A gardener's diary

It has been rain rain rain on and off for the last two week around here.  But work in the gardens and surrounding areas cannot be stopped.  We must keep going.  Thus, we have continued reseeding our yard, fertilizing, planting, mowing… and all under the "pitter patter" of raindrops.  

My husband thought this was also a good time to aerate.  He rented a mechanical plug aerator and opened thousands of holes in the soil to give existing grass room to spread its roots.  With all this rain, you can imagine the amount of mud we’re getting.  It is so aggravating working in mud.  All my gardening shoes are a mess.  Oh but you know me... I would keep working outside even if I have to go barefooted.

I spent the last couple of weeks pruning and collecting dead leaves... planting, and painting things in the garden.   

   Everything is starting to look marvelous and neat and ready for a new fresh start.   

The other day I worked on the pond.  I removed debris and dead leaves left by winter winds and then repainted the entire surface.  Once the paint is dried I will get it running again, bring in all the water plants I can find and hunt for some big rocks to add to it.

We created another flower bed on the left side of the front porch and planted a couple of Knockout roses there.   

Then, I started painting flower pots and furniture.  I really liked the Shabby Chic look I had there last year with all the blues and green and combinations of patterns, but I wanted a more sophisticated look this year.  The color scheme of my decorations needed match the overall colors of the cottage, which are the white of walls, the black of shutters and the red door.  

Two big rustic looking black clay flower pots filled with red geraniums did the trick…

I also stained a smaller clay pot I already had in black

And painted the settee back to white.

I’m also redoing the cushions in the settee in a black fabric, but I haven’t done it yet waiting to see if the cat that lives there finally decides to move on.  Thus far, he’s still coming by, and it doesn’t seem that the orange peel cat repellant I’m faithfully spraying everywhere there is working.

Early this morning I starting planting the hill that my dad and I cleared off of roots and poison ivy last summer and that sent us both to the hospital contaminated with poison.  I want to make this area a lovely little spot to honor my dad for all the hard work he did there, so I planted dozen of lilies there in a variety of colors, and although I don’t know if I’d have any luck with them, I also added a few Elephant Ears bulbs for a showy summer display. 

I’ve been planting many more roses around the garden.  And how could I have not!  Particularly when I found the other day that Wal-Mart had brought in a few Chicago Peace with their barefoot roses.  Just the name of these roses alone is enough to bring to mind lovely memories of the house in the roses and all the magical moments I spent in that garden.

Ever since we purchased our little cottage I’ve been dreaming with growing climbing roses in our front porch.  My husband discouraged me from doing so last year.  We know that this southern climate doesn’t like roses, but not even Nature itself could have prevented me from making my dream come true this year… so I have planted two climbing Americana rose at the feet of each column.  I am already envisioning a porch swathed in salmon coloring roses…

Oh I hear giggles… can you hear them too?  Indeed, the spring fairies must be partaking of some magical celebration somewhere...  I, too, I am dreaming of a flower-filled world; daydreaming in the green reverie of Nature and trees and bees and butterflies hovering over my dreams.  

“Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair...”
― Susan Polis Schutz