Woolybuns

Half Hour At A Time

“Gardening requires lots of water – most of it in the form of perspiration.” ~ Lou Erickson

Oh so true about my yard.  So much tearing out, cutting down, chopping into fire pit size.  This is my 3rd summer of actively ridding my yard of all the invasive stuff eating it up.  I want instant results, of course, but that ain't gonna happen.  I don't have enough perspiration to tackle all that stuff in one big effort.  But I can do half hour a time.  I've mentally divided up my back yard into small, manageable spaces, and alternate between ridding stuff wherever needs gone the most, and slowly planting those small spaces.  This little shady spot is my current focus.  I transplanted hosta and astilbe last year but something ate a lot of the hosta leaves.  The plants survived but I'm rethinking that spot, and picked out some deer resistant plants.  It's the 2 steps forward, 1 step back approach to garden design.  

Early morning, I wander the deck for about half hour visiting with my potted plants.  Who is growing, who needs a little attention, who needs defending?  Right now, the dahlia stems are just beginning to emerge. Rebecca's World, a new variety for me, is the precocious one.  Tubers from last year that I divided about a month ago are just opening their eyes, and 2 that arrived with Rebecca's World aren't showing any growth so far.  Hmmmm.   As early spring chill lingered, I really wanted dahlia blooms, so bought a new to me variety, Dahlia Dalaya, already in bud.  It's sold as an annual, though a couple websites say it too can be propogated by tuber division after 1st frost.  I gifted one to my daughter that bloomed right after Mother's Day and wow! Gorgeous bold pink bi-color and yellow center.  1st bloom on mine is a bit more conservative with the pink.  I also have a mini herb garden on the deck, thyme, sage, and rosemary, a delightful blend with onion and and garlic in a wet rub to roast chicken, and  a pot of cilantro for making guacamole.  

Gardens may demand a lot of perspiration, but I can't imagine my world without them.

 

 

Getting Out From Under the Dark and Cold

Spring this year feels like we're coming out from a lot more than just winter's dark and cold.  I'm still isolating, not sure yet whether I can get fully vaccinated, so my annual focus on yard and plants is more heightened.  If I'm still gonna have to stay home a lot more than I like, then the yard is gonna be filled with flowers.  Forsythia's gold has now given way to green, and my beautiful bleeding heart so gracefully stands watch as hosta and astilbe emerge.  The hosta has already been nibbled so I have to rethink that garden.  My lawn is glowing with dandelions. I pull them out of garden spaces but embrace those in the lawn. Food for the bees! And since there is such a bounty of them, they also provide healthy treats for the rabbits.   Last night, each bunny got a whole clump of dandies thanks to weeding a garden.  That's my Hoppy Hooligan enjoying another dandie clump this morning.  Knowing how much they all enjoy the snack makes weeding a much more pleasureable activity for me.   I like pairing chores with another purpose. Getting rid of stuff is a big, unpleasant chore way too easy to put off, which is why I still have saddles hanging around in my garage.  Seeing them reminds me, with a big ol' jab in the heart, I no longer have a horse.  But I do have dogs, and having a fenced area accessed from the deck is good for them and me.  Right now, that area is a bit on the small side, given the size of my big goofy House Bear.  Another problem with the fenced area is my cat Fiona sees it as a litter box.  Dogs having access to a cat's litter box is just gross.  Fiona's been stuck in the house while I figure out a solution to that, and she's not one bit happy about it.  The answer lightening bolted into my head last week. Sell my western saddle, and maybe my English saddle too if it has any real value, and use the money to buy some fencing to match my neighbor's along our property line.  That would double the dogs' yard space and free up my chain link panels to line the outside of the deck.  That would then block the cat's access to the deck and the dogs' yard space.  It also gives me a safe spot to set up a bunny play yard, something I've long wanted to do.  And a new bit of fence would also give me a space to set up a garden spinning spot.  Not only solutions and motivation all the way around, but ideas to ponder and dreams to finally fulfill.  

Anybody want to buy a good Arabian trail saddle, pretty much never used?