Gardner's Journal

In spite of cold, rainy weather, I've been a busy bee. The beds in my garden are coming along nicely, with lots of new peat moss, top soil and other nutrients for the soil. My hands are chapped, my face already showing signs of sunburn, my knees stained from the dark wet soil that I've been kneeling upon.

Not to mention the ache in my shoulders. Hot tub would be great about now.

This is the work that is often overlooked in gardening. When I see the beds spread out in gardening magazine, what is NOT seen are the pounds and pounds of dirt, the hours spent on bended knee pulling out old weeds, roots.

Nor do I often notice the painstaking placement of pavers or the care put into the walkways. These are the foundations of any garden and the garden cannot exist without them.

One of the biggest mistakes I have made is being impatient...loading my truck up with color and not taking the steps needed for the new inhabitants of my garden. Too often I put a $20 plant into a $5 hole.

It's not the eye catching, sexy work that we like to think about when we think about gardening. But it's the most important work there is. Plants, like people, need a safe place to grow.

So its back to the garden store, for more sand, a few more pavers and gravel. Still no color yet. Still lots of prep work to do.