SPRING has finally arrived here in my corner of the universe.
And that means . . . it's All Hands on Deck getting the garden back into shape!
Tom does most of the heavy lifting -- or, in this case, heavy pulling of the neighbor's English Ivy off the fence. (If not for Tom's annual battle, the neighbor's English Ivy would be covering our house by now. It's the kudzu of the neighborhood.)
Brian (home for a week before starting his summer research position) took on the icky job of cleaning up my pond. (More on why it was particularly icky this year another day.) But, trust me, Really Icky.
Jenny was everywhere, enjoying freshly-turned nightcrawlers and fresh soil. She also ended up having a bath because she couldn't quite resist the lure of the Icky Pond Detritus -- rolling in it whenever we weren't watching.
Last Friday night, my pal Sandie and I visited one of our local nurseries for a special event -- a Wine Tasting and New Plant Introductions event*.
Yep. Michigan wines. New plants.
It's hard to go wrong with that combination! (Tom joked that if the event also included yarn, I might never come home. . . )
It was a fun adventure, even though the wines were . . . meh.
And there really weren't that many "new" plants. (Most were "new" to this particular nursery, but not really "new" to obsessive plant-followers. Like Sandie and I.)
But we had fun sipping and strolling. . .
through the nursery selections.
We also found the most hideous collection of garden gnomes ever. They had biker-gnomes (an entire collection) and Marliyn Monroe gnomes and this guy. . .
I mean. Really? Can you imagine this Elvis gnome in among your dahlias? Nightmare-fodder! (And $45 to boot!)
Fun night! Wine, plants, laughter. And plenty of inspiration!
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* This is the same nursery that sponsors the cart sale I blog about every summer!
I don't know about you, but April flew past so quickly that I really never got used to it being April. And now, it's almost over!
Here's what's happening in my life . . . RIGHT NOW.
Watching . . . The changing scenes outside. Rain. Sunshine. Buds. But nothing on television. (I am recording some things to watch eventually. But . . . I seem to have no time for tv these days.)
Reading . . . Oh. The books! There are so many fabulous books. My to-read queue grows longer every day. Right now, I'm reading The Interestings (which just isn't really living up to its title, unfortunately) and Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (not far enough into it to gauge, at this point). I do need to recommend a recent read, though: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. Very good!
Knitting . . . Just finished ChicKnit's Elisbeth
cardigan (short sleeve version). It's blocking as I type, so watch for photos soon. I'm working on a
spring-color version of this shawl. But, mostly, I'm not doing a whole lot of knitting these days.
Listening to . . . Weezer. Soundgarden. Train. And some Beatles - just for balance.
Thinking about . . . Gardening. Pretty much full-on gardening.
Dreading . . . Ugh. The dentist. By the time you read this post, I'll be finished with Appointment #1 of my two-part Crown Experience. (I dread. But it will be nice to be able to chew on the left side again!)
Humming . . . A song from my Turbo Kick class last Friday. I don't know the name of the song, nor do I know who sings it -- which is lucky for you all. Because if I knew either of those things, I'd look it up and insert it here. And then you'd all hate me forever. Because it's very, very catchy.
Itching to . . .Go barefoot. (Also . . . tell a jerk what I really think. I probably won't actually do this. But it's therapeutic to think about anyway!)
Needing to . . .Weed, clean, and prepare my garden beds for the season ahead. (And so happy about that.)
Organizing . . . It's time - finally - to put away the wool and the heavy and the warm. Time to break out the breezy and the light and the fun. Need to get my closet in order!
Spring is slow in coming this year. (Like, really slow.) But yesterday was sunny, so I put on my scarf. And my hat. And my gloves. (Really. So Sick. Of. It.)
And went in search of spring.
Garden Buddha was basking in the sun. (Which had melted off his coat of frost by this time.)
And a few of my daffodils survived last weeks deluge of rain, followed by freeze and snow. (But, overall, they took a substantial hit.)
I found this lovely, singleton tulip in the middle of one of my newer garden beds. (I have no idea where it came from. It's a welcome "volunteer" -- I know I didn't plant it. Surprise!)
I found large swaths of wild violets in my grass. (Lawn purists would be horrified, I know. But they make me smile. As they slowly take over my lawn. And creep into my garden beds.)
My hellebores are blooming like crazy! (Such dependable, sturdy harbingers of Spring.)
And I even found a little bee, hard at work, in one of them! (Spotting this little bee was such a delight!)
I found birds trying to break through the thin coat of ice on my birdbath, buds on most of my trees, and new growth emerging in the perennial beds. (Even some of my hostas!)
I also discovered that I have lost my ongoing battle with invasive grass in one of my garden beds. I'm going to have to dig it all up . . . or nuke it with Round Up. (But that's a story for another day.)
Spring. It's out there. (You just gotta know where to look.)
So after a tough month, weather-wise (snow in March is never welcome, y'know?), it appears that March is . . . going out like a lamb! Fine by me!
Here's what's happening in my life . . . RIGHT NOW.
Watching . . . I'm re-watching Season 5 of Mad Men on Netflix right now in preparation for Season 6 (which begins on April 7). I love to watch little Sally Draper . . . who is roughly the same age in the show as I was in real-time. I'm always telling Tom . . . "I had those exact sheets!" "I had those very shoes!" "I had a locket just like that." (He humors me.) (And, of course. There is Don.) I'm also planning to check out Mr. Selfridge on Masterpiece Theater this Sunday night.
Reading . . . There are so many excellent books out there! My to-read list is growing ever longer, and I lament my lack of reading time. Right now, I'm enjoying Frances and Bernard immensely (this is an epistolary novel - letters - based on the correspondence of real-life authors Flannery O'Connell and Robert Lowell), and I'm also reading David Copperfield, my favorite Dickens of all time. (Frances and Bernard is very short, and should be a quick read. I, however, am savoring it slowly. The writing is such a delight!)
