In which it occurs to her that the garden is very much larger than she realized

I‘ve been daydreaming of putting in a lovely vegetable garden since the day we first saw this house last August. The yard is so huge, there’s tonnes of room for it.

You know what else is huge? The garden. I’m thinking that I may want to try keeping up with the existing garden for a year or five before I get all excited and start putting in even more beds that will need tending.

It started innocuously enough this morning. I figured since the boys were outside anyway, I’d grab the gardening gloves and pull up the leftovers from last summer to give the garden a clean start. (I was too overwhelmed to do this last year in between the move and raking 20 bags full of fallen leaves and the rest of the housing disasters that comprised last autumn.)

Ha! Four hours and five garbage cans full of dead leaves and other garden detritus later, and I’d only managed to clear out the front garden! There’s still two more patches to explore in the back. YIKES!!!

The garden really is lovely, though. There’s plenty of puschkinia and scilla and a few forget-me-nots creeping across the lawn. The daffs just woke up, and there’s tulips not far behind. I’m pretty sure I found a clump of peonies or two, and there’s quite a few patches of scotch moss and other groundcover. A rose bush and three (three!) lilac bushes just outside my bedroom window. And lots and lots and lots of stuff I don’t have a hope in hell of identifying.

101:365 Bzzzzzzz

Truly, it’s a garden for someone who has more time on her hands and more enthusiasm for backbreaking hard work than me. I get excited about the yard around this time every year, and my interest wanes as the summer arrives with its plethora of non-gardening activities. And with a half-acre to mow, I’m thinking just staying on top of the grass is going to be a full-time job this year!!

Speaking of which, I’m thinking of upgrading my little electric mower to a cordless electric one. (I’m a little bit scared of gas mowers, which is part of the reason why we invested in a snow service instead of a gas snowblower this winter.) Do you have any experience with them? Will they cut through thick grass and do a good job mulching? I’ve been known to forget to mow the grass for a week or three every now and then.

Funny, isn’t it, how I’m quite content to putter in the yard for hours at a time and yet can’t find 15 minutes to string together for housework once I’m inside?

Author: DaniGirl

Canadian. storyteller, photographer, mom to 3. Professional dilettante.

5 thoughts on “In which it occurs to her that the garden is very much larger than she realized”

  1. I just love to read you blog, really! ๐Ÿ™‚ You are one of my best discover of the year ๐Ÿ™‚

    By the way I’m thinking about taking a picture a day too, what a great idea you had! ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. One word of warning Dani.

    Cordless electric lawnmowers are meant for ‘city’ or ‘urban’ lawns. You may discover that it will take 2 or more charges to complete the entire lawn.

    Just my word of caution.

  3. Thanks Nadia! I like your blog very much, too — it’s just a LOT of effort for me to read it! You should totally do the photo-a-day thing!

    Ugh, John, that’s exactly what I was afraid of. ๐Ÿ™

  4. Outside is the place to be. The housework will not go away…unfortunately…. but whoever said that housework made them happy ?!

  5. With all the work you have to do to maintain that big property you now have, I can see a hot tub taking up residence there soon (great for those tired aching muscles!) LOL

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