My thoughts wandered, as they often do when I am mowing the lawn, but they came into sharp focus just as I was mowing the last little section in the front. By the way, I generally wait as long as possible in the spring before mowing the back lawn because of the flowers I've planted in that lawn over the years. The crocuses have finished flowering, but the Glory of the Snow are in their prime. Fingers-crossed that they are still blooming for the big Easter egg hunt. I suspect they will … [Read more...] about First Mowing and a Garden Visitor!
gardening
Mother Nature Would Like to Remind You
Did you dream all winter about how lovely your garden was going to be this spring and summer? All the pretty flowers, the perfect vegetables, the song birds singing. I sure did. I always do! There's something about winter and snow and cold to give a gardener illusions (delusions?) of how in the spring their garden will once and for all become the very definition of perfection. It will be a paradise of your own making. And then Mother Nature reminds you... There are going to be some … [Read more...] about Mother Nature Would Like to Remind You
Talking About Gardening: The Enchantment Ages
I read an essay titled "Talking About Bicycles" in a book of essays, Present Concerns: Journalistic Essays, by C. S. Lewis, and my thoughts turned to gardening. As they do. "I think there are these four ages about nearly everything. Let's give them names. They are the Unenchanted Age, the Enchanted Age, the Disenchanted Age, and the Re-enchanted Age. " We enchanted gardeners find it hard to believe, but there are people who are unenchanted with gardening. They can take it or leave it. … [Read more...] about Talking About Gardening: The Enchantment Ages
I’m so February…
For the first time in quite some time, we had enough snow and cold that I paid someone to shovel out my driveway. Normally I clear it off myself but we had at least eight inches of snow the other day, if not more. That alone was a lot to shovel, but what made the decision to hire out the work easier was the two foot mountain of snow at the end of the drive left by the snow plow which came through twice. And it has been well below freezing all week. I found the guys who did the job when I … [Read more...] about I’m so February…
EIP… Just as Important as NPK?
One of the first lessons gardeners learn about plants is they need NPK—nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—to grow into healthy, strong plants. But just as important might be the EIP that gardeners bring to the garden. EIP? Yes, EIP—Enthusiasm, Imagination, and Perseverance. Allow me to explain. A gardener needs to bring their enthusiasm to gardening. No half-hearted attempts allowed. Bring it all. Your energy, your cheerful attitude, your belief that your garden will be an overwhelming … [Read more...] about EIP… Just as Important as NPK?
Summer Collapsed
“And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.” - Oscar WildeI notice as I walk around the neighborhood these days that some trees are already shedding their leaves—river birches and ash trees primarily. (Yes, there are a few ash trees still growing in my neighborhood, protected from the Emerald Ash Borers by their owners' judicious use of systemic insecticide treatments.)Is there anything better than shuffling through fallen leaves? I love the sound of them crunching under my shoes.The pine … [Read more...] about Summer Collapsed
