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| My tiny late blooming tulip |
The thrill of recent small gardening successes has fizzled a little. I was quite happy with the daffodils and tulips, and even the little west corner where I planted bulbs too deep achieved modest success, with miniature flowers blooming colorfully even in this summer heat.
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| Waiting for wildflowers |
Today was too hot to spend in the sun digging and planting. Spring has ended abruptly and the weather is now in the high 80s F. Bob has been faithfully watering the wildflower patch every day, and a few little plants seem to be showing up, though most of them look suspiciously like grass. So the wildflower experiment may not produce much.
Bob helped me a little before he began the day's painting. However, I did most of the work on the little plot on the east side of the house. We widened it a little this year, and I spent a fair bit of time shaking the dirt off big chunks of grass and pulling out little oak trees growing out of last year's acorns, planted by squirrels last fall.
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| Impatiens and begonias in the shade garden |
Last year, I planted that space in the pouring rain, simply shoving the plants in the mud and hoping for the best, and the results were surprisingly good. This year, Bob insisted on peat moss, mulch and plenty of sod turning and raking, such that the process was more labor intensive and tiring.
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| The east flower patch |
I started shortly before 10:00 a.m. and was soon taking a break on the deck with a large glass of water. Ten or fifteen minutes later, I was thinking that the only good thing about this mini-project would be writing about it later, and maybe a cold beer on the deck. By then, I was ready for another break and a change of eyewear, as my regular sunglasses kept falling into the dirt.
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| Petunias, marigolds and celosia |
Because of my two knee replacements, I can't kneel down so all gardening has to be executed from a crouching position. This soon gets old, and I needed several more breaks in the next couple of hours. By the time I got the job done, I remembered that I still had a tomato plant to get in the ground. More peat moss and compost.
Finally, the job was finished. I stumbled into the house, dehydrated and exhausted. Lots of water -- and no beer -- this afternoon. Feeling better now, as the sun begins to set in the western sky.
