murder most foul!

My close-up photography leaves much to be desired, but what follows is a photo of my JFK rose bush, now short of two buds. Note the discarded petals in the lower left corner. Not only are the perpetrators dastardly thieves, but they are slobs as well.

A fresh perimeter of Tabasco was in order. (I made sure not to get any on the remaining bud this time.)

poplar fluff in my coffee

This is what the veggie garden looks like today. (Note the new plastic edging, installed most graciously by my resident beefcake.)

Meet today's MVPs after the jump.

photo post: gardens I have loved before

Shakespeare Garden

Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California

Japanese Tea Garden

Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California

in which my imagination trips o'er my wallet

I have, of late, grown quite fond of region 2. The faux mint continues to pop up in small patches, and one day I hope to vanquish it entirely, but it seems to be, at least for the time being, manageable. I pulled and dug out a lot of the out of place grass from this area, and at present it looks a lot neater than it did initially. This is a lovely little corner of the garden, where two trees - the umbrella and the reverse umbrella (not their actual names!) - stand and provide ample shade. Some sunlight reaches region 2, as the baby sunflowers presently poking through the soil indicate. Yesterday, I planted four patches of Irish moss here, with the hopes of turning this area into a sort of whimsical fairy-inspired garden. Speaking of fairies, though, I would love to create a set-up like the one featured on the homepage of this site. Alas, funds are limited, but I can't promise you won't see a set of these in region 2 before the summer is out! Around the moss, I plan to add some colour. There will still be far too much boring exposed soil even once everything has spread. I have very vague plans for this addition of colour - pansies, maybe, and marigolds? I'll know it when I see it, I am convinced.

Other dreams for this part of the yard include a stone bench and some solar paper lanterns to hang from the trees.

In another world, I planted a golden cascade climbing rose bush with the hopes of filling in a bare spot. I suspect it won't be quite enough, but it will be lovely anyway.

May 28th: veggie garden, WIP

Cleaning up the backyard, I decided, would have to be an ongoing project, and it could take all summer to pull all the weeds and other undesirables. I would have vegetable plants, and I would have them as soon as I could get my butt out to a store that sold such things. Without a real plan or budget in mind, I traipsed off to Wal-Mart (the ninth circle of Hell) and loaded my cart up with the following:

• cherry tomatoes
• green peppers
• red peppers
• lavender
• cilantro
• basil
• strawberries
• blueberries
• a peony bush
• daisies
• zucchini (seeds)
• sunflowers (seeds)
• two bags of topsoil
• pretty printed gardening gloves
• one metal watering can

(I also bought a copy of Inception on DVD, a pair of underwear, a shower cap, and a bottle of Diet Pepsi, none of which are relevant to this particular project. Ahem.)

My husband provided most of the muscle on planting day - (though he shook his head at my request he appear shirtless and leaning wearily on a dirty shovel in a photo for this post) - by turning over the sod to expose soil. I followed close behind, digging with my trowel and putting green leafy infant plants or seeds into the earth. The children ran wild through the yard like sprites with plastic shovels and watering cans in hand, eager to help Mommy and Daddy. A late start and a gloomy sky meant we had to rush just a bit, hence the messiness. My intention was to line the garden with plastic edging, but I had been unable to locate any at Wal-Mart, so that would have to wait.

The majority of the planting was done in region 1, but I also planted a few of the sunflower seeds in the recently cleared region 2. Another note: don't tell PETA, but I sprayed a combination of Tabasco sauce and water on the grass all around the garden and directly on some of the plants, so as to ward off any hungry invaders. It had no effect on most of the plants, but I may have overdone it by spraying the peony, as it eventually discoloured. What a pity. I felt and still feel quite a fool for that move, and I hope the bush grows more flowers, which I vow to leave unseasoned. Pretty please?

Onward germination and photosynthesis!

another random thought for Gardening Saturday

I must imagine myself a more fantastical existence than what reality allows when my first thought upon discovering peanut shells in the garden is, "Elephants."

that sounds like a personal problem

I think I put too much Tabasco sauce on my peony.