Each spring, I take a week off of work to tend to the garden. Mostly this means spreading mulch over all the beds I killed grass for so I can grow butterfly-friendly plants. I’ve lucked out with weather each year, including this one. My vacation began on the spring equinox, and I had five days … Continue reading My gardening vacation has ended, and the beds are all mulched
Once I decided to kill more grass, I called my mulch guy to ask if they delivered top soil. He said yes. I got excited, and I asked him for three cubic yards, as soon as possible. That was two weeks ago. A snow storm was on its way at the time, and his dirt … Continue reading Soggy day to move dirt
At the end of every summer, I think, cool, the garden is good. It looks great. I will leave it as it is; I won’t obsess during winter or move a bunch of stuff around in the spring. Then January comes. I order seed catalogs. I pace. I look out the windows. This year, I … Continue reading Killing grass is how I get through winter
March through June are full of green growth, spring flowers, cloudy days mixed with fair ones, and rain. July 1, the faucet turns off and the sun turns on. Summer flowers begin to bloom. In early July in our corner of Virginia, many of the butterfly attractors begin to open up, and host plants have … Continue reading Early July in the butterfly garden
Time has slowed down since the pandemic began. Weekend errands, drives to and from the aquatic center, and swim meets are all gone. We planned to sail on Saturday. We had the boat hitched up and drove further away from our house than we have in 72 days now. But the highway was closed, and … Continue reading Weekend of green leaves, books, and flowers
I’ve spent the past five days in the open air. I am on my annual garden vacation. Instead of listening to news of the coronavirus, I’ve been outside in garden gloves and hat. Over the past five years we’ve lived in our house, I’ve killed a lot of grass to create flower beds for butterflies. … Continue reading My work is (mostly) done. Now I can enjoy the garden.
