Gardening

Most of the last 6 weeks of my time has been spent outside working in the yard.

It began on April 28 when we drained the pond and cleaned it. That sounds a lot simpler than it was, which was a grueling day. It meant renting a sump pump and power washer, draining the water, catching the 30 or so fish and putting them in temporary buckets (they were not happy), vacuuming out leaves, removing lots of leaves by hand, power washing the algae off of the rocks, removing all of the plants in pots (heavy!), cleaning and dividing them, then putting everything back (especially the fish). I was very sore for 2-3 days.

The rest of the gardening work has been a lot easier, but there is still much to do.

There are LOTS of geraniums, most of which I bring in for the winter. They get leggy and need to be trimmed before going back outside. Some need repotting and I usually re-root several more.

Then I need to buy and plant annuals so that I'll have lots of color. The back yard is very sunny and that's where the geraniums spend their time. The front, the north side of the house, gets far less sun. I usually put begonias and/or impatiens in pots scattered around.

And then there are the house plants which periodically need repotting or re-rooting.

The back of the house

I also have a container herb garden on the east side of the house on the screened-in porch. I started an herb garden in the sunny back yard, but it meant going down a flight of stairs every time I wanted a bit of basil or parsley. Having herbs in pots on the porch just outside the kitchen works much better. The screened-in porch has a glass roof, so it's like a greenhouse. Geraniums and herbs do very well there, though they need a lot of watering.

I still need to buy a few more plants. Many of the water lilies did not survive the winter and have to be replaced. There are also some bare spots that I want to fill with something interesting.

The view from my bed

Many years ago, I had a vegetable garden. Then I realized I spent most of my summer tending it and getting far more vegetables than I could possibly use. Now I visit the plethora of near-by farm stands every few days. That's much easier.

I've decided I don't really enjoy gardening that much. I don't mind a little bit of it, but day after day it loses its charm. I do like the results, though, and I'm willing to put some time in so that I can sit back and enjoy the yard, the pond, and all of the color.

Soon, I'll be able to spend some time visiting art museums and lunching with my retired friends.