My Latent Green Thumb

Today for the first time I felt fully evolved as a homeowner. I mastered some new basic garden tools. And Bob’s mom gave him a leaf blower, which I’m happy to have. And maybe I hate gardening less than I thought I did.

For as long as we’ve been in the house, the garden has been a source of ongoing aggravation for me. But last month a friend who’s a master gardener came by (after I swallowed my embarrassment about the condition of my flower beds) and wrote up a great plan for me. It’s straightforward and simple but I know it’ll be beautiful. Having someone map out a plan for me is a huge help. She took my gardening related anxieties into account, namely that bugs freak me out. And I don’t like to work outside in hot, humid weather. And bugs.

Photo credit: Pexels

Photo credit: Pexels

Even though the yard wasn’t part of my thought process when I planned my project, I think it’s important to include because it’s part of the house. In my mind, this is the decluttering stage. For the last few weeks I’ve been spending a half hour or so each day digging and cutting. There are lots of invasive vines, one of which was wrapped around and tugging down a tree branch. I had one clipper and one shovel, and made some good progress, but my clipper didn’t work well on thicker branches and vines. Yesterday I dug out one shrub, but the others aren’t budging. So I went into the garage and actually found more tools. There was a better shovel and a clipper that cut the thick branches like they were nothing. And I found a hoe, which I used to work on the shrubs.

I’ve never used so many garden tools in such a short span of time. Doing the hard work in the fall might be the key to success this time around. Every spring, I think about gardening, but the season’s arrived late the last few years, then there’s all the end of the school year hoopla, then it’ 90 degrees and it’s too late. Now the worst of the humidity’s done. It’s even been cool the last few days. My friend will let me know soon if it’s not too late to get some things in the ground. Come next spring, it’ll just need upkeep and not an overhaul.

flowers-garden-orange-tulips

Photo credit: Pexels

I don’t want to get ahead of myself but I’m hoping to get some tulip bulbs in the ground too. When I was in graduate school, the university I attended bloomed every spring with carpets of tulips, in a nod to its Dutch heritage. There were tulips everywhere. Every spring I loved to walk around the campus and read the little signs with the different varieties. I had no idea there were so many, and I’ve never attempted to grow them but think this might be a good time.

On an unrelated note, I need to do something about digital clutter. There are none of my own photos on this post because I’m out of storage and need to delete or upload photos. Apps have been disappearing too. Our iPad needs to be serviced. And my laptop seems sluggish, but I’m currently aggravated with gadgets in general so it might just me be.

I read and loved this article today. Enjoy. I’m thinking about printing it to use as a checklist.


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