Taking stock: month #3

While I have already summed up some of my progress/failures of the month, I thought I’d do so in a more official manner to match previous months.  Then, I’m moving on!

– Purchase peat pots and terrarium for seeds — NOPE, haven’t done it yet.  Still have plenty of time and I’m going to sow some of the seeds directly into the soil because my father, the expert gardener, says that’s how he does it.  Make way for lettuce, radish, and maybe carrots, Garden!

Move plants that are in the wrong place — CHECK!  Well, for the most part.  I can’t move the peonies or hollyhocks until after they bloom, so fall.  But I did move the oak leaf hydrangeas and my husband moved the crowded azalea.  The hostas and irises, and maybe tulips, will also have to wait for fall dividing and replanting.  At least now I know.

Build 2 more raised vegetable beds — NOPE.  We’ve had a cold spell and haven’t gotten to the yard in weeks.  It will happen.

Plan the garden in front of the garage — IN PROCESS.  I did plant a knock out rose to fill in the gap where I pulled a hollyhock last summer and to hopefully dissuade my dog/moose from traipsing in the bed.

Attend gardening workshop — NOPE.  Fortunately, these happen pretty regularly throughout the spring and summer, so all is not lost.

How’d I do?  On the surface, not great.  Dig deeper and I’m satisfied.  It was a busy and wrenching month and still I was able to purchase new plants, move old ones and plan ahead.  Compared to last year, I am a master gardener.

Celtic knot symbolizing body/mind/spirit interconnection. I've always been drawn to Celtic symbols.

One thing I’ve learned from focusing on the soil is that I gain a lot of spiritual comfort getting my hands dirty, sweating in the sun, seeing my plants bloom, and having quiet time just me and my yard.  The categories that I have set up for this blog are organizational constructs, but I know that body/mind/spirit are false divisions devised by Greek philosophers and reinforced by Judeo-Christian texts and homilies.  It all blends together for me.  Gardening is one part body (dirty hands, sweat, sore muscles), one part mind (understanding basic botany, visual organizing), one part spiritual (as outlined before), and altogether creative.  This is as close to religion as I sometimes get, but now I’m eluding to next month’s goal: Spirituality.  And it’s a doozy!

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Is it April yet?

Almost the end of the month time, time for reflection.

This month I didn’t have lofty goals.  I knew that my kids’ schedules would not permit much room for me to percolate with personal growth.  And then smack in the middle of the chaos came death.  My father’s long-time girlfriend – a strong charismatic woman – fell ill and passed in one brief month.  Not enough time to process the loss, to know what to say to her or my father.  So, in between running to ballet and soccer and ping-ponging between schools sometimes 3 or 4 times a day with various events and volunteering commitments, I drove to the hospital.  I drove to the nursing home.  I drove back to the hospital.  And I wrote daily emails to my out-of-town family to help them keep track.  This month did not turn out like I expected, but I am glad my personal goals were digestible and I’m learning that each month’s goals need not end the last day of the month.  Each month is a beginning process, rather.  An opportunity to grow and commit to stop the neurosis, start the action.

The focus of the month has been my garden/s, my yard.  The main thing I’ve learned is: it’s too early to start most of the gardening I want to do!  It’s a great time to plant or transplant shrubs, so I did that.  Summer bulbs can go in – still on my list.  And some vegetables can be sown directly in the garden soil, particularly root vegetables that take longer to grow and lettuces.  Haven’t done that yet either, but did turn the soil in the beds.  Some of my more nagging weeds are gone, so that’s improvement, and I have more of a vision for what I want the green space surrounding me and my family to look like.  I haven’t attended the garden workshops on my list, but there’s still time.  Most are offered throughout the growing season.  One big thing I learned is some garden centers charge much much more for a plant you can get for $9.98 at Lowes.  If it doesn’t make it, I’m only out $9.98.  I call it stress-free, budget gardening.  I also learned that friends are willing to give me cuttings for free.  If anyone in the River City needs some Sedum or Hostas (come Fall), give me a shout.

