Sunday, February 23, 2014

I'm just a girl who can't say no

It's not what you think, but it got your attention didn't it? What can I not say no to?   Plants.  Yes.  Plants.  I have a problem.  It's obsessive compulsive digging behavior or OCDB.   This year I'm trying a new tactic, which is to put the veggie garden in the front yard, but not just any veggie garden.  I built a hugelkultur bed.

Well sort of.  I just re-read the instructions and I'm sure I didn't do it right.  I only had branches, for one thing, not logs, and I skipped the leaves and such and just put the topsoil back.  OOPS.   Oh well.  I'll get back to you guys later on whether or not this works well, and start building another behind the first after the big spring storms produce more tree litter.  

Conversation with my neighbor while building this thing.  I'm digging in the yard, she walks past me carrying things to her parents' van which she has finally sold.   

Neighbor:  I hate digging. 
Me: So do I but I can't stop doing it. 
Where I started
later that year
I can't say no to plants.  When I bought this house it had NO landscaping whatsoever.  None.  Well, the 100 year old native elm/s in the backyard were there. (It looks like two trees whose trunks fused when they were small.)  So I put in a whole lot of work laying the foundation for a self re-seeding herb/rose garden.  I had to remove six inches of top soil because the earth was filled with used kitty little, glass and construction debris from the remodel.  My dad played the hero and hauled it off to the dump for me.



  I spent $60 on plants and a little on new  top soil and it began.  I have since dug three new beds in the front yard, not counting the veggie garden I just put in and four failed beds in the backyard.  My dogs destroyed them.  I am optimistic that one day Dorcas will die and I will be able to plant squash in the back yard again, but until then, I'm not going to try it.






Sage blossoms

So why do I do it?   Why dig if you hate digging?  Why plant if if you hate digging?

Because my yard smells awesome when it rains.  Because tomatoes that aren't waxed taste better. Because homegrown smudge chases bad feelings away better.  Because sage blossoms.

I can't say no to plants.  Yes, my ankle hurts when I dig.   Yes, I get a back muscle cramp of champions.

I get blisters.  I get lazy and I neglect them later in the year. I do all those things, and sometimes I don't even mow the grass but I mess with the gardens.

I have a new plan of attack this spring.  I've panted onions, marigolds (bug repellant), potatoes, radishes (bug repellant) and peas out there.  Later I will change it all for summer plants, and probably dig a new bed.  I will be keeping tabs on how my poorly designed badly executed hugelkultur bed gets on. 







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