It is spring, things are growing, and it is time to think happy thoughts. Last year because of shoulder pain, I couldn’t do any work in my flower bed, so needless to say, I will have to do triple the work this year just to get ahead of last year’s weeds. I still have to go slow, but I am making progress.
When I was a kid, my grandma’s rule was we planted garden on Memorial Day weekend. I followed that rule for years, never planting anything before Memorial Day. But things have changed.
It started warming up outside and I saw my honeysuckle vine start to leaf out. I saw peonies, daylilies, hostas, and astilbe all starting to grow. The greenhouses were open and the urge to play in the dirt was strong.
I live in an apartment, but that doesn’t mean I don’t plant things. In addition to having a flower bed, I plant in pots on my deck. I am already seeing radishes and lettuce coming up. Hopefully, other things will be soon.
This time of year, I think like Oliver Wendall Douglas on Green Acres. Just like him, “I’d take a little seed, a tiny little seed, I’d plant it in the ground, I’d put some dirt on it, I’d water it, and pretty soon, do you know what I’d have?” I’d have growing vegetables and pretty flowers, that’s what I’d have.
Of course, since I was in such a hurry, I had to cover the flowers I planted a couple of nights. I went through that age old debate of whether to cover things early or get up and do it at 3 a.m. I voted for early and then it never got below 38°. Better safe than sorry though.
I got a bonus out of it. My blood pressure gets closer to what it should be when I am out digging in the dirt.
The world is a better place when we take time to smell the flowers and play in the dirt. Have a great gardening season!