Tag Archives: weeds

Neglecting the riotous garden

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Two years ago, I wrote one of my favorite posts called The riotous garden and shared photos and the story of the garden my husband and I have created in our front yard.

The garden has been years in the making and the creating and the trying and failing and sometimes succeeding. A woman whose garden I admired told me once that gardening is equal parts tending and neglecting and knowing when to do each.

The last few weeks – while my broken toe has been healing – our riotous garden has seen too much neglect but has also produced so much beautiful chaos in its rush to bloom that I feel undeserving of it all. I thought you might enjoy a photo update of the garden as it looks today.

Spring2014RiotousIrisesFT

A sea of irises

Despite my promise to myself each of the last two years that “this will be the year I divide the iris bulbs,” it still hasn’t happened. I’m vowing to divide them this year, but the neglect has rewarded me with abundant blooms that make me giddy. I’m guessing the irises loved the cold winter. Continue reading →

The sweet side of gardening chores

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After two days of really good, drenching rain, I knew it was time to tackle a chore I’d been putting off for far too long: weeding. I’ve written before about my tendency to put off weeding, but with the mild winter and warmer-than-usual spring, I really have let the weeds go for too long.

I had extra motivation to weed today, though. It’s nearing the official end of spring, and, according to my local nursery’s newsletter, my gardenias and azaleas needed some fertilizer (I’m trying Hollytone this year). But I couldn’t very well fertilize these plants without weeding around them, could I? So I got out my little gardening seat and started pulling weeds. Continue reading →

Weeds or treasure

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I spent the last week and a half in California on a whirlwind vacation with my husband, where we tried to pack in lots of different activities and destinations during our time there. One of my favorite stops was Yosemite, a place neither of us had visited before, mercifully still open despite threats of an impending government shutdown.

Talk about huge trees and waterfalls beyond my comprehension! If you have never been, go (and I say this to you no matter where you live in the world). Yosemite surpasses all of its hype. April means early spring there, and the waterfalls are competing to outdo one another with their flow of snow melt. The massive sequoias and grand boulders made me feel smaller than I’ve ever felt.

While at Yosemite, I found a quote from John Muir, conservationist and national parks champion, that I wanted to share with you:

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
Nature’s peace will flow into you as the sunshine flows
into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness
into you, and the storms their energy, while cares
will drop off like autumn leaves.

Continue reading →