There is nothing glamorous about what's going on in the garden this week. Except, of course, Annabel's wardrobe and the personality that goes with it (she's got a little thing right now for swimsuits and tights. It's a look she wears well, I must say). We are just getting into the garden, really, and still only preparing it. It feels so much later than last year, but this was a different winter and spring, to be sure.
The garden wasn't put to bed in the fall quite as I would have liked, and so there's a lot to be done. We are building the beds back up, adding some compost, and preparing for planting. We are battling burdock with a fury - though there is less than last year, there is still so much and it's everywhere (I know it has its uses, but I have no need for a half acre of it). And Steve and I spent two full days wrestling with the rambling rose (multiflora rose) that was growing along every side of the garden fence, encroaching on the fencing and the garden itself. We are running the pigs through that area too, and they'll do a bit more of the digging up of roots that we couldn't get.
There are some new garden spots around the house too. Where we ran the pigs last year is all cleared out now and ready for planting. I'm reading a lot about dye gardens and thinking about what plants I might like to use for that. The pigs did the hard work of clearing out all the brambles, we cleared what remained, and the kids kindly removed all the rocks (oh, the rocks here!) for us. A dollar for a five gallon bucket full of rocks added motivation.
I have yet to sketch out what goes where, and the peas aren't even in yet! But all of that will come. It looks as though I'm going to have some serious helpers in the garden this year - the four youngest have all been out there with me asking for something to do. It makes a Mama happy, that kind of thing. My Mother's Day wish was for all of us to spend some time in the garden, and I'm so looking forward to that.
Oh, it feels so good to be back in the garden.
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I enjoyed so much last year, the weekly In The Garden posts - the comments full of suggestions and ideas, and the links you all left to your own garden updates. I'm looking forward to doing the same this year, and hope you'll join me when you're able!
If you're keeping garden notes and photographs and want to share it with the rest of us, do leave a comment with a link so that we may take a stroll through your garden too! It's a delight to see what and how things are growing all over, and to read the comments with such great gardening wisdom! Thank you all for continuing to share in this little project.
