 It was even worse than I imagined! Overgrowth? HA! The garden was ready to eat the house! Weeds? Taller than the overgrown shrubbery! The roses I worried about did succumb, covered and choked by giant plants. There were also some unexpected, unexplainable casualties.  We're talking The Secret Garden (Frances Hodson Burnett) overgrowth in a period of six weeks or so, not that it wasn't already headed in that direction. There were roses next to that lantana! Where to begin? Anywhere, really. I think certain basils can be just as bad as mint or purslane, which seems crazy since we enjoy eating all three!  Joseph and I have already launched our counterattack. Barely unpacked, both still jetlagged, and he has remnants of a cold. But this is unacceptable.
I did wonder for a moment if I even deserve to have a garden. It's not about deserving, though. It's about home and life and passion. I don't doubt that it's going to be a monumental challenge to control the weeds and weedy plants (looking at you, basil) moving forward. They enjoyed full reign and won't give up easily. But move forward, we will. I've already ordered cool season vegetable seeds. More soon! It's great to be back!
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 Kaleköy, Türkiye Travel... There's so much good to say about it. It opens up vistas, horizons within and outside of us. It can be fun, relaxing, re-energizing, and so much more. It can also reenforce that love of home sweet home that sometimes gets lost in the daily grind.
One more week and we'll be there--home. I miss my garden. I can hardly imagine how it's looking about now, and yet I know. It's wild, impossibly overgrown, weedy in the extreme, and doubtless not without casualties. What will I do first? The options are many. The whole thing has been needing a haircut, so to speak. Before we left, Joseph and I already agreed that some giant plants have to go. The lantana along one hedge has possibly killed the roses. It's out, along with the giant shrimp plant and mystery salvia. Weeding! It's a good thing milder temps are on the way. At least, I hope they are. I will need to don a long-sleeved shirt under my overalls to protect my arms. Poisonous plants are likely mixed in with all the weeds and overgrowth. Then, major cleanup time. Once the cleanup is done, it will be time to add organic compost and fertilizer. This year, I'm going to plant. I've been dreaming of our vegetable and herb beds. And flowers! I'm thinking big. Lots of pansies, violas, snapdragons, floxglove, and alyssum. I need to order bulbs, too. I want more, more, more! I realize that if you compare this post to ones I wrote during the summer, you might think I've lost my mind. But that's only if you're not an avid gardener. If you are, you might be thinking, "what else?" Either way, be happy for me. I'm baaack! |
Our GardenFor years, my husband and I worked at creating a series of gardens on our four-acre lot in a rural, Texas subdivision west of Houston. I have to say, it was a fantastic experience. Now, I have a pocket garden on a golf course. Archives
January 2025
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