I'm In The Garden

I was finally able to get in the garden this weekend. Yesterday was warm and breezy, I worked about four or five hours out there. Today is cooler and the sun isn't out much. I worked out there for about an hour and don't expect to go back out. Unless the sun comes back out later, then I might take some photos. I can't let Marilyn get the better of me with her fancy photos of broccoli.

There's still about a third of the garden that I haven't even cleaned out the pine needles yet. Since I put down the rock and mulch last year, you just can't go in there and rake up the needles. So it's me, with no gloves, picking them out a handful at a time. Tedious, yes, but I rather enjoy it as a work meditation. My weekdays are filled with needy children, recycled air and the heady aroma of hand sanitizer and various body odors. Sitting in the sun (on my new gardening stool!), feeling the breeze, listening to the hummingbirds, lawnmowers, playing children down the hill, and the fleshy tapping of Aspen leaves is the perfect antidote to all that.

As I said before, I only bought annuals for the decks and other pots. I have many, many new baby Columbines and delphiniums that are up in the garden. A good number of them may not even mature this year to flower. It's all good. I planted a peony last year that I completely forgot about and it's up. We'll see if it flowers. I have a very old bleeding heart that I thought had died, but I saw one little sprig coming up this year. And the rhubarb is out of control. It's fixing to flower. I don't think I should pick any at this point, probably gone very bitter.

I haven't seen any deer recently. I think they're off somewhere having babies. When they come back, with the babies, I'll have to get out the nasty deer repellent spray. It smells like rotten eggs. Might as well be at work. Doh!