empire of dirt

Lest you conjure up images of gardening being a bucolic, genteel past time, I decided to show you my feet (which were encased in Wellies) after two hours of cleaning out a flower bed yesterday.  As bad as they were then, you should have seen them at the end of the day.  Not a pretty sight, I assure you.

I also got myself into an altercation with a  Herculean vine that turned out to be poison ivy.

My client's dog decided to relieve himself (in the solid form) right where I was battling the aforementioned ivy.

While working and sweating profusely, a giant wind swept by and blew the newly turned dirt right onto my wet self...and took up residence.

And to top it all off, my pretty new gardening hat gave me hat head so badly I was actually astonished (it didn't keep me from being sunburned either) - stupid hat.

And yes, I realize my socks don't match.

verses in spring

I love spring!  Really, who doesn't?  Ellis Peters said, "Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment."  Isn't that a delightfully true quote?  Now that the garden is waking up, I will endeavor to post some pictures along the way.  I've been weeding like crazy, laying Preen for the first time ever (will keep you posted as to its merits or lack thereof), and spreading holly tone and lime hither and yon.  All in preparation for the big build up of the blooming season.  Oh I can't wait!!!

The pictures I'm posting are of a fragrant and beautiful viburnum bush and a branch of the espaliered apple tree in gorgeous full bloom.


One last thought:

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.  ~Margaret Atwood

 

beauty is in the eye of the beholder

This wall has been on my mind for a few years now.  When I was first hired by this client, I dreamed about the possibilities, but it took awhile for them to decide to jump in and let me play a bit.  Little by little, I've picked at it and hammered on it and planted a garden in front of it trying to give it some character.  But still, it bugged me because it was so ugly.  Under all the paint, plaster and concrete was a beautiful old stone wall; I just knew it!  Today was a great day for me!  I got to go crazy and have it worked on by Mike and Jose.  Monday will be the final day of work, but we got a great start today.  I am so excited!!

last word on lavender

Ok. I forgot to mention it in my post about lavender, but there is some soil prep that can be done to boost your blooms. Go to your local garden center and buy some lime (I prefer pulverized - less complicated to work with), sprinkle it around the base of your plants, work it into the soil and water (or do it on a rainy day). It sweetens the soil and they love it!

Also, if you live in the Northeast I HIGHLY recommend a trip to The Well-Sweep Herb Farm located in Port Murray, New Jersey. If there is anything to know about lavender or herbs, they know it. Their selection of plants is amazing and its just a lovely property with swings for your kids, a functioning outhouse, chickens, and a cute gift shop. I love it there!

I tried adding a link to the Well Sweep, but it's not working, so I will do it manually: www.wellsweep.com

Happy gardening!

sticks and stones

One challenge I faced with this particular property was to cover an ugly wall while keeping everything as natural and 'farmy' as possible. Vining plants, such as clematis were an obvious choice, but I felt trellises wouldn't work in this environment. So I rummaged around the yard and found branches I could use - and it worked. And it's FREE! These are before and after pictures.(or rather: after and before - I am terrible at this blogging thing!)

spring cleaning

We have had wonderful weather here - last week was sunny, warm and beautiful. I couldn't wait to get out into the garden!

In the fall, I clean out very little of the garden. Basically I only prune what needs to be pruned and leave the rest. To me, a winter garden has a certain monochromatic loveliness of texture and and depth. I tend to romanticize it by thinking of it as my 'in the bleak mind-winter' garden.

However, in the spring, it just looks forgotten and ill fitting amidst the new green grass and spring buds and ambitions weeds growing everywhere. So I chop, cut back, prune away and clean like a mad woman. THIS is my spring cleaning! I prefer it a million times over to washing windows, dusting furniture and organizing drawers. Give me a garden to wake up any day.

I will be posting many pictures of the garden as it awakens. I'm off now to see if I can brave the wind and get some work done today; it's sunny and 42 degrees but so windy I may not be able to stand up straight. I will let you know...

lavender and sunshine

It is time to start gardening! Actually, it's past time, but the snow finally melted so today was the day and the project was the lavender hedge. As you can see, they look pretty bad. But it's still very early spring and they've been covered with snow for weeks.

I pruned them into a nice shape to promote growth at the bottom of the stems and to continue the idea of a hedge. It's best to prune now so that you don't hinder new spring growth. These plants have been in the garden for one year, so I can be a little tough with them. If you have older plants and haven't pruned them, you need to start slow and prune in stages.

The sun and the scent were wonderful. I'm so sick of snow.