After the long winter, the call of the garden has been strong, and it's been a fast and furious spring gardening season these past few weeks.
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| front walkway garden in early May.. |
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| ...in late May |
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| ...and mid June. |
Of course our big spring project has been our red veggie garden, but in addition to building, tilling soil, and hauling rocks for that garden, I've also spent quite a few afternoons digging up other areas of the yard. I've had (and still have!) lots of seedlings to plant from my seed starting and winter sowing.
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| Almost all of the seeds I winter-sowed grew quite well! |
I've also received a number of plants from several generous gardeners whose gardens were overflowing (I highly recommend joining a gardening club if you love plants!)
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| Have extra plants in the garden? I'll take them! (This one is a Campanula, I believe.) |
The past few weeks have also been devoting to watering and caring for all my new little plant-lings and keeping a close eye on all the local critters (which I shall introduce to you at a later time).
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| Woohoo! Snow peas! |
Unfortunately, I've been so busy this spring, that, while my gardens are shaping up nicely, I've apparently overdone it. I now have tendonitis in both wrists and am forced to hang up my shovel for a little while.
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| Grrr... so much I want to do! |
I guess that's the problem when a new garden and an impatient, overachieving gardener meet. I have so many grand visions of what I want my garden to look like, and of course it will take a few years to achieve anything close to that. (I just have to keep having to remind myself of that fact!)
But it does give me a little more time to blog now..
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| My Nicotiana is starting to bloom and smelling wonderful. |
...and some time to slow down and actually smell some of those flowers!
Hey Indie - I feel your pain. My Carpel Tunnel acts up during gardening season as well. Lots of repetitive wrist movements. I just wear my brace and carry on. The numbness stops once I stop heavy gardening. Hope you are better soon!
ReplyDeleteI've had tendonitis in one of my wrists in the past, but it's been awhile. Probably too much too soon after the long winter! Hopefully it will get better soon, and I hope yours doesn't give you much trouble either!
DeleteI envy you, getting to work on your new garden. Still waiting to sell, but getting closer.
ReplyDeleteOh I know how it feels to be in transition - last year was really tough! Good luck, and I hope you can move on to the next phase soon. Hang in there!
DeleteThere you were -- crying in my beer about not being able to grow rain lilies when you have DRUM ROLL -- ROCKS, tulips, and probably peonies, astilbe, and all those trees shaped like Christmas trees, too. Nope. Not feeling any sympathy. :)
ReplyDeleteHa, that is true - I am rolling in rocks, I do have a tree shaped like a Christmas tree, and next year I plan to build a fence and line it with peonies, among other things :D Of course, come this winter when we are up to our armpits in snow and haven't seen anything green for months on end, I will likely be begging to come visit you and your garden... :)
DeleteOh, I know what you mean! It's the time, the money, the wrist power, etc. So much you want to do and the vision is so big, it's hard to scale back. And then for me, it's the thought about how much should I invest in new plants when I'll probably be moving in a few years ....
ReplyDeleteOh that would be tough. Both my parents and my in-laws have that problem. I will hopefully be in this house for a long, long time, though!
DeleteIt is so fun to start anew, but I do know what you mean about waiting for plants to mature and fill in. It looks like you have a great start. When I have a new design installed at clients' properties, I never take photos because I know what it will become, and what is there after install, although it looks nice, is not what I want to see in photos. You got bees, what more could you ask for? LOL. Your garden will be beautiful and the bees will flock.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I do have bees, at least, though not as many as I expected. Hopefully when I have more blooms!
DeleteOh no! I hope you heal quickly and can get back out in your garden soon! I can totally relate to being over ambitious with garden plans. Its hard to slow down and enjoy the process.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I just have to be patient and go a little slower. I think it is my gardens' goal to teach me patience! :)
DeleteIt's certainly frustrating, but your body is telling you not to work so hard. It's time to enjoy your hard work -- and share it with us - thanks! Hope you recover soon. -Beth
ReplyDeleteVery true! It's actually been nice to relax a little bit and not worry about getting so much done outside. :)
DeleteHer's some advice from an ahem, older gardener. Work smart not hard. Change activities often. Take time to relax and enjoy the beauty from that garden bench and don't let the computer off scot free. It's part of the problem too. I'm not sure about housework either!
ReplyDeleteVery true! I'm with you there on the housework - I'm letting Mr. Red House take over the vacuuming and ironing for a little while!
DeleteI'm impressed by your winter sowing! I've had mixed results with it and didn't even get any seeds out this winter, but I'm going to try it again this winter. It's easy to overdo it in the garden, especially when you have so much you want to do. I've been nursing a sore shoulder and find I can only work so long without paying for it the rest of the day. Take it easy and enjoy those flowers!
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad the winter sowing didn't work for you! Did they get too wet or too dry? (That's what I think has happened to some of mine in the past that didn't come up.) I hope your shoulder feels better! It's so easy to overdo it in the garden, too. One thing you want to do out there snowballs into another, then another..
DeleteI remember doing the same thing when I started my gardens here...now they are out of control and will wait for me. My peas are just finally growing so late this year....the gardens are looking good and boy that is a lot of seedlings.
ReplyDeleteEverybody has been saying it was a late winter and an abnormally cold spring which is making everything later. I have the peas in a raised bed, which is helping them. I do still have a lot of seedlings to plant! The poor things are getting cramped in their little milk jug containers :)
DeleteOh how I relate to this one. I have also been known to injure myself in my zeal to get it all done. At least you have something nice to show for it - the garden is looking great! What are those pink tulips? They look a bit like the double early ones ones I planted last year - Foxtrot, I think they were.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I think they are Foxtrot. They are so pretty. I love them, but I'm not sure I want to keep planting tulips, as I have to spray them as they are too tempting to all the bunnies!
DeleteYou think it had been along winter for you and now you are really into gardening for this year - - you are lucky. Things here are still not in "full force" some bushes are still "waking up" to the Spring. And, it has been raining almost daily - I'm getting antsy to go all the way once the weather clears. JC
ReplyDeleteWow, that is late! And I thought it was bad here! Someone with seasonal depression would have a lot of trouble in that climate. I hope the weather clears for you soon!
DeleteThat Campanula is beautiful. I love Campanula. I hope you will recover soon.
ReplyDeleteThank you! My wrist are starting to feel better, and I'm starting to do a few more things in the garden - more slowly, of course!
DeleteI feel your pain...quite literally. It wakes me up at night, not knowing where to put my arms, wrists & hands. But you're doing a grand job, there's no hurry x
ReplyDeleteAt least mine is temporary - I know you do a lot as part of your job and can't really give them a rest! I propped them on pillows at night and iced them a lot, and now they are doing better, thankfully. I hope you can give yours a little rest somehow!
DeleteI rather like the garden with space around each plant ... looks neater than my overgrown beds. Sorry about the tendonitis, though. Your body is telling you to sit back and ENJOY the results of all that hard work! P. x
ReplyDeleteThe problem is weeding all that space around the plants :) I try to avoid weeding as much as possible, so I'm anxious for my plants to get big enough to crowd them out!
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