Green Things

How my garden grows.
Only the earthworms know.
And some sowbugs, slugs, and earwigs, along with the crows.

We interrupt this posting for a special rant: Why is it that when you drop something, it inevitable rolls, bounces, and runs (even if it lacks legs) to the most inaccessible location?

While out and about today, a woman I talk to at a store said she brought in raspberry and strawberry plants, and the woman she brought them for didn't show up. Did I want them? She also had a New Zealand Spinach plant. Shore, more plants. I got those happily installed this evening.

Speaking of crows, this afternoon I walked out front while yacking on the phone, and the crow started such a racket the caller asked what was going on. I don't know if they were yelling at me, or each other, but I sassed them back, and said "yes, I know you're there, noisy birds!" And they seemed to notice but didn't fly, so I suspect they WERE speaking to me. Later out back they were cawing again, so I put out food for them. They actually came up for it before I went back inside. Yup, they are sometimes now demanding. But I like crows. Smarter than many people. I moved the concrete birdbath with a face I made out near the feeder for the winged ones to use. The old hummingbird feeder broke in the winter storms, and so far, the new one is not attracting them, though I see them zooming about.

Everything is looking good in my messy garden. There are two green tomatos, and the two plants are putting on lots of growth and yellow blossoms. The zucchini are finally up, after needed to be reseeded. The beans look like crap (okay, the first sentence of this paragraph is inaccurate), so I planted more in the new radish bed, which was intended to be a poppy bed, but the tiny seedlings didn't make it. The yarrow, which started out as a very small transplant from the woods, has become a three-foot shrub with many buds that just keep looking like they have to burst open any day but keep swelling bigger and bigger watch out! The daylilies are promising to bloom this year -- perhaps they are encouraged by the yarrow behind and the wormwood in front. I'm growing Mexican Marigold mint again, which used to be one of my favorite herbs -- a tarragon substitute which I might even prefer to the real thing (plus it keeps its flavor when dried.), with the bonus of great yellow flowers. And the calendula out front are all blooming -- the plants themselves are only a few inches tall still, but each sports a different-colored flower on top. There are just SO many things growing here now.

I've adopted a new philosophy or style of gardening. Grow and let grow, and what doesn't, let go. While I'm not totally disregarding the principles of good gardening, I'm taking a much looser approach, and enjoying it more. I look at the garden catalogs, and a person could spend a small fortune growing a dollar's worth of plant, and buy gadget after gadget, and make sure every level of nutrient is correct, and worry about the bugs and birds and cats in the garden. Eh. Some weeds? Who cares. (Although I'm actually enjoying weeding.) Plant extra of everything. Enjoy what grows. Replace what doesn't. The Earth is abundant, enjoy what it sends forth and shares with us.

But I wish the spittle bugs would get done with their thing. Mostly harmless, but it's gross when you accidentally grab a gob.