Nitty Gritty Dirt Man

Now that we know each other, I feel it’s time for me to make a confession. I . . . Well, I did something I never did before. I contracted with a landscaper to do my spring clean up. Please, don’t judge me. I have my reasons.

I don’t have a large yard, but what I do have are lots of trees. And the property behind my house is not developed, so that means more trees. And the street where I live is actually a “T,” which means when the wind blows, all of the leaves from the intersecting block are deposited on my lawn. So my fall weekends are spent raking and bagging.

At this stage, I have a pretty good system. I use an old garbage can, put in a recyclable plastic bag, rake everything into a pile, knock the can onto its side, shove in the leaves, tie off the bag, carry it to the curb, and start all over again. I can do that 40 times each weekend.

Then, spring arrives, and it’s a cruel joke. After the snow melts, there are still more leaves to be raked. They blew into my yard all winter long when I wasn’t looking. My partner, Joe, is always after me to hire someone to rake up the yard. But I take my stand. I convince him, as well as myself, that I love to rake and clean the yard. Continue reading →

A few years ago, a friend gave me a plaque with this inscription and a bag of muscari bulbs. I was struck, because I am by no means a holy roller, but I did hang the plaque on a wall in my potting shed. And each day when I worked in the shed, I stared at that nine-word phrase, and I gained a greater understanding of why I enjoy gardening. So, as my first post, I again look to that plaque as a starting point, because what better way to start than with a seed.

I love seeds. They come in all sizes and shapes, and each one holds so much promise of growth and color and bounty. My favorite part of winter is actually after Christmas, because that’s when the seed catalogs arrive. I spread everything, including myself, out on the living room floor, surrounded by pages and pages of color photographs and plant descriptions. I am like a child again studying the Sears and Penney’s Christmas catalogs. And after I go through the catalogs once, I start all over again. And let’s not forget about the free gifts. I would never purchase my own tomato seeds–but a free sample?? That’s a gift for me and for my father on Father’s Day. I make a wish list, and then edit it down to something that’s more manageable and realistic. In my head, I am a LAND owner. In reality, space and time are very real limitations. Continue reading →