Hands in the dirt

It’s Sunday at the end of spring break, and I’m gathering my thoughts and photos from the week. I spent quite a bit of time in the yard, cleaning up last year’s dead growth and making plans for this summer’s gardening projects. We had a week of overall great weather that allowed quite a bit of outdoor time. 

My first project was cutting back the ornamental grasses and perennials. I like to leave the old growth through the winter to provide cover and food for insects, birds, and other mammals. Once that was done, I turned to the ever necessary beating back of encroaching grass and weeds along bed edges.

I only got a little of this done before Bill reminded me that we didn’t have fresh mulch to cover and that the grass and weeds will have time to grow back before we get to that. So edging will have to wait until school is out in June. 

Next, I recalled the roses out in the field that we planted about 4 years ago. They did great the first year, but by the second year, the deer had majorly ‘trimmed’ them and the grass/weeds had grown right up to their bases. Last year, I realized that we needed a different approach. We put wire fence around them and I dug out the grass and weeds to about a 2 1/2’ diameter. This definitely helped. But they were now ready for expanding the bed circle and larger wire cages. These will need to be enlarged within the next month or two, but we were low on fencing and it will do for now.

I gathered up pine needles from our very large pine tree. We have begun using the pine needles in several places in the yard, including around the raspberries, hydrangeas, and apple trees. The needles make a great mulch that acid loving plants appreciate!

The sod dug up from around the roses goes into a natural mulch pile where yard waste is recycled.

Bill’s dad has given us quite a bit of natural rock from his property, and Bill used some of it to put up this edge around the old garden perennial bed. These plants were planted in hexagonal wooden planters several years ago. The wood was rotting, so I took that out and added natural mulch from the finished pile. I can’t wait for these plants to bloom in several weeks. 

The circle perennial bed as seen in this photo is just a small portion of what used to be our vegetable garden. Years ago, when I was a full time mom at home, we filled this space with vegetables. I would can and preserve much of what we grew. Eventually, it got to be “just too much” and we moved the veggies to where the old chicken coop used to be—a much smaller fenced in area that keeps the deer and rabbits from consuming too much. (Actually, when we had the large garden the deer weren’t a problem. Now, they graze regularly in our yard at night.)

The closest I can figure is that it’s some type of Bermuda grass. Awful stuff!

This garden area now hosts a most dreadful type of grass that spreads by tubers underground. I recall 20 years ago dealing with it on the edges in places. However, now it has a very large presence and is the bane of my gardening existence. I’ve spent countless hours carefully pulling and digging up the tubers only to have it rebound. Any tiny bit of tuber left underground multiplies very quickly. This week, I was ready to throw in the towel until I remembered all the native wildflower seeds I have going. I’d really really love to get the whole area established with these native plants. After scouring the internet on ways to get rid of the grass, I think I will be taking it in chunks and carefully digging with a pitchfork to get the tubers. I know it will be time consuming and full of effort, but I have visions in my head of “what could be”. 

The wildflowers are making it, though they’ve got a ways to go!

This brings me to the thoughts that filled my mind this week as I was struggling with nature. Those who garden and work the soil know the struggle. Nature wants what it wants..haha…but gardeners also know what they want. As I worked I thought of some personal struggles I’ve had during the past few months, most of which seem to have just come along with existence. Struggle exists in every area of life, from work, to relationships, to health, to gardening…to…you name it. There are always “weeds” threatening to choke our hard earned joy, peace, and delight. Fresh nutrients need to be applied. Tubers of resentment and fear lie hidden and need deliberate attention to be exposed to the sun and destroyed. I could go on. I spend far too much time in my head and these are the things that bubble to the surface when I’m wrestling with nature. But it’s all good. There is MUCH beauty and joy and delight to be found in life…and in gardening! It’s ALL worth the struggle. 

Here are a few more pics from the week in no particular order.

A song sparrow singing his/her(?) heart out one morning.

The morning I followed the bluebirds around.

Female Baltimore Oriole at the feeder yesterday. I was pretty thrilled with this pic. :-)

Neighbor’s beauty

Bill’s beautiful bee bath.