Wednesday, May 19, 2010

How does your garden grow?



I love gardens. I especially like the old fashioned English country gardens. Unplanned beds of pretty wildflowers, purple wisteria rampantly thrusting its way up old brick buildings, massive oak trees, bramble hedges and ivy ... you know the thing.
I love the idea of gardens. The way you can plan how a piece of land will look. How you can dig up the earth, plant a few seeds, water it and then, a few weeks later something will grow. And a few years later, you will have a garden.
Trouble is, I don't like gardening. Can't stand it in fact.
I used to have more energy and enthusiasm for it, but I think I got discouraged by slugs, insects and weeds. Why spend hours making yourself hot and sweaty and exhausted, only for your efforts to be thwarted by some invasive creature with 6 legs, an unrelenting appetite and an attitude to match?
I mow the lawn. I take the shears to the holly bushes, which soak up the rain and grow like Jacks beanstalk if given half the chance.
I gave up weeding for lent (several years ago). I occasionally spray some phosphate free pesticide on the roses, in a vain attempt to slow down the advances of our colony of japanese beetles.
And those butterflies, which look so delightful, as they flutter about, dodging Rebecca's net. I wish she could catch the buggers, as they seem to have laid all their eggs in my one hanging basket of geraniums, and now the sodding caterpillars are munching their way enthusiastically through my lone attempt at prettifying my deck.
This year, I thought I would dig up a bit of earth round by the side of the house and, with Rebecca's assistance, tossed in a few seeds. The information on the packets said we would be growing carrots and lettuces. The directions also called for full sun. Too bad I dug up the bed before the leaves came out on the massive maple. Oh well ... we will see what Mother Nature can do with what she's been given.
I do have my little herb garden of course. I like to add a touch of thyme and a dash of rosemary to omelets and the like. And there's nothing like new potatoes cooked with fresh mint.
I planted tomatoes too. But I forgot to take the drainage plug out the bottom of the pot, so I think they may have drowned. The mistake has now been rectified, but did I act swiftly enough?
As with everything in my pathetic excuse for a garden, only time will tell ...

1 comment:

Bluejun said...

Oh, how I sympathise.....

About Me

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I have been married to Andy since 1991, we have 4 daughters, 2 dogs, 2 cat, 4 rabbits (and various baby rabbits) and a hamster (not dead). We have lived in the U.S.A since 2000, and are citizens of the U.K. I miss many things about the U.K.(pubs, old buildings, red post boxes, church bells,narrow roads, a good joint of roast lamb with mint sauce, to name but a few) but I have grown to love the U.S.