After a fantastic weekend of Mother's Day indulgences and perfect gardening weather, a lovely spring storm passed through yesterday and gave me a chance to rest up and recuperate. Oh boy. Did I need it. Always, and without exception, the first few days getting re-acquainted with my yard after a long season of neglect, and the physical toiling required to whip it back into shape is sheer torture. Along with whipping myself back into shape. I think it rains weeds here in Oregon. Yes, I'm convinced of that. We maintain a lush organic environment and using harsh chemicals is not an option; the same weeds re-emerge year after year without fail and need to be dealt with face to face. A territorial battle ensues. I put up a good fight, but the weeds always take-over. Eventually, it pays off (for a season or two), but getting there requires honest-to-goodness back-breaking work. And it just seems never-ending at times.
Hauling in over 700 lbs. of river rocks for borders didn't help my back situation either, but it brings us closer to creating smaller low maintenance solutions. This little corner is shaping up nicely now. You may recall, it started out like this. I love the look of natural stone for borders and ground cover. The trees that we had trimmed and chipped earlier in the year made a nice dressing to cover the soil inside the beds. The deer no longer bother the azaleas, rhodies, or the 'Harlequin Glory Bower' (peanut butter tree). But everything else that's tempting, has been sprayed with the *magic concoction* . For those who have been asking about it again, you can download my DEER REPELLENT RECIPE and print it out for safe-keeping.
Last year, we added another section to the herb garden the length of our fenced-in veggie garden. This is so much bigger than it looks here, at least it felt bigger when I was weeding it; it got the rock and chipped bark treatment as well. I'm so tickled with how it all turned out. I threw myself into a 2-hour salts bath after this project though. And, I'm still hobbling...
Which is why I picked up some fresh new fabrics yesterday to tackle some tame inside sewing while my muscles knit themselves back together. Besides, I can always use a few more gardening smocks. It's actually quite possible that this may end up being my summer wardrobe at this point. And I actually couldn't be happier about it.
BTW thank you all for the baby doll dress LOVE. I'm already thinking about the next one, for big sister this time, who turns 5 this summer.
And, on another note...if you're looking for a little vegan romance--get out your embroidery needle and floss and check out sweet surprises. Those veggie heads are rocking.