New leaves on the Oak Leaf Hydrangeas that I moved! They like me! They really like me!

Gardening, and being outside in general, has a calming effect on me.  It boosts my mood, even if I don’t know what I’m doing.  Taking walks with my beastly dog amongst the flowering trees has helped bring comfort at a time of loss.  I know I haven’t been as diligent getting to the blog and my posts have been more scattered in focus (and trust me, I’m still taking the Vyvanse!), but I am feeling the old adage hold true–March is going out like a lamb, or in my case like Lamb’s Ear.

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And . . . action!

After yoga this morning I figured, hey, I’m already sweaty why not get dirty too.  So I headed to the backyard where my family was already tidying and playing.  My husband turned the compost, mowed the grass, and laid a path of pavers from the sidewalk to the vegetable garden, right under the pesky dogwood tree.  I gave the mophead hydrangea a haircut (deadheaded) and transplanted the oak leaf hydrangeas from the front to the back yard.  In two short hours we made some nice improvements!  The paver stone path will look awesome once I plant a creeping ground cover around them, maybe a step-able herb that releases aromatic scents when you step on them like thyme.  And I’m relieved to have the oak leaf hydrangeas in a nice shady spot below the deck.  Their roots looked good, there’s some new growth.  I’m encouraged.  I dug the new holes deep and wide enough to accommodate the root balls. The soil is really clay-y but fortunately huge roots from my neighbor’s oak tree run through the holes meaning the bushes will drain well.  I mulched and watered, but now I need to leave them be for a little while.  I can’t over-water them or the roots will rot.  Before you judge, the bushes are supposed to look like skeletons in early spring.  The mophead hydrangea already has loads of new growth.  I’m ready for the trees to start flowering and get this spring party started!

This is an excellent site chock full of hydrangea information: Hydrangeas! Hydrangeas!

Oak Leaf Hydrangeas in their new home

Sassy Mophead Hydrangea showing off its new growth

 

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Dear Master Gardener . . .

I’m excited!  Not only has it finally stopped raining, but the Master Gardener at the Jefferson Co. Cooperative Extension Office emailed me back with detailed answers to my questions.  And not only that, but she gave me a thorough list of lectures/classes in town for the next month offered by the Extension Office.  I think they are free offerings because most of them take place in public libraries and schools.  There’s even one for kids during spring break and I’ve added it to my calendar for an activity that week.

Below are my questions and the master gardener responses:

1. I asked about planting beneath my dogwood.  She didn’t really give me suggestions, but I found some ideas in Fine Gardening.  Sarah, the master gardener, wrote that I “will continuously have a difficult time growing plants around the base of a tree. Rather, you should mulch around the base of trees. Keep in mind not to “volcano” mulch meaning not piling much closely to the trunk of the tree. Consistent layer of about 2″ of mulch will be sufficient.”
2. I asked about moving the peonies, even though I was already pretty sure of the response.  Sure enough, Sarah recommended “September or early October is the best time to add new peonies to your garden or divide older crowded plants. Planting in early fall gives peony tubers time to become established before winter.”  Looks like my lovelies will be hidden for another spring season.

3. For shady bushes, Sarah recommended this link: http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/ho/ho77/HO77.PDF , which I haven’t checked out yet.

4. And for the oak leaf hydrangeas that barely survived their current location, Sarah told me that “it’s best for root development to transplant in the fall, though early spring is the second best time to transplant your hydrangea. To make transplanting easier, remove any dead/diseased wood and also prune back the top growth to reduce the size for easier mobility. Once you transplant,
remember to water thoroughly and mulch. Avoid fertilization until next spring.”  Since there isn’t anything to remove, I’ll just dig ’em up and cross my fingers.  If they don’t make it, I tried.  I think I’m going to plant some Russian sage in their spot with some white cone flowers, if there is room.

Russian Sage, so pretty

Sarah was super helpful.  I can’t wait to check out some of the Cooperative Extension lectures and workshops.  If you live in Louisville and need answers to a gardening question, go to the Extension website or email the master gardener for more information about Horticulture, 4H, Agriculture, and Family Science.  If you don’t live in Louisville, go to the Federal site and find your local office!

