• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Speaking
    • Upcoming Speaking Engagements
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Dear Friends and Gardeners: May 17, 2010

May 17, 2010 By Carol Michel 5 Comments

Dear Dee and Mary Ann and Gardening Friends Everywhere,

Monday morning… my gardening vacation is over and I am back to work.

The first question I’ll be asked is “did you get everything planted?”

No, I didn’t.

I never finish all that I want to do while I’m on gardening vacation, but I get a very good start.

The redesigned front garden is nearly complete now; I promise to post some pictures soon. I also made good progress on general weeding and mulching. But there are still some newly purchased plants on the front porch that belong in containers and out back, in the shade, I’m still hardening off my pepper and tomato seedlings.

I used to try very hard to make sure I planted the rest of the vegetable garden while I was on gardening vacation, but now I generally wait until later in May to plant it when I am sure we are truly beyond our frost free date. I have too much invested in those little seedlings to risk killing them off in a late frost. I figure that even planting a week later, by mid-summer, my garden will be all caught up with everyone else who planted theirs earlier.

While I was off this past week, I did get a chance to meet up with the garden designer on Monday. She came by mostly to lay out the new garden beds in the back. I left her alone to figure it all out, and with all the rope she had, she laid out several new beds. I don’t know how she did it, but the way the beds curve and how the curves of each bed seem to complement each other is amazing. She said that if it was done right, I would always feel comfortable in the garden. So far, I do. I can’t wait to see what the beds look like once they are planted!

I also met with the guy who is designing the new patio. He has some great ideas, and I think he’ll have a plan ready soon. They won’t actually start on the new patio until sometime in June, at which point my backyard will turn into a bit of a construction zone. They have to tear out the old brick patio to put in the new, larger one, but will be reusing all the bricks that are currently there. And, to bring in their equipment, they will need to remove a section of the fence and a shrub.

My current brick patio is too small and is dipping down in sections. From “day one”, I’ve also battled weeds in all the cracks, like the little alyssum seedling shown above. I asked the “new patio guy” why that was and he said it was probably not installed according to industry standards but he’d know for sure once they tear it out.  There’s not much I can do about that now, nearly 13 years later, but it is good to know this new patio will last much longer than that.

While all that is going on with the new beds and the new patio, my vegetable garden will be left alone and will remain my summer sanctuary, where I can plant, weed, hoe, and harvest to my heart’s content. I didn’t get a picture of it today, but it hasn’t changed much from last week.

By next week, though, it should be all planted…

Until then,

Hortifully yours,

Carol

P.S. As part of my garden redesign, I will be getting a gate to put at the entrance to the vegetable garden. The garden designer mentioned a “custom gate”, so I am looking through books and magazines for ideas on the kinds of gates I like, to give her some ideas. If you have any pictures of gates that you think would give me some ideas send them my way!

P.S.S. It wouldn’t be right to end without a “Thank You” to all my “gardening friends everywhere” who participated in Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day on Saturday. I’m very appreciative and grateful to all who take time to showcase their blooms on their blogs and join in this Internet meme on the 15th of every month. It is almost impossible to visit everyone’s blog personally, but I try to visit as many as I can, especially those that are new to me. It is a great way to discover, and sometimes rediscover, some great garden blogs and gardeners. Thank you!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: letters to gardening friends

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Helen Yoest @ Gardening With Confidence™ says

    May 17, 2010 at 11:51 am

    Carol, it sounded like a very productive gardening vacation. A custom gate sounds like a fun idea. I hope you get lots of great ideas. H.

    Reply
  2. http://vetsysview.blogspot.com says

    May 17, 2010 at 2:30 pm

    Your Welcome Carol..GBBD is a fun meme I enjoy it and I get to meet new friends thanks to you while I'm at it.

    I enjoy your blogs and the things that you do.

    Hope your new garden evolves over time to bring you new surprises and joy every day and every year!

    ~ Vetsy

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    May 17, 2010 at 8:22 pm

    There's no point in putting heat loving plants in the ground until the ground has warmed up. They'll just sit there. It hard to wait, but you are wise to do so.

    A custom gate! How exciting!

    Deirdre

    Reply
  4. Carrie Turner says

    May 17, 2010 at 8:53 pm

    http://www.gardendeva.com/

    I got a garden sculpture from them and it's absolutely beautiful.

    Reply
  5. Dee @ Red Dirt Ramblings says

    May 17, 2010 at 10:02 pm

    Well, Carol dear, this is a very interesting summer in your backyard (and front for that matter). I'm just glad I get to come along for the ride, but not deal with anymore construction for awhile. I'm also happy that you will have your vegetable garden as a kind of sanctuary in all the construction. Can't wait to hear and see more.~~Dee

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,048)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT