I’ve been doing things in the garden, mostly a lot of getting tired and staring slack-jawed into the distance. Do you do this? I do it in full view of my neighbors, who already think I’m crazy because I’m removing parts of my lawn. I just stare and stare, usually at a spot in the yard where there are no plants. I think of it as “imagining the possibilities.” Others might call it “gawping.”
I also rigged up this little nightmare landscape.
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| Cryptomeria japonica ‘Elegans’ |
Way back when it snowed so hard, my poor cryptomeria got all bent up top where it wasn’t staked. I thought, “I’ll just remove the nursery stake and put a longer one on!” I did that and the tree promptly fell over. And then it started pouring rain and I decided to half-ass staking it and instead use the recycling bin to prop it up. It looked super classy. And it didn’t work. All of which is to say, this is a vast improvement! Really.
I’ve also been moving this euphorbia, which already gets moved twice a year. I can’t seem to find a place where it looks quite right and it’s starting to suffer for my indecisiveness. It’s leggy and prone to falling over but I think the colors are so pretty right now.
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| Euphorbia ‘Blackbird’ |
This weekend I spent the most money I have ever spent at one time on plants. I put in huge orders to Annie’s Annuals and High Country Gardens (I had coupons!), then picked up the plants I ordered from the Audubon Society native plant party people for the rain garden out front. Then, for good measure, I took a trip out to Cistus and bought a fern and a vine but no agaves, which was stupid, stupid, stupid. Agaves were 40% off and I forgot to claim my Hardy Plant Society discount, to boot.
This time of year makes me feel panicky–must fill dead spaces! Everything is still below ground and I’m already worrying about how much blank space is in the garden. I am like a teenager who can’t wait to be older so I can drink and smoke and vote and rent a car. My garden is young and it wants to be older. I’ve been so preoccupied with blank spaces (that probably won’t be blank in two months) that I failed to notice that my pieris is really pretty right now.
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| Pieris japonica |
I started clearing sod near the roses so I can plant my perennial lab. I hate clearing sod, even when it means getting rid of these crazy curves.
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| Before. |
I really wish I had used a hose to mark out some gentle curves here. Now this is too straight.
I haven’t finished because I got tired and I needed to stare into the distance. Maybe I’m just struck dumb because I caught a whiff of my daphne.
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| Daphne odora ‘Goddamn it, why didn’t I document the tag?’ |
Anybody have a sod cutter I can borrow?
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