Putting Down Roots

On Sunday, September 30, 2012 I went horseback riding with my friend Connie, while Douglas attempted a thirty mile run on the Adirondack Trail with another Douglas, whom we call Junior. Yes, they really are that crazy. Connie and I stopped at BJs on the way home, and I bought bulbs, among other things. When I got home, Douglas and Junior had decided to cut their run to twenty miles, but they were still not back yet. So, I decided to do some work in the garden where things were not looking so good.

First, I had to do some weeding. I do not handle the heat well and tend to neglect my gardens all summer. I mulch them well, but the weeds are usually starting to take over by fall. I filled this entire bucket with weeds just from the front gardens. Hopefully, I can get to the back gardens soon.

Here are some before and after shots from the garden beds.

I also took the time to plant this hosta. My mother gave it to me for my birthday in July, but it has been living in a pot since then. It is from my grandmother’s garden. My mother took a bunch of them when my grandparents had to move out of their house. I am pleased to have something from my grandmother’s beautiful garden in mine. It will always remind me of her.

I created the circular garden in the front yard in the fall of 2010, my first in this house. I used rocks from the school where I work. You can read about it here. The garden needed to be expanded to fit the new plants and bulbs that I bought. I had eighty five tulip bulbs, thirty hyacinth bulbs and seventy five daffodil bulbs, as well as four aster plants.

Douglas came home shortly after I finished weeding. He was pretty banged up. His hip has been bothering him for months, and he jammed it on the run. He had also broken his pinky toe. He finished the last eight miles of the run with the broken toe. You can read the whole story and see the gross picture on his blog. Then, when he got home I asked him to help me dig a new garden. I am such a mean wife. I wish that I had a picture of him digging, but we were rushing to get the work done before dark. Here we are pulling the grass out.

On Monday I planted all but fifty of the daffodil bulbs. I have an idea from our honeymoon in Ireland about what to do with them. You will see it in the spring if this blog is still around. Here is the bed ready to plant, with the bulbs laid out, and with everything tucked away for winter.

On Friday, I finished mulching the new bed. In the pictures the mulch is different colors because I put some of it down on Monday but then ran out and had to finish at the end of the week.

I am pleased with how it looks and cannot wait until spring when all of the bulbs bloom and it looks even better.

Happy Homemaking!