Sunday, July 26, 2009

Garden Clean Up In 10 Parts

Part I. Time 1:28 pm.

The weather looks like it will finally cooperate and not scald our skin whenever we try to step outside. The forecast shows that we should have five days of cooler cloudy weather with the possibility of rain.

My little garden and flower beds around the house are in pitiful shape. The heat has kept me inside or severely shortened the amount time I can stay outside. I love to garden, but I am not willing to risk heat stroke for it.

I intend to use these next five days well. Today, I want to clean up as much of the little garden as possible. So far I have done one of ten sections that need to be cleaned up. These sections are seven raised beds and three borders. So far today, I finished one section. This is were Senor Werm lives along with the Mexican mint marigold, leaks, comfrey and a strangely still living stand of collards.

I will update this post when I finish part II. I hope to get the whole garden weeded and mulched as well as cleaning up the paths all in one day. Wish me luck.

Part II. Time 2:33 pm

The last of the four squares of the knot is cleaned up. Wish I had enough Austin rock to finish the edging. Maybe after I pay for all the back to school stuff. Once I get the three borders and the walkways cleaned up, half of the garden will be finished. This is the first part of the garden that is seen when we walk out on the deck. It is also the part of the garden I take pictures of most often.

Taking a break to eat veggies and steal a couple of stumps.

Part III. Time 3:59 pm.

One of the borders is now cleaned up. It was full of hack berry suckers. I hate hack berry suckers. This is one of the borders were Middle Monkey grows his hardy hibiscus. The two on this side are pitiful looking because of the weed infested dry soil in the beds. Hopefully, they will be happier now that the weeds and hack berries are gone and that there is a nice thick layer of grass clippings mulch put down. Back out to do border #2.

Part IV. Time 5:22 pm.

I weedeated the walkways. Is weedeated a word? I think Nola used it last week so it must be a word. I think completing the whole garden in one day was a little ambitious. I will finish the last border and maybe call it a day.

Part V. Time 6:21 pm.

Uncle, I cry.

The Bermuda grass is so awful in that border that I am going to have to go back out there and water until the ground is soft enough to pull that stuff out. I've got a blister on my index finger from yanking on it. Plus, the rose bushes kept pulling my pony tail and poking my fingers. I think I may have gotten into some poison ivy and I definitely have a sunburn. Am I pitiful enough yet?

Tomorrow, I will get back out there and finish it up. The other part of the garden should not be nearly as hard to clean up as the side I worked on today. There are no stinking hack berries on the other side of the garden.

Enough for today, have a nice evening.