good for my soul!!!
Hugs.
Kris
I’ve always been fond of gardening, both indoors and outdoors. When I lived on the east coast, I worked for a large nursery there and more days then not I brought some kind of plant home. Since moving west, I don’t enjoy it as much as I used to, the climate is very harsh here in the desert. However roses have performed well since the major diseases and insects that plague them are absent.
I love gardening but I can’t say I am good at it! I have to struggle a bit to get things to grow, but I enjoy every minute of it! Now, if we just had a longer growing season here in the Midwest, I’d be out there sooner than later!
XO,
Jane
Claudia, spring is here in Tucson. I have wild penstemmon and lavender bloomimg like crazy already. I am a haphazard gardener. If it plants itself in my yard I tend to it. I have a tree that is 20 feet tall that came up shortly after we moved in 15 years ago. I still haven’t been able to identify it. The penstemmon is a wild desert plant that came to live here. I do pull weeds, but everything else stays if it chooses to do so.
Wow, Claudia! These are beautiful pictures. Makes me long for sun on my face and dirt under my fingernails!
S
xo
I DON’T DO MUCH GARDENING MUCH ANYMORE…..VERY HARD TO KNEEL WITH MY BAD KNEES…..WHEN I WAS A CHILD WE HAD A SUMMER HOUSE….MY MOM AND DAD WOULD PLANT ROWS AND ROWS OF TOMATOES…PEPPERS…CORN……
STRING BEANS….WATERMELON….THERE WERE SO MANY MORE….THEN MY MOM CANNED EVERYTHING….SO I HAD MY SHARE IN PLANTING…WEEDING…AND
PICKING…..BUT…I DO LOVE GARDENS..
YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR GARDENS SO WELL……THAT’S IS ALL THE LOVE YOU PUT IN IT……HAVE A NICE WEEKEND…….RIZZI
I garden a lot but flowers and landscaping , no vegetables due to the large number of deer that pass through our yard. I am only planting deer resistant flowers from now on. I want to take the master gardener class in 2013 and see if I can learn more about lawn care and weed prevention. I am not good with roses here but some of it is due to the humidity so I only plant knockouts.
Yes we are definatly gardeners here! We have over 300 different plants in our garden. We love to go all over the state for new plants. We have over 50 different daylilies alone. We try something new each year. For some reason most make it!! We have plants here that we have had for 5 years before they came out in the local nurseries. We do everything wrong. Don’t plant in drifts, clay soil with no admendments, we don’t plant in 3’s or 5’s etc. We mulch heavily and as it brakes down it seems to help with the soil. Most of our gardens are less then 8 years old. Boy! Have they grown though!! But it sure is fun! Ask me again when we bring in maga mulch this year! All the beds need to be refreshed. I can’t wait for spring. We got about 6 inches of snow yesterday, last night. Now just flurries.
You know my gardening skills are not the best, but I try. Does your library have e-books. Ours does and it is a great way to read a book on your Nook, it goes back to the library after you are done and it is free.
Love you,
Mere
Claudia, I know that you and Don have been thru so much lately..and not fun stuff at that. But I can see you are already looking to the bright side, talking about planting more roses and gardening. Good for you. Can’t wait to see all the new photos you will post. Smiles to you,xo, Susie(She Junks)
My gardening style is exhuberant and energetic … more is definitely better than less … big is better than small and sweet. I can identify with your new-found sunshine. For the first 25 years of our marriage, my husband and I lived in houses on wooded lots. Shade gardening and threadbare lawns were what we did best. When we bought this property, with its 9 acres of sunshine on old farmland, I could finally, finally put in the rose garden that I had dreamed about. That original moderate garden of roses has morphed into roses throughout large portions of the property … with more still to come.
I guess my thumb is green … and I’m usually picking thorns out of it.
I enjoy looking at gardens! :)
Things that grow without my help are the best for me. If my thumb is not black, it is at least a slimy brown. I’m planning to make another attempt at practical stuff, like some veggies, this Spring. Since bugs love to bite me as much as I hate to have them, and full sun on my body tends to make me dizzy or woozy, this should be interesting! :)
Because I am getting older, I have had to cut down my time in the garden. I have established gardens and now I just maintain and plant in containers.Years ago, my mostly shady yard was changed overnight into a sunny yard. We had to have two trees taken down. I was busy that year moving the shade plants and investing in some varieties that required sun. A whole new look in our yard. You’ll find that you will have fun making changes this year.
Balisha
I do enjoy gardening, and have 3 large raised beds for vegetables. I’m trying to minimize the work in my ornamental beds around the house so that I can grow more things to eat. This year we hope to plant some fruit trees.
It’s getting to that time of year when I itch to get out there. Lots of weeding to be done.
We don’t really garden any more! But our azaleas are gorgeous right now! The book you’re reading sounds good…I’ll put it on my list! ♥
A re-draw for the yard and adding garden. Roses sound pretty good, they are my favourite next to dahlia’s and peonies. Well, maybe they are a 3 way tie for garden flowers. Hope the storms pass by and not on you. Let us know.
Joy
I am always so anxious this time of year to get out and dig in the garden. I definitely have a mixture of successes and failures. :)
I am an avid dabbler — I love working in a garden (and admiring it as well) but I just don’t want it to be so large that it overwhelms me. And I too have always gardened where I live, whether renting or owning, There must be flowers. Still too cool here to get started so I’m just biding my time… :-) -amy
I like a small flower bed for my petunias and geraniums. I usually include a tomato for hubbs. I really do the plants so that I can put out my chachkes…Bird houses, stars, garden stakes and bird feeders…
Can’t wait to see you puttering in the garden. When spring arrives and you’re out gardening, I hope you’ll tell more about your soil and how you amend it. It was a surprise to hear you had clay; all of ours is clay, and I’ll be anxious to hear how your garden grows in clay.
I’m definitely a passionate gardener and I love hearing what does well in other parts of the world and what plants we have in common!
See! You are already thinking positive about the roses you are going to plant in place of the willow! I have mostly a green thumb on any outdoor gardening but not so much with indoor plants, not that I have many. I am really looking forward to gardening outside too!~Hugs, Patti
I wouldn’t say I’m passionate, but I am known for getting up at dawn and working in the garden in my nightdress! When I bought my cottage I removed all the grass from the front and the rear of the house and planted flowers everywhere. I’ve been yearning to start working in the garden beds, clearing away debris and leaves, and I have raked a little here and there, always mindful that a late snow could always fall!