Today's the Day

It's been so darned cold, windy, and rainy lately that I haven't had a chance to weed my garden in preparation for spring planting but today's the day! The sun is shining, the wind is mild, and it should reach about 60 degrees today...not hot but probably nice for working outside.

I usually spend half a day just pulling out every single weed from the flower beds by hand. I used to get down on my knees to do it but that's impossible these days so now I sit on the ground or just bend over. It's hard on the back and may take 2 days instead of 1 but that's not bad.

Once cleaned out, the flower beds are easy to keep clean by pulling a few weeds every day or so. It gets easier as the bedding plants fill in and crowd out the offending weeds. I still haven't decided which annuals I'll use this year but will probably make my decision over a glass of gin and tonic as I sit back and contemplate my nice weed free gardens in a day or so. I'll make a list, figuring out approximately how many of this and how many of that I'll need. If I buy too many, the excess can be bunched together in hanging baskets. If I buy too little, it gives me an opportunity to visit the nurseries once more. It's a win-win situation.

I found out yesterday that my garden Mums should be pruned right back before the end of May. I only have a few and they're getting tall and straggly so they'll get chopped down while I'm weeding. Lately, I've become interested in different varieties of Hostas to add to the garden because they're beautiful and require almost no care.

"Beautiful and requiring little care" is my motto for my gardens.