Lessons From My Landscape

I've been one hot gardening mama. And I mean that in the truest sense of the word, not the cute meaning. Like I have been a hot, sweaty, bug spray covered, glove wearing, hoe hauling, gardening mama.

Weeds. I love to pull weeds. Maybe it stems from my childhood, when my mom would pay me a buck to fill a paper grocery sack with pulled weeds. Maybe that is also why I really only like to pull big weeds. Nevertheless, pulling weeds feels so good. Conquering them. Instant improvement. Working muscles I didn't know I had. I just love it.

Anyway, when I heard that The Preacher's Wife was doing a Spring Garden Tour, I had grand visions of what I could accomplish. I pulled, and pulled, and pulled those weeds. They were really out of control. I'm blaming it on the fact that last summer I was either severely pregnant and couldn't see my own shoes, much less the weeds, OR attached to a nursing newborn and couldn't even pull myself out of bed to pull the weeds.

This is where I should be inserting "before" pictures. Sorry, you'll just have to imagine every type of weed possible. Thankfully, for me, lots of big ones...and then some small, some prickly, some with flowers, etc...got it pictured?

So, my beds are in good shape now. Not just because of the garden tour, but because my baby naps twice a day and now my 3 1/2 year old actually knows how to pull weeds, not just anything that is green.

I even got a few flowers planted.




I love how this walkway is filling in. I hadn't been a fan of Sedum until I saw how it covered this area. The Begonias are new and I hope they like this spot as well as the Sedum.


And I can't go without fresh herbs. Currently rosemary, sweet basil and I'm trying cilantro for the first time.


The big surprise of Spring was when these Calla Lillies bloomed. There must have been an old bulb in the bottom of the pot that I've been planting over for years. Or else the neighbor knew I loved them enough to name my firstborn after them and snuck one in.



I usually do tomatoes, but had decided against it after an awful crop last summer...again, with the newbie running the house, I could barely remember to water myself, so, uh, the tomatoes sort of dried up. Not a pretty sight.

But then all the news came out about bacteria infected tomatoes, so I rushed to Lowe's to grab an early girl and a cherry tomato plant.


And couldn't resist trying my hand at a bell pepper too.


Here are some lessons I've learned from my landscaping:

1. Take 2 Advil before, 3 during, and then have 4 on your nightstand for the morning after your project.

2. When it gets dark, and you still aren't done, it's amazing how well your SUV's headlights can brighten the area...for as long as the battery allows.

3. Oh, that is my Lantana coming back. Too bad I stepped all over some of it's siblings.

4. You know the glitter confetti that I lined the sidewalk with for Lily's princess party? Well, it isn't biodegradable. I think I'll be digging it up for years...but will also be reminded of a precious day in her life too. Sniff.

5. If it feels like you have a bug running down your back, you probably do.

6. The 81 liter/3 cu. ft. bag of cypress mulch weighs a lot closer to 81 lbs than 3 lbs.

7. Asian Jasmine is the gift that keeps on giving. How do I get rid of that stuff?

8. Oh, what a HUGE worm. Lily would love that. I think I'll pick it up. YIKES! It isn't a HUGE worm, it is a small SNAKE! Thanks Asian Jasmine for harboring that fun surprise for me. I am sure only a few years were shaved from my lifespan.

9. Shoveling with Crocs on doesn't work very well.

10. And finally, when your kid is done "pulling weeds", give them the water hose and send them the other direction. The neighbors won't talk for too long.

Be sure to head on over to The Preacher's Wife blog for more tour stops!