This week, I thought I’d show you spring in my yard. Thanks to Larry, who spent three years planning and executing the plan for the flower gardens in the front yard, the plants that have been here for most of that time are starting to bloom.
I’ll leave you with a story about these flower beds. Larry planned to have flowers in the yard. He planned to put the beds in the back yard, but I was able to convince him that the front yard would be better. We are in the front yard every day; not so with the back yard. So, he did.
Planning and executing this project was a three-year event. The first year, we drove throughout the metro area to see what plants bloom when. The second year, he spent double digging (French intensive gardening) the beds.
Double-digging – that means that you dig off the top twelve inches of soil and set it aside. Next, you dig down another twelve inches and turn over the soil. Then, the top twelve inches is returned to its place with “stuff and junk” (my words) that will make the plants grow. And, by the way, this is how he prepared his seven twenty-by-four foot vegetable beds in the back yard.
Finally, the third year involved buying the plants and putting them into their places, according to the his plan. In one of the many gardening catalogs, Larry found a salmon-colored iris that was large and beautiful. Larry really loved that iris but felt that he just couldn’t spend the $40 for the tuber. $40 would now be about $80, I suspect.
I cautiously and not too kindly reminded him that he had just spent three years of his life planning, digging, and planting the beds. He WAS going to spend the $40 for that iris. So, he did. And, surely enough, it became one of the showcase plants in his collection. It will bloom a little later in the spring; I’ll try to remember to show you
There are promises of other blossoms, buds just waiting to pop. Among those are the cottonwood tree kernels that pop and shed cotton ALL over the neighborhood. So, about now, I pray for soft, gentle rains each day to make the cotton stick to itself, fall to the ground, and not blow about the neighborhood.
I hope you have enjoyed the brief tour of Larry’s gardens; there will be more to come.
Be Saafe and Be Well.
The Cranky Crone
Thoughtful comments are greatly appreciated.
4 replies on “Nothing But Pictures”
When you reworked the backyard and sent me some Iris (my favorite flower) from Dad’s beds, I didn’t know what I was getting. Some plants went in the front triangle garden, some behind the sunroom, and some in the rock garden. Like the white iris in one of the photos, I too have two plants blooming (Dad’s). I also have several purple ones blooming in the front. I was hoping to show you, but I can’t see a way to attach a file. 🫤
That bridal wreath is not spirea.
Lovely
So pretty. We drove by Larry’s Ace Hardware on the way home from my sister in law’s home today. I told my passenger Renee how much Larry loved working there, helping people pick out the tools to fix their broken things and improve their lives. He is much missed. I wish we had more time to chat today. October!!