Indoor projects have slowed as the weather improves and we spend more of our free time outdoors. The garden is coming along spectacularly though. All the intense labor is worth it when the colors burst forth from the dirt and stems.
When we bought our house a year and a half ago now, the huge yard had been sorely neglected for years. We are starting to get a handle on the chaos and while half of our plot is still weeds, we now have about half an acre of living grass, the hard-scape is done, and a multitude of flower-beds built and planted to accommodate the insane volume of flowers on the property.
So many flowers line the yard that I’ve been giving a lot away to make space for new, varied acquisitions. One of my recent undertakings was to create a ring of orange day-lilies, procured via trade, around an oak tree. Jake dug up the sod, and I spent the better part of a morning amending the soil, splitting flowers, planting and mulching. They look a little traumatized still, but I know they’ll bounce back next year if we don’t see flowers later this summer.
A considerably larger project happening right now is the re-working of the bulb-garden on the side of the garage. So overgrown with grasses and clover, in the very early spring this spot is a rainbow of crocus and hyacinth, sometimes peaking out of the snow, but by the late spring it looks like a weed patch, save the poppies.
So very slowly, bit by bit, I am reworking the soil, pulling weeds, rocks, roots, and replanting the bulbs that I disturb. As I cultivate and organize, I am freeing up more space to move other flowers growing in unsuitable places. Progress is slow, but it will be worth it when the whole plot is mulched.
Aside from all the yard work, we’ve been taking a long hike every weekend, training for bigger things to come. Tovi is a wonderful hiking dog; highly athletic, sure-footed, and naturally prefers to stay close-by. The woods are a pleasure this time of year, and a source of inspiration. If only something could be done about the tick problem, everything would be perfect.
