Gardening Meme

I don't usually do memes, but I am dying to get into the garden and this is the best I can do. It's like making love. Those who do it least talk about it most.

From: Double Danger

Describe your gardening style.

Deeply thoughtful, meticulously planned - oh, those are both lies and the gods of the garden are gonna strike me dead the next time I step out the door. I dig as large a hole as our root-infested garden will permit, throw in some compost and heel in some unfortunate potted plant. Seeds I just throw on the ground, look at the package and then throw as much dirt over them as the package says they need. I *promise* to be better this year.

What was the last plant you bought?

I bought a bunch at one time, but picking one, a Lenten Rose Hellebore.

What were the last seeds you bought?

Lemon Thyme

When was the last time you had to pick the dirt from under your nails?

What, you've seen my floors? How about two days ago then, when I pulled back the winter mulch to see if anything was alive under there and barely escaped with my life! I swear I did NOT plant deadnettle in that part of the garden! It has crawled 14 feet over gravel mulch to a new spot.

Any big plans for the garden this year?

Okay, last year we landed here on April first, and had a lot of work to do that didn't involve garden. I contented myself with putting in about 50 perennials in the narrow band that was destined to lie alongside the deck. This is called "The shade garden". It's backed by the neighbour's wall, has two huge trees, one at either end, and the neighbours on both sides have 80' tall weeping willows. You need a torch to negotiate at noon!

THIS year (mid-April) our big boys are putting in a covered deck, raised beds in the back for veggies, large containers for fig trees and blueberries, and a cold frame in a spot that is sunny in winter but shaded in summer.

I am adding several ferns to the shade garden, including Japanese painted ferns. I couldn't find any ferns last year, this year I am ordering out. The shade garden has a purple and lime green theme. The coleus' were spectacular so I will pop in a few of those as soon as frost goes.

What was has been your biggest mistake in gardening EVER?

Oh my God. You Internets are vicious! It has to have been planting pea vines on a fifth floor balcony in Calgary, where one falls to the ground when the wind drops off. It's sort of like sea-legs, you compensate for the gale. Anyway the wind twisted the pea vines right out of the soil. Part of me wants to mention the year the telephone man stomped my entire garden into the dirt. My failure was in not having a weapon at hand when I caught his size 12 clodhoppers crushing my *Staked* tomatoes and rambling melon vines.

Biggest success?

600 tomatoes off half a dozen plants in a narrow strip between two three-story Victorian houses. Growing all the vegetables for our family of four, and we were vegetarians at the time.

If you could be doing anything right now in regards to gardening… what would it be?

Planting seeds. I hate buying bedding out plants but have no choice this year as I have no place to start seeds. NEXT Year!!