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Rainy day contemplations

The rain, it is relentless.  Thankfully, I enjoy rain.  I like the smell of it, the sound of it, and if my hair didn’t kink up so much in humidity, I’d walk in it without cover.  Unfortunately, my body doesn’t enjoy the rain so much.  I suffer with hormonal migraines and the rain exacerbates the pain and nausea.  Strangely, every month when I’m about to fall down with a migraine, it rains.  The weather appears to be conspiring against me.  One of my unspoken, unpublished resolutions this year has been to take better care of myself.  Eat better, exercise regularly, drink more water, exfoliate, give a damn about my hair and eyebrows.  One of the things I did early in the year was talk to my doc about these migraines . . . again.  We found a drug that works and so today I am pleased to report, I started the day off iffy and am now feeling fine.

And we got to get ourselves back to the garden, as Joni Mitchell would say.

Why garden?  I have always piddled around with plants and flowers.  They usually die.  I have some plants, however, that linger.  Like the graduation plant, a Croton, I received from my siblings during my last semester of college some 20 years ago.  It is staked and has been transplanted a few times.  It was under care of a friend for a year while my husband and I moved to DC for his internship.  Still kicking.  I also still have the Calla Lily that had been my mom’s.  She passed away 14 years ago and I don’t remember how long she had it.  I still have the Scented Geranium cuttings that my friend Sarah gave me 10 years ago when we left DC.  My dad actually thought it was a pot plant!  And I rescued a Christmas Cactus from under the porch of our old house about 7 years ago.  It is thriving and blossoms twice a year.  There is something calming about plants, about planting and watching things grow.  I love getting my hands dirty and scrubbing the mud out of my nails for days.  I love the smell of the earth.  I even love watching earthworms wiggle around in the holes I dig.  My daughter likes holding worms.  Maybe she gets this from me.  Ultimately, I find gardening relaxing and therapeutic.  Almost spiritual.  I can get lost in time when I garden.

The 20 year-old Croton

I need to make a list of my favorite plants to remember them.  Maybe when I visit the garden center I can slowly purchase each one and place them in the correct spot so that my yard looks like the cottage garden in my mind.  Weirder things have happened.  I’ve kept a Croton alive for 20 years.

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Resolution #3: Garden planning

Forgive me for not getting to this post sooner.  It has been one helluva week.  This is my first chance to post and I really only have a half hour window, maybe less as I listen to my kids shouting at each other.

The ugliness in front of my garage

So, this month’s resolution is decidedly less sexy than the past two months.  That’s not to say it isn’t a good resolution.  My yard has suffered from neglect and ill-planning for going on 3 years now.  I’m determined to make some positive changes.  When I say “my garden” and “my yard” what I mean is my attempts at landscaping both front and back yards (on pennies for a budget) and my vegetable garden.  Last year my kids and I grew seeds in peat pots.  We started a little late, so goal number one is to get that process under way by the end of the month.  I’ll need to purchase peat pots and several terrariums to get this started.  I already have seeds, courtesy of my father.

I also need to investigate moving plants that are in the wrong place.  My peonies grow beautifully, but are hidden on the back side of the house.  My oak leaf hydrangeas were singed last summer.  They need shade.  I need to divide the iris bulbs and the hostas.  Can I even do any of this in the spring?

Last summer, my husband built four raised beds.  We will need two more or we need to sow some grass in the bare areas.  The area in front of my garage has been a barren disaster despite planting efforts every year.

I have taken photos of all the problem areas and sent them to my sister-in-law, the landscape architect.  She may or may not be able to help, depending on her schedule.  That can’t stop me, however.  I will research online and go to gardening centers.  I may hire someone to come out for just a day’s worth of advice.  And on the 15th of the month, local organization 15 Thousand Farmers is hosting its first Gardening 101 class of the year.  I’m going.  I never made it last year.

Resolution #3 falls under the banner “Creativity”.  It’s also a huge organizational goal.

Time’s up.  Gotta get ready for the grade school talent show.

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