tiny new addition and other dreams

fairy garden toadstool, $1.50 (local dollar store)

This blog is intended to be not only a chronicle of my adventures in the world of gardening, but of my love affair with the little green space that has given me leave to tend to it and enjoy its beauty on a daily basis. Our backyard is straight out of Terabithia. When my husband and I were looking to move out of our apartment and into a house, it was the backyard of our present residence that wooed me first and last.

This is, you may recall, the King of Trees, (as of yesterday).

He is, and has been for some time, in need of a tire swing. He told me so himself.

I have visions of the evergreens that line the berm along the fence lit up with colour come December. Required for this task would be an exceptionally long and sturdy ladder, a gazillion strands of outdoor lights, a power source (or maybe just the mother of extension cords), and an individual (or several individuals) with not an ounce of acrophobia. Anybody know any firefighters?

On a less whimsical note, I need to step it up when it comes to the weekly weeding. Weeds weeds weeds. They are everywhere, and they are infinite. They break up through the rocks and under the zucchini leaves. When we are all dead and long gone, weeds will remain. Consider that for a moment the next time you catch yourself sneering at the crabgrass.

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.