Someone might accuse me of playing favorites. And maybe I do. Each year I seem to dish out a disproportionate amount of attention on just one. It's not that I neglect the rest, but I do less for them than I do for the chosen one.
Of course, I'm talking about the flower beds.
There are nine in all at the farmette, of varying shapes and sizes. Unquestionably, the one that still suffers a great deal of neglect is the one extending from the sheep shed and running to the teepees (that support clematis plants). I've planted a lot of good stuff there, but I can't get rid of the weeds and I add to the problem by creating little patches of wildflowers. Weeds compete with the wildflowers and sometimes it looks pretty and at other times it looks like one big mess. That's the runt in the litter.
At the very beginning, the status of "most adored" was granted to the lily bed just by the porch. It has a commanding spot in the courtyard, and its elevation makes it stand out. And of course, I love day lilies. Sometimes I wish I could have a do-over (there are poorly planted lilies in the middle: their height doesn't warrant a central placement and their colors are far less interesting than some of the stuff I've found since I first started gardening here). But, things look good enough and in mid July, they look spectacular, so apart from maintenance work and an occasional addition, I let things be.
A few years ago, I put all my efforts into creating a very long, south-facing roadside bed. This one would be well planned, I thought! It would be more intentionally executed. It would be a star! But, I didn't fully appreciate the difficulties of planting a bed between several giant maples with an imposing root system and a dense canopy of leaves shading both ends of the bed. I also didn't take into account the damage that would come each winter, when salty slush would be plowed right to the edge of the bed. I should be throwing down compost and mulch in great quantities each year, but the bed is huge and the cheepers dig up the mulch behind my back and so the bed remains in its just okay state. Good accents, but overall -- just okay.
This year, my focus is on the Big Bed -- the one that runs from the teepees all the way to the farmhouse courtyard. Ed and I dug out and moved a shrub that had been its anchor for a while, and of course, this spring we put in the path cutting through it, and I've been viciously pruning back the bee balm that tends to drown out so much of the rest, so suddenly it's looking mighty fine! Every day I meticulously remove weeds and keep an eye on the growth of the new additions. It surely is this gardener's pet this year!
All this garden talk must be somewhat boring, but the fact is, the day is beautiful and the farmette lands beckon and I spend a good six hours working in at least three of the beds.
Somewhere in there I paused for breakfast with Ed.
Then it was back to work.
Of course, not all garden work is delightful. I needed to whip some weeds with a very ancient and dysfunctional weed whipper and Ed and I both mowed down the gravel and chip paths (to the barn, to the road) that have become overgrown with junk. It's heavy work and smelly work and I am so very glad we're done with it. For a while. You're never really finished with anything outside.
In the afternoon, Snowdrop is here.
We are still on the schedule where she spends two afternoons here alone, so that we can read and play without the constant, sweet interruptions that a little brother brings to the picture, but all that's about to change. We are rethinking everything, given the push in our state to open up more (even as we are spiking in record high infection rates). But for now, Snowdrop is here and we spend a grand set of hours playing, reading and eating lots of fruits!
You think the other grandkids are left out of today's loop? Wrongo bongo!
(I see Sparrow when I take Snowdrop home...)
And I see Primrose while I fix supper in the kitchen and she eats her evening meal in Chicago.
Ed and I finally finish our week of leftovers! With a salad that has all those grand things from our CSA veggie box. We're keeping up with the greens! (For the most part!)
Evening quiet.
A full week behind us. Newspaper stories that break your heart. Changing directions, changing weather patterns. And still, at the end of it all, we have the sublime gift of a Friday evening of quiet. Of safe young families. Of good weather. Of, we hope, a better tomorrow for everyone who is hurting after a week of so much hurt.
With love.
Of course, I'm talking about the flower beds.
There are nine in all at the farmette, of varying shapes and sizes. Unquestionably, the one that still suffers a great deal of neglect is the one extending from the sheep shed and running to the teepees (that support clematis plants). I've planted a lot of good stuff there, but I can't get rid of the weeds and I add to the problem by creating little patches of wildflowers. Weeds compete with the wildflowers and sometimes it looks pretty and at other times it looks like one big mess. That's the runt in the litter.
At the very beginning, the status of "most adored" was granted to the lily bed just by the porch. It has a commanding spot in the courtyard, and its elevation makes it stand out. And of course, I love day lilies. Sometimes I wish I could have a do-over (there are poorly planted lilies in the middle: their height doesn't warrant a central placement and their colors are far less interesting than some of the stuff I've found since I first started gardening here). But, things look good enough and in mid July, they look spectacular, so apart from maintenance work and an occasional addition, I let things be.
A few years ago, I put all my efforts into creating a very long, south-facing roadside bed. This one would be well planned, I thought! It would be more intentionally executed. It would be a star! But, I didn't fully appreciate the difficulties of planting a bed between several giant maples with an imposing root system and a dense canopy of leaves shading both ends of the bed. I also didn't take into account the damage that would come each winter, when salty slush would be plowed right to the edge of the bed. I should be throwing down compost and mulch in great quantities each year, but the bed is huge and the cheepers dig up the mulch behind my back and so the bed remains in its just okay state. Good accents, but overall -- just okay.
This year, my focus is on the Big Bed -- the one that runs from the teepees all the way to the farmhouse courtyard. Ed and I dug out and moved a shrub that had been its anchor for a while, and of course, this spring we put in the path cutting through it, and I've been viciously pruning back the bee balm that tends to drown out so much of the rest, so suddenly it's looking mighty fine! Every day I meticulously remove weeds and keep an eye on the growth of the new additions. It surely is this gardener's pet this year!
All this garden talk must be somewhat boring, but the fact is, the day is beautiful and the farmette lands beckon and I spend a good six hours working in at least three of the beds.
Somewhere in there I paused for breakfast with Ed.
Then it was back to work.
Of course, not all garden work is delightful. I needed to whip some weeds with a very ancient and dysfunctional weed whipper and Ed and I both mowed down the gravel and chip paths (to the barn, to the road) that have become overgrown with junk. It's heavy work and smelly work and I am so very glad we're done with it. For a while. You're never really finished with anything outside.
In the afternoon, Snowdrop is here.
We are still on the schedule where she spends two afternoons here alone, so that we can read and play without the constant, sweet interruptions that a little brother brings to the picture, but all that's about to change. We are rethinking everything, given the push in our state to open up more (even as we are spiking in record high infection rates). But for now, Snowdrop is here and we spend a grand set of hours playing, reading and eating lots of fruits!
You think the other grandkids are left out of today's loop? Wrongo bongo!
(I see Sparrow when I take Snowdrop home...)
And I see Primrose while I fix supper in the kitchen and she eats her evening meal in Chicago.
Ed and I finally finish our week of leftovers! With a salad that has all those grand things from our CSA veggie box. We're keeping up with the greens! (For the most part!)
Evening quiet.
A full week behind us. Newspaper stories that break your heart. Changing directions, changing weather patterns. And still, at the end of it all, we have the sublime gift of a Friday evening of quiet. Of safe young families. Of good weather. Of, we hope, a better tomorrow for everyone who is hurting after a week of so much hurt.
With love.
