Confessions of a Gardener

Last years garden

Weed free turned over and ready for planting

After it had been growing for  a little while.

This year the same space.

 This is my garden bed. A mass of weeds and zinnias, more weeds than anything else. Any pictures you have seen have been from prior years. THIS is the real deal.

 A struggling Iris .

 Crabgrass taketh over the whole earth starting with my rock wall.

 This is just the edge of the bed.

 Trees sprouting up and briar's.

 Not all is lost we actually began a bit of clean up and started cleaning up the side yard. My hunny doesn't like working in the yard alone and neither do I so we began. Inch by inch with lots of breaks. I wish I would have taken a before picture. I am a bit out of the habit of thinking about blog posting.

 I do want to get back into it however.

 I like this area it's nearly no maintenance it's so full of vinca.

 The salvia comes up by itself.

 The bugs come just as quickly. Go away you filthy maggot!!

 As do these other plants. This is what is called having good bones. The faithful perennials that just come up and look lovely.

 Just a bit of the clean up.

 This actually needs a lot of work but from a distance the "bones" look pretty.

 Up close it looks like a big weed job.

Little spider in a web.

 And then we have a digger- Sammy goes around with a perpetual dirty nose he loves to dig for truffles. This behavior does not help the back yard, not one teensy little iota. How you spell iota?

 The promise of beauty that comes after winter. The don't need anything that doesn't happen naturally.

 Plants that can survive the thorns, the weeds, and neglect. I know they are grateful they told me.

 Ready to bloom with just a little help. I'd like to dig these up and move them back, we will see.

 The panting, sweating, over weight and very out of shape, gardener pauses to capture some beautiful light. To notice not just what is overwhelmingly in a state of neglect but what is strong and beautiful.
Or is that the light I'll see as I am about to die?

Good hard scape, good bones, rich soil full of fat earth worms and perennials that refuse to succumb; although puffing and weak I am encouraged. This garden is actually a word picture of my life. My life that has been full of weeds, encroaching thorns and briar's. But with care and inch by inch I am returning. I have not succumbed or died, not yet anyway, check back next week.  Today I am here and each day has a bit more strength a bit more encouragement, definitely more fat. You stay in bed for a month and see what happens.  It was a big deal at first just to stay awake. Some people will use any excuse to stay in bed.  I was so tired I couldn't stay awake yeah yeah yeah yadda yadda yadda. Underneath the dead grass that I pulled up, is good rich soil and fat earth worms working on the promise of better days. The restoration of health, beauty, and strength. Well, maybe not beauty, wait am I talking about me or the yard? Do you know? Am I confused?

A friend came by today and said, "Inch by inch it's a cinch, yard by yard it's hard." Little by little we will pull weeds and give the seeds a chance to sprout.  There are so many seeds and roots in this yard I don't need to plant anything. If we just clean up something will happen. When we provide the right environment for growth and health, it happens. It's happening for me. Spring has come and the hard winter has passed. We are coming back, that would be the yard and myself.  Just to be clear on that.