Tuesday, July 6, 2010

am I crazy?

For those of you who have been thinking that I am crazy when it comes to gardening - here's confirmation.  I got up early this AM - before 6 - and decided to do a bit of yard work before it got really hot.  I had forgotten to plant one of the plants I bought yesterday.  It was in a pot and I put the potted plant where it was to go and just forgot to dig the hole!  Also I had more mulch to spread.  I had mulched the whole new flower bed, but the mulch gets absorbed into the earth and with our heat wave and drought, the plants needed more mulch.  Anyway, there I was a 6:30, digging a hole and spreading mulch, before the sun hit the back yard.  It really wasn't all that uncomfortable.  However, I was on a roll, so when finished, went out front to increase the size of the front flower bed.  The grass grows into the bed, past the border of stones, and some of the plants push their way out over the stones and so every few years, I remove grass and add a few inches to the bed.  In the midst of a drought is not the best time to dig up sod, as I soon discovered.  I had to soak the sod before I could even get the spade into it.  It was VERY HOT out front, as it gets the first rays of sun each AM.  I decided I would just move a third of the edging for today, but when I got that far, I just kept going.  By the time I finished, I had been outside working for about an hour and a half, and was very hot and sweaty.  (I knew a woman who always claimed that, "men sweat, but women glow").  I was glowing enough to light a fire!  LOL   After a shower, I was ready for breakfast and the rest of the day.  So now I have a very small additional garden space to play with. 

After my pottery class, I stopped by Home Depot and bought some pink wax begonias and purple petunias to put in the new edge of the flower bed.  This time of year, there isn't much choice on annuals, but they are available at bargain prices.  I also bought some garden soil, as the soil where I removed grass isn't the best.  Even the grass doesn't do very well there!  However, I am not entirely insane.  I did not plant them this afternoon.  The flowers are sitting in the shade still in their pots and the soil is in its bag.  IF it cools off tonight, I will try to get them planted.  Otherwise, perhaps another early morning gardening tomorrow.

I don't remember if I mentioned it, but yesterday I also spray painted an old chair.  It was green with a yellow vinyl seat.  Now it is blue, with the same vinyl seat.  This chair came from a diner that Karl's (my first husband) mother owned.  When we married, back in 1964, we furnished our house with family hand-me-downs.  Frieda gave us a small metal table and the chairs from the diner.  We had 4 chairs, but I seem to only have three now.  I should replace the seats on all of them - before I paint any more.  However, we needed an extra dining room chair for all the company arriving in just THREE weeks, so this paint job is a quick fix.  I will have quite an assortment of chairs in order to seat all 8 of us, but as long as everyone has a seat, who cares that they don't match? 

1 comment:

Pat said...

I think a mismatched look for the 8 seats you need is a lot more fun! Be careful about doing too much yardwork in the heat. We are not as young as we used to be.....LOL