Knitting . . . I'm doing an informal "knit-a-long" with some of my Kalamazoo knitting pals. We're each making ChicKnit's Elisbeth cardigan (short sleeve version). I'm actually a couple more repeats into the knit than the photo (above) shows. It's a bit of a slog, I'll admit. But I'm having fun with the cables. I'm also knitting a spring-color version of this shawl. And trying not to get too carried away with not-wool inspiration from this or this.
Listening to . . . Buena Vista Social Club. They just make it feel like the sun is shining . . .and you're enjoying a gin and tonic . . . on the patio.
Thinking about . . . Priorities. Setting them. Having them. Living them. Life is full of options.
Dreading . . . Some dental work toward the end of April. Ugh. But not really much else right now. (I'm in a good place this spring.)
Humming . . . Songs about sunshine. Good Day Sunshine. You are the Sunshine of My Life. Walking in Sunshine. But this is the one that is stuck in my head (enjoy it old school and original). . .
Planning . . . Gardens! I have Big Ideas right now. Some of them have been in-the-making for a couple of years. This year . . . It Is Time. (Get your diggin' shoes on, Tom!)
Celebrating . . . So very many things. My birthday is tomorrow. Jenny's leash restriction is over. I'll be picking up my Mac later today. Sunshine and mid-50s in the forecast. (I'm ignoring the snow that is also in the forecast.)
Drinking . . . Oberon. (The Bell's Oberon release date is always like a birthday present to me!)
Itching to . . . Dig. Not wear a coat. Get a pedicure. Wear my flip-flops. Sit outside in the sunshine.
Needing to . . . Finish my taxes. I have started. And, like they say. . . Once begun, half done. So I must be at least half done by now!
Organizing . . . The prime organization task on my to-do list is one I actually look forward to: Switching out my winter clothes for my lighter spring and summer fare. Can't wait! (And check out the little notepads I found at Target for my written organizational tasks. Love them!)
Inspired by . . . Surprises that are cropping up in my life. Just little things. . . that really ARE surprising, when you stop and think about it.
Delighted by. . . Sort of wish I hadn't found these. Because. . . YUM!
How about YOU? What's going on for YOU . . . right now?
Now that the snow is melting, I like to get out in my garden and check things out. Usually I just walk around a bit . . . remembering; doing a little dreaming; a little scheming.
Yesterday, though, I decided to take it a step further. I decided to Garden.
Sure. It's barely above freezing here, and snow is still lingering in some parts of the yard. But, well. . . I'm itchy . . . and a little bit twitchy . . . to get to gardening. Besides, NOW is a great time to start in with some pruning (except on those spring-blooming shrubs; don't prune those yet) and some of the clean-up chores.
As long as you can stand the cold, that is!
So I put on my winter jacket. And a wool hat. And a pair of fingerless mitts OVER my gardening gloves. Then I grabbed my pruners, and headed out for some time in the garden.
Yikes. My fingers were frozen solid within 30 minutes! But I did get some pruning and cleaning up done . . . at least in one corner of my backyard bed . . . before frostbite set in.
And guess what?
Evidence!
Even though snow is in the forecast this week (yeah; I know), it looks like spring IS coming.
It's always tough to be a gardener in Michigan . . . come March.
It's the time of year when you're itchin' to get out there. In the dirt. Digging. You just can't wait to have dirt under your nails again. To drag hoses around. To pull some weeds.
But, alas. Spring is a tease. It's still freezing cold here. With snow in the forecast.
What's a gardener to do?
Get thee to a flower show!
The Chicago Flower & Garden Show never disappoints.
Even though it's inside a cavernous exhibition hall deep within Navy Pier, it smells like . . . SPRING . . . as soon as you step inside.
Flowers and trees and streams . . . everywhere you look. (And, sure. Don't you want to have waterfalls streaming from horns in YOUR garden? Yeah. Some of the ideas are WAY Over the Top. But it's a show. Anything goes!)
There is whimsy . . .
(I'm pretty sure this little sod-dog was the Most Photographed Display at the whole show.)
There is fun . . .
(This pelican water "fountain" was in a tiny little water feature in a bowl that could fit on any patio or deck.)
There are new plant offerings. . .
(This one is a Dwarf Japanese White Pine.)
There are OVER the TOP "tablescapes". . .
(Perfect if you never want to actually see or converse with your dinner companions!)
There is "plant-art". . .
(My photos cannot do justice to the moss gardens on display. They were truly beautiful.)
There are things to buy. . .
(Like these earrings . . . made of real boxwood leaves and dipped in copper . . . that made it home with me! That's the jewelry artist there, in the background.)
And there are things to learn. . .
(I went to a workshop on building patios with pavers. Lucky Tom.)
Mostly, though, there is Inspiration. . .
From the Very Practical . . .
To the Wouldn't This Be Cool?. . .
To color combinations and plant groupings that excite . . .
A day at the Chicago Flower and Garden Show ... was Just What I Needed!
Over these last few "dark months," I've written about my efforts at . . . creating light. . . in my surroundings. As the days got darker, I focused on my windows, trying to make them more inviting and light-full.
I hung stained glass suncatchers in windows to catch the light. I created little "vignettes" of objects I particularly like on my windowsills. I put candles in my windows. And I created a window garden.
All of these little efforts helped to create a bit more light in the dark days of winter. But I think my window garden made the biggest difference for my spirits.
That's probably just the gardener in me . . . connecting with living plants through the non-growing season.
But I think it's actually deeper than that.
The tending. The watering. The new growth.
All reminders . . . that everything cycles. Seasons change.
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