Six on Saturday, 2-17-18: Gearing Up to Get Out There!

Reading about gardening is almost as much fun as gardening itself, at least it is for dreamers like me.

Following The Propagator and his allies (especially Thomas Stone and Lora Hughes) has taught me a lot about how things are done across the pond.  I envy their climate and jump-start on spring.

And yet, I’m not ready.  I ruminate over whether to set up the grow lights and start seedlings, as was my routine for many years; or just head to the nursery and buy plants that someone else started, as has been my recent routine.

I vacillate between edging and mulching my own beds on our half-acre, or hiring a contractor to handle spring clean up.

I seek to be economical, then change my mind and think it is worth the money to get a job done.

In all of this contemplating, very little actually happens.  Ha!

Soon, though, the jig will be up.  The weeds have already started growing and seem undeterred by a few inches of snow now and again.  The deer are browsing more often as they find new shoots and buds.  I will have to close the books and pick up the pruners.

clematis roots grow out of the pot's drainage hole

Last year, I found a clematis volunteer in a shade of white, though I’ve never planted a white one. I potted it up and then forgot to sink it in the ground before winter. Hardy thing – it not only survived, but it is rooting through the drainage hole and right into the garden bed. Who needs me?!!!

 

bearded iris shoots emerge from a rhizome

Ah, the bearded iris are sending up their shoots.  I love their yellows and blues in spring.

 

dead blood grass foliage still looks pretty against snow and ice

Never completely got to trim all of the blood grass back before winter hit. It still has a reddish hue, even in death!  This vignette with iced brick is pretty and poetic…

 

 

weathering of cement urns includes chipping

Some of this chipping is weathering, but I’ve also caught the squirrels nibbling on the plaster, which I assume is nutritious in some way?  I think I’ll just drink milk.

 

a rake and two shovels are hanging in the garage

These soldiers are ready to go, even the wounded warrior on the left. He’s a testament to how many rocks I’ve leveraged in this yard of ours!

 

an assortment of arrowheads and a stone scraper

I like to think of myself as someone who attends to detail.  But it is my husband who has unearthed these artifacts.  The stone on the right fits perfectly into a palm, and very probably was fashioned as a hide scraper by an ancient Native American.

stone scraper fitting well into the palm of hand

Okay, the last photo makes seven, but let’s say it goes with the prior photo.  After all, I am a rule follower!

-Jo

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Author: A. JoAnn

Here is where I share the beauty I find in everyday life; and the humor, too!

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