OMG! I've gotten old! Not sure when it happened. All the work in packing and unpacking, hauling boxes, putting stuff away... somehow I thought I was doing pretty good for my age. I'll admit, I don't do ladders - I just flat out don't! Somehow that turned into a phobia, where I swear by the third step they begin to move. My shoulders are arthritic, so I don't reach up high without pain, and always without muscle control. So what happened? When did 3/4 century mean "old"?
I have had help in the house with a lot of practical things, like light bulbs, and picture hangers, assembly of shelving units, all that kind of thing. But those aren't the skills needed to start a garden over. That's what needs to get done here. Now.
When we moved in, the raised circular bed in the yard was solid weeds and two flowers. One of those was a dandelion. I know enough to get out the chemicals. Twice, since many of the weeds were barely fazed the first go-round. Maybe too much rain? Little leaves are popping up again, so digging becomes necessary.
I started yesterday, bought a brand new shovel for the job. My son Paul wasn't sure if he had one I could borrow, and I wasn't sure even if he had one that it would still have a strong handle. I took a folding chair out, set it in the shade along with a bottle of water, and started in. One shovel strike proved that even though the rain has stopped for a few days, the ground is easy enough to dig.
Easy enough for whom, you well might ask. I did prove I can balance on one leg and lift the foot on the other side high enough to stomp down hard to get the shovel in the ground. It was news to me since I hadn't actually done that since my knee replacements. But immediately I discovered that what appeared to be small rocks on the top of the garden were actually just the tops of much larger ones. Like icebergs, a significantly larger portion of them was under the surface. They'd sunk over their years in the garden.What looked to be about 5 pounds... well, let's just say I somehow managed to get them up, and out onto the concrete wedges forming the circle. Any further would have been a miracle. And at least they won't sink in any more, for now.
Their future is undecided. A few are interesting with fossils in them, but if they're just going to disappear.... Others are gawdawful ugggly! Maybe they can cover some other spot somewhere to prevent a few weeds. Every time I even think of them I am reminded of how heavy they are, with full assurance that in their next move to wherever, they will still be that heavy. I was totally drained for the rest of the day.
But I couldn't stop working. The first new flower orders arrive tomorrow, live plants, not just bulbs. More arrive Saturday. They need a home ASAP. And since they will be followed later by even more plants, then later bulbs of assorted kinds. followed by even more plants for fall planting, the bed has to be all dug up and turned over now, with my plan in place for where it all goes. along with a solid idea of how not to step on what's planted just to plant more. They will all be intermingled so there is continual blooming from snow melt to late summer, somewhere in the bed.
First, I had to check out the weeds which were stubbornly refusing to die despite all efforts. In went the shovel again. Something stubborn was under the surface, something hard, woody, tangled, and about the size of any of my fingers in diameter. They have GOT TO GO! Right now!
But I'm already exhausted. Naturally I divert myself from my exhaustion by doing something else. As in not sitting. The red peony has finished blooming, so I grabbed a bucket and clippers and topped it off, deadheading all the knobs left. Then I looked along the side of the house to where two fairly large flower pots sit, home to another collection of weeds. I have offered the buckets to a friend who accepted, at least until she tried to help move one. Could I please get rid of the dirt in them first?
I started with the shovel again. Yes, the pots are that big. Now that rain has stopped, the weeds are drying out, the soil is drying down to a deeper spot at least. I started chopping chunks of it out of the pots. Turns out the first one was ordinary potting soil down about 6 inches. I emptied the peony bits from my bucket and scooped soil chunks into it instead, then dumped it on top of the garden space. Every little bit helps, right? Better this than buying all new compost, especially since my rock removal revealed how rich and black the circle bed's soil is. But pot number one soon revealed how much of its contents were that same heavy black dirt, and still wet enough to be the cause of its tremendous weight. Potting soil was just on the top. So more work with shovel, trowel, and bucket, sections at a time, filling abandoned rock holes and dumping dirt wherever. It still mostly has to be turned and blended. Once the pot was empty, the whole thing weighed less than a pound. My friend would love this, once I told her about proper cleaning/bleaching before replanting.
Pot number two was a breeze after that. Pulling it out from behind a bush where it had been abandoned, I discovered all that was left inside was dried up potting soil. I simply dragged it to the circle, up and over its wall, and dumped it out. It still sits there, an inverted version of the pot's inside shape, a big lump waiting for demolition and blending.
Then I finally gave in and rested. And rested. I didn't put tools away, just propped them close to the garden. Too much work to haul them to the shed, then right back out again. The management is fussy out here, and we heard this morning that it's yard inspection day. But they better be able to comprehend a work in process doesn't get finished in a day. If they complain, I'll let them know that the main digging is hired to be completed and the first "real" plants put in over the weekend, with more coming as the season requires/allows. First will be the daylilies and the bearded iris, once the dirt is ready. After another month bulbs will start arriving, more spring ground cover plants filling in, and finally the tulips, daffodils, and similar bulbs before the garden rests for winter. I still think I'll mulch it.
So, after leaving the tools in sight and an unfinished garden, do you think I quit for the day after getting exhausted? Have you met me? I had already arranged to head over to my son's house to select some plants to dig out and bring over, with his permission of course. It is his garden now, no matter who bought all those original plants. I arrived before he did from work, and went in to pick up stuff we hadn't cleared out after the move over to the new place. Then with most of the daylilies blooming, I carefully noted which exact colors of plants I wanted and where they grew. I had brought a ball of twine with me to bind up clumps later to dig from, just because I'm fussy.We'd go over each choice together once he got home. Plus I wanted to dicker with him for his time and work this weekend in exchange for $$ and lunch.
The end impression I got from him was a combination of pleasant surprise at getting paid, and a strong willingness to get rid of a whole lot of plants if he could. I did promise to only take out sections of each kind of daylily clump, leaving him with his own and new space for them to expand into. Well, except for the two purple kinds I planted last year with the idea of those being temporary since we were already planning to move back north this year. Oh, and the pale blue bearded iris down by the huge boulder in the front yard because they make it hard for him to mow there. I'll take all of those, giving one to a friend as promised a couple years ago. His balloon flowers have sent out a volunteer copy of themselves, right in the middle of a most inconvenient spot, blocking a path. The stems on that now are gathered inside twine to hold them together until I dig them out, cut the stems way back, and remove them. I figure, tall as they are and towering over everything else in my new garden, they'll get plugged right in the center. In other words, they'll have to go in just about first. We don't need to trample everything else just to plant them no matter which direction we come at them from. They'll be the last gasp of summer in the garden.
Oh, by the way, I'm still exhausted today. Sure am glad the younger generation is willing to do the real work around here!
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