In The Garden

After weeks of recommending people begin cleaning up their gardens , yesterday I decided I should follow my own advice and get our own gardens ready for spring. Rake in hand, I began surveying the mess left by winter. Every one of the beds was full of leaves (great winter mulch!). Getting rid of the leaves in all eleven of our gardens would be my first task.

By the time I completed raking the fourth bed, I was pretty bored, but dutifully went on to bed number five. There, under the leaves, I found several clumps of scilla blooming away! What a delightful surprise! However, our main perennial bed kept catching my eye. I was disturbed by the ragedy edges. But I kept raking! By the time I had all of the leaves out of garden garden number five and onto the lawn in preparation for their trip to the compost pile, the perennial bed was virtually screaming at me for attention. I could ignore it no longer!

Off I went in search of my trusty edging shovel. Once located, I began to edge the perennial bed. All I intended to do was remove one inch of sod all the way around the bed. That lasted for about three feet. Our perennial garden is now larger by twelve inches in every direction (it is an irregular shape). I was quite pleased with my accomplishment. That is until one hour later, when I looked at it again.

One thing I have always stressed is, horticulture and landscaping are not exact sciences. There are far too many variables to be exacting. That's what makes gardening interesting and challenging. This philosphy however, was tossed aside today when I attacked the edges of the perennial garden, yet again. This time, I tweaked the edges by removing half an inch to one inch of sod in three sections of the garden's new edge. What's wrong with that? The longest piece I cut was only four inches! Just to make the edge flow better. Really, I cannot believe I did that knowing, in a month, the edges will be hidden by foliage. No one will ever see the edges! No one would even care if four inches of the garden edge were half an inch too narrow! Would they? No! After completing the tweaking, and patting myself on the back for paying such close attention to a such a minute detail, fear struck my heart. One of two things is happening to me: I'm either becoming Marthatized or, my mother.