My garden adventures continue as we come into a new spring with a raspberry bush patch that needs serious weeding, and a run to google to find out what I am supposed to do with the asparagus bed? Oh, and is it normal to have kale return after winter and lo and behold, there are lettuce plants growing too.
After a seriously sickening run of rain rain rain and then some more rain, it is as though the world has exploded in green. And the garden, which was all but dormant a few weeks ago, has sprung into serious action. The rhubarb plants are bolting, the kale is now bolting -- when it was beautiful yesterday! Guess the crazy hot summer days that hit us like a ton of bricks over the weekend confused even the garden. And here is little old me, completely clueless about all these things, and yet, realizing that it is with experience that I will become a true gardener. (If we get those crazy creepy tomato worms this year, I will know what to do, instead of running inside and freaking out that I have been invaded by aliens.)
It is time to prepare the garden for planting and I keep a close eye out on all the gardens I pass on my daily travels to see what stage they are in; and whether or not they lay down weed matting, which I have done the past two years. But no one else seems to do it, and it is a bit of a pain to plant because I have to saw holes into it to get things in. But you do NOT have to weed at all, and there is a lot to be said for that. But why don't others do it? And then I see how the garden wants to keep itself going -- by reseeding through bolting or just plain returning, and I wonder, am I doing more harm by starting over every year? I JUST DON'T KNOW. And it seems that there are so many conflicting answers that I feel a bit overwhelmed. But this is the first time I understood that this is not to be learned through books. This is something you learn over time, with experience, and I really like that idea! (And again, thank GAWD FOR GOOGLE!)
The dogs have been digging up the perennial garden near the entrance to the house -- and I started off the season feeling defeated. There is now a huge patch that they have destroyed, where all the plants I have so carefully placed will never return. And I can't do a thing in the vegetable garden until we have a fence up -- because last year as soon as I planted, they went in and dug it up. I don't know what to do -- they dig when I am home and it's not as though I can keep an eye on them 24/7. I don't want to put an ugly fence around it, because then it would defeat the purpose (I absolutely will put up a fence around the veggie garden) but the perennial garden is part of the walkway and a fence would just make it look gross.
I hate to complain, but this weather is not really conducive to garden work. It's more like the middle of July -- brutally hot and super buggy to boot. And the kids keep talking about the snakes they see in the garden, and I am mortally afraid every time I turn around! What is this dilemma? Why oh why do I have to deal with this snake thing? The breeze ruffles a blade of grass and I nearly faint. I swear, I should have someone gather all the snakes they can find and make me walk through them or something. There must be some type of de-sensitization technique!!! Google?
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