Taking advantage of the holiday

After book signings on Saturday and visiting friends on Sunday, today is a chance to get a little garden work done.

Rosanne and Joe deadheaded all the roses, planted some California Poppy seeds and generally cleaned up the back garden. When I got up, I attacked the rosebed that was torn apart during our sewer line repair. Of the 5 roses that were pulled up, 3 have survived. I removed the 2 dead plants and then use my hoe to remove all the new, and vigourous grass that has sprouted since we turned over the soil.

That done, I turned to the front bed, trimming the sprawling lantana and pulled more grass. The nut grass in this bed is horribly tenacious. If you leave one small bit of root, it will come back again within days. I use a light solution of Roundup on some areas of the gardens, mainly the paths and the driveway to keep it in check, but even then it only seems to slow it down, not kill it outright.

I am sitting in the garden at the moment, coffee at my elbow, enjoying the fruits of my labors. Sometimes I am so overwhelmed with tasks that need to be done, I don't take the time to just enoy it. I am sure most of you have experienced the same thing from time to time. This is one reason I always try to have at least one garden party every year. This is one day were I get to see the garden through someone else's eyes. It really helps to give me some perspective.

My garden time also teaches me just how much time I spend in front of the computer. It is embarrassing to say that I can only work about an hour in the garden before I need to take a rest. Since the garden doesn't need much tending, the work is always a bit sporadic. Perhaps if I had to do something every day I might develop a bit more stamina. Instead, I end up wiping myself out doing one particular job. I can always comfort myself in the fact that I don't have to spend $50-$100 dollars a week on a gardener, like some of our friends. I save the money and get a little exercise in the bargain.

So, now I sit and watch the squirrels and birds and do a little thinking about what needs to be done next.