Everything sublime is as difficult as it is rare. Baruch Spinoza

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Gone Gardening

May has been an unpredictable month, leaving us cold and wet for the first two weeks. Hurrah for us, it is now warm with glorious sunshine. So I have gone gardening with a vengeance. The iris are two weeks ahead of themselves, the peonies are going to open in another week and one of my antique roses has buds. Peonies are a June bloomer, my friends.


This is what I have awaiting me now. Wild blackberries have established themselves in my flower bed, completely obscuring the perennials. I am not looking forward to this as they are nasty thorny and the mosquitos like to dwell in all that bramble. Mark has suggested I just let it go and he may have a point. Sometimes nature is more determined than I.


This is an old bed which I replanted last year. It had died out from neglect and time. The old rose bushes are all that remain of its former self. I am an iris grower, so I have a constant source of transplants. The yellow iris and the daylily came with me from Saint Paul. Both were at the house when we bought it, so the plants have been around awhile and travelled with us to the country.


It's amazing how quickly a new flower bed can establish. Next year this will be full. Anyway, I am in the garden for an undetermined amount of time. The days have been long and I am not what I used to be. I wear out. As spry as I may appear to be, I still get tired and sore. Wonder Woman is becoming slightly tarnished. 

So my absence from your blogs has everything to do with my tired old self not having the energy in the evening nor the time throughout the day. The sapping of energy is the worst thing aging does to us. If only I could put those needy horses on hold for a little while I might have some time, but twenty-four beasties will not be ignored!

We'll see if I woman up and tackle all of that thorny bramble or if I allow nature to have her way. I would say the odds are fifty/fifty. See you when I emerge.

11 comments:

Jill said...

We have a short summer here too. Between now and fall it seems like a mad rush to get all of the gardening chores completed. Good luck with those pesky blackberries!

Mel said...

Me too, to all but the horses! I love irises. My neighbor has given me many lovely purples over the year, lovely with my yellows. I'd love to learn to cross pollinate. On the list.

Your new bed is lovely. Please post another when its in bloom and you've caught up. I'm wondering what colors. I find myself wondering how much ibuprofen or such is a good thing, as I need it to recuperate from too much laboring myself. But I believe it does the body and the soul good to dig in the dirt and grow things.

I have wrestled with blackberry, black raspberry, gooseberry and rampant wild roses and grapes for a decade here, it's really hard work to hold on to a patch. I just redug my tiny herb and vegetable garden I lost to a hybrid berry patch, that produced no fruit in four years, and look forward to beggies adn flowers. It feels great to putter in the yard as long as I go slowly, but I want to do so much more than I'm able and the cold wet May has dampened my resolve. I'm heading out in todays sunshine too, the spireas, pecan tree and red currant arrived today and I'm looking forward to some great things in a few years.

Have fun.

Mel said...

Seriously, the typos. I blame cold sore hands, not dimness. Thanks for giving it a name.

Teri said...

You know... I think if I had that many lovely horses to love on... I'd just forget about gardening. Much rather be "breathing horse" than digging in the dirt. LOL

Unknown said...

pace yourself,
enjoy,
May and June are crazy months. outside competing with inside , with our bodies.
and school stuff... man. and soccer

Flat Creek Farm said...

Don't wear yourself out too much. I hear you on the 'age' issue. I have to say I've never been a complete bundle of energy, even in my youthful days. And now, well, what I wouldn't give for more pep in my step :) Especially this time of year! -Tammy

Deb said...

Loved the "woman-up" comment! Enjoy the garden, look forward to seeing the future blooms. I love iris too! Brought some beautiful yellow bearded iris for my mom from the city...they are blooming with blue flax in front of them now...lovely, lovely. I transplanted a Siberian iris and it didn't do well last year, but I see it coming up now...cross your fingers!

Ganeida said...

Garden while you can! It is all looking lovely.

Missy said...

If you saw my lawn, you would cry! This is beautiful!

Elizabeth said...

I say let it go.

Your property is just so green and beautiful -- it's like the definition of green -- lush.

Sandra said...

Jill, you understand the frantic push. Gardening has taken a back seat to horse needs for a couple of days, but we have fences fixed and horses weaning onto pasture.

Mel, I haven't wrestled with the berries yet. I have current bushes growing wild. They aren't invasive like the berries.

Teri, I've been breathing in horses for most of my life! Sometimes I like to smell the roses as well. : )

deb, my aging, creaking body forces me to pace myself. Makes me mad!

Tammy, I have always had a large pool of energy to draw from. This tired, worn out thing drives me nuts. I want some magic to happen and can't understand why it isn't.

Deb, my siberian iris have not been doing well either. hmmmm. I have a glorious orange bearded, my favorite of them all. I have not womaned up yet!

Ganeida, thank you. I do try. : )

Missy, I don't have children to care for. My kids get put onto pasture and leave me alone! So I can putter my time away.

Elizabeth, letting it go is beginning to look like the plan. I can't get excited about doing battle with terrible thorns. It is green. I hope we continue to have adequate moisture.