It’s been a glamorous week in the garden.
I spent time nearly every day this past week digging out compost from my three compost bins on the east end of the Vegetable Garden Cathedral. Those bins are right where I plan to put a new flower border.
Why add a new flower border? Because the Cathedral needs more flowers. But rest assured and breathe easier because I have not given up on composting. I set up two new compost bins at the other end of the garden.
I don’t care how careful you are or how slow you go, you are going to get dirty when you are digging out compost, sifting it through your compost sieve and wheelbarrowing it around the garden to add here, there, everywhere.
I should have taken pictures of my jeans after just a few hours of this glamorous work. And for a gardener, it is glamorous work because all that good compost… well it just makes a gardener’s heart flutter at the thought of how well the garden will grow when it has been top-dressed with good compost.
Or it makes a gardener’s heart sink thinking that perhaps she is spreading weed seeds from the compost to all corners of the garden.
Perish that thought. The compost is going to make the garden grow. As the sign says, “Life is good”. And life is good and glamorous when you are working in your own garden getting your jeans covered with mud.
Why is it glamorous? Because Nordstrom’s Department Store says it is. They are offering jeans* for sale for $425 that look pretty much like what my jeans looked like after I spent several days playing digging in the compost bins. I am willing to offer up my dirty jeans for half that price.
Anyway, I’m not quite done with the compost bins but it’s raining now so I’ll just share some pictures from my glamorous week in my garden.
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| My old compost sieve spent several winters outside and barely survived the first day of sifting. |
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| Look at my pretty compost! |
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| I found these garden gloves in the compost pile. They don’t look too bad. |
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| I made myself a new compost sieve. I did a good job, I think. |
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| Remember those gloves from the compost pile? They looked pretty good after washing, so I wore them the next day. |
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| I found a 15′ tall invasive honeysuckle growing up my spruce tree. I cut it down. |
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| I had to thin the herd of Summer Snowflake (Leucojum sp.) |
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| I’m not quite done clearing out these bins. Another day of work ought to finish it up. |
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| I’ll be picking some radishes next week! |
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| Real mud on jeans. |
I hope you had a glamorous week in your garden, getting your jeans dirty the old-fashioned way… by digging in the dirt.
*(Goodness gracious, when I first saw the link to those mud-stained-on-purpose jeans making the rounds on social media, I thought surely they were joking. So I went to Nordstrom’s website and did a search and there they are. Since these jeans don’t appear to be a joke, the other possible explanation for their existence is that someone at Nordstrom’s is a marketing genius and those jeans are just “click bait” to get you to their website to have a look around and buy other high priced blue jeans. I personally think people who buy jeans purposely stained to make it look like the wearer has been digging in the mud are lost souls, trying to capture the good feeling you get from an honest day’s work. Sadly, you can’t buy that feeling. Save your money, buy a regular ol’ pair of blue jeans and go actually dig in the dirt. )
I'm not on social media so I am more than shocked by the jeans sold with mud stains. Wow. If someone buys and wears them, then perhaps they need to plant plastic flowers in Astro turf to keep the fake theme going.
I come by my muddy jeans, hands, feet, and even face by natural methods. Perhaps marketers should sell mud make-up and muddy fingernail polish to go with the jeans. What do you think?
It is difficult to believe anyone would purchase those $400 jeans. I wouldn't even buy jeans with slits, holes etc. I think that is crazy. I have some with holes but it is because I wore them out that way. I still wear them in the garden.
I love your new compost sieve. You did a fine job making it.
Funny about your gloves. I am sure I have thrown away gloves in the city's limb pile where we take our debris too big or too weedy for our compost.
I did find a plant that I threw into the compost because it was dead. When I dug through the compost the next spring I found that plant alive and well. It must have thought it went to heaven.
Have a good week glamour girl.
Great post! Those 450.00 jeans at Nordstrom's – take that money and send it to the Salvation Army.
It amazes me that people will pay good money for ridiculous things. I like your compost sieve. My husband redid mine last year.
I wish my neighbor would dig out all his invasive honeysuckle and buckthorn, but he encourages them. I have a pile of leaves in the back corner and am wondering if I should start composting them. I usually let my garden helper take them for his pile.
Thanks for sharing this interesting story! I am also thinking about buying a compost bin as I would love having compost for my plants. Back when my great-grandmother still lived she had a very large composter in her garden and I could always take some compost home for my own garden. As you say, the plants grow so well with garden compost. I think it can´t be compared to soil sold at garden centres.
Best wishes,
Lisa
Gosh – between the expensive dirty jeans and your newly washed gloves, I'm not sure which is more remarkable! Glad you come by your direct the honest way. My friend 'ruined' his leather jacket while doing dirty yardwork, then, on a whim, put it into the washing machine and dryer, and it was almost good as new. I had no idea that dirt was that good for clothes! Happy gardening.