It all started quite innocently, this affair of mine. I had never had an interest in working outdoors. I'm more of an indoor person. I've certainly never been able to take care of plants. Too many other things going on in my life. I was given an African Violet one year as a birthday gift from some colleagues of mine. Died within a week. The violet, not the colleagues. And my husband surprised me with a hibiscus once that managed to thrive in my kitchen window, despite my frequent inattention to the poor thing. I'd throw a little bit of water on it every now and then, and it managed to produce beautiful salmon colored blossoms. It's fate? Left on a doorstep for someone else to adopt when we left Germany.
We've only been in our house for a few months, so we're the new kids on the block. And as new home owners, I'm determined to keep our home looking nice. I certainly don't want to be the only people on the block with a run-down yard. Oh, sure the yard and plantings were in immaculate when we looked at the house in November, and even when we closed in December. The previous owner had had a gardener come by to keep the yard looking beautiful. I remember seeing him come by and spray the yard on the day we closed on the house. We would have no need for a gardener. When Hubby suggested pulling up all of the plantings and just replacing them with grass, I was agreeable. I had no attachment to those little multi-colored things surrounded by wood chips.
From the time our household goods finally arrived on the last day of February, until some time in April, I swear that it rained every day here. Not exactly prime weather for walking around outside and observing the changes in your landscaping.
But when the rains in Fresno finally gave way to springtime weather, I couldn't help but notice that the immaculately planned flower bed that had been so adorable when we bought our house was overrun with these spindly little flowery things that hadnt been there before. It was so bad that you couldn't even see the bright, colorful flowers that were supposed to be there. I glanced about nervously, convinced that the neighbors were glaring at us for allowing the yard to fall into such a state of disrepair. The flowers were still there, but I had barely noticed them in my frenzy to bring Crayola-like color to every surface inside the house.
So I reluctantly vowed to dedicate a precious day of my weekend to pulling weeds. I've never enjoyed outdoor chores. I would look for any way to get out of them that I could when I was younger. I preferred the cool air inside the house. And I'm so fair-skinned that I reluctantly go outside without at least SPF 5000.
When the weekend rolled around, I trudged outside with my five gallon bucket. I recalled seeing a small box sitting in the garage labeled "gardening supplies", so I pulled that out and unearthed my small arsenal of supplies that I had bought in a previous life in Alabama. I was mostly interested in the knee pad and gloves.
As I began pulling these alien entities from the flower bed, something strange overcame me. I really started paying attention to the plants that were supposed to be there. They were amazing! Bright pinks, purples, blues and yellows. I would later come to identify them as snap dragons and pansies. These small plants almost began to speak to me as I labored over them. We bonded...there was no way that my husband was going to pull them up to replace them with boring old grass!
The day labored on, and three five-gallon buckets full of weeds later, my flower bed had been restored to its former glory. I had put in many hours that day, bonding with my green little friends. I was so proud of what I had accomplished in getting rid of those unwelcome pesky weeds.
Now I happily dally in the front flower beds at least one day out of my weekend. I have come to enjoy getting to know each of the little plants that occupy space in my front yard. I've even gone so far as to declare all-out war against the population of snails and slugs in the yard and have devoted myself to saving my little flowery friends.
I am amazed at the satisfaction that I feel after spending time pulling weeds in the flower bed. Ive also learned that it is infinitely easier to pull them when they are a new growth, and not to wait until they've established little communities amongst my flowers.
This new hobby of mine is threatening to take over both my weekends and my pocket book. I've begun researching replacements for my pansies that have become too leggy for the yard. Im plotting a shade garden to run alongside the house, hoping that the weight of the containers will keep the neighbors Chihuahuas from digging through Hogans Heroes style into our yard. Im purchasing fragrant plants for the back yard and learning all about pruning and dead-heading. I'm even attempting to grow plants from seeds. My sunflowers are on day eight since planting and sprouting like champs!
I have grand plans indeed. If only I had the unlimited budget required to implement them. I hope to have fresh herbs for cooking, cat nip for the kitties, fragrant jasmine to please our noses and even vines to please the eye and cover up the fence by the patio.
I have yet to see the true color of my thumb...has the black thumb that I previously possessed been revitalized and turned green? Or am I only managing to keep up what a trained gardener started so many months ago? Only time will tell, but in the mean time, I'll enjoy bonding with my leafy little friends in the great outdoors
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