Feng Shui

I don't really have a feng shui garden, but I have a patch under a dying Poplar Tree that gives me that feeling of calm when I look at it (especially if there are no weeds and my dog hasn't been digging in it). The Bleeding Hearts (I'm breathless in spring) I planted three years ago have gone crazy, as have the Malva (blooming now) which may have taken a year or two longer. The whole thing is bordered with hostas and edged with rocks that have been unearthed. Add to that my first bowling ball (which cracked this last winter); I was going to sell it at my Annual Rummage-O-Rama, but then I found people were actually LOOKING for bowling balls to put in their gardens. Why not? I was gifted with a garden decoration that holds a candle, so that's where the fire would be. I have no source for water but have thought about it. I could have a better place to sit and enjoy it, but for now I do take a moment to view it from the deck and whenever I pass by. I have to redo the rocks every year to keep it crisp, but it doesn't really take that much time. Tomorrow I'll snap a picture...and maybe even get it posted! Hopefully the feng shui will still be with me after that!

I never wanted a Rose Garden.

Really, I didn't want to get started with roses. They are touchy and time-consuming. No time to deal with them. Then, I was gifted by my little sister (what got into her?) with a drought-resistant, hardy tea rose that has provided me with many summers of pleasure. It does need to be sprayed a couple times every summer since a 1/4" worm likes its leaves, and I do cut it back every fall or spring. It is delightful in full bloom, but it has no odor. For some reason, my husband (JR) decided to start a rose garden three years ago. It's actually The Sunken Rose Garden as he didn't return the soil from the sod to the same spot. The roses are varied and need to be sprayed, and also delight; but again they have no odor. A friend just offered up a cutting from her rose that came from a cutting from a bush on the family farm; that bush had been there for years and years. Heirloom. It has a wonderful smell! With it's very bushy appearance and very thorny branches, it's hard not to spot it; and I realized two other properties in town have it. By the post office I stooped to smell the last of the blooms before they turned to (very large) hips, and it left a couple thorns in my thumb! Now that I have one (JR planted it in his garden, which I do help tend), I'll learn not to just grab and sniff. And I really don't mind having a Rose Garden--just not too big.

Thanks, Fellow Gardeners!

This was suppose to be a picture--3 days ago!! Since that task has taken so much time and is still not mastered (I did get ONE picture on Flickr!), it's time for just a simple note. I spent HOURS in my gardens on Sunday, mostly in the veggie garden after tilling it several days ago. I know there will be weeds again when I look, and I know there will be many more hours to spend to keep it up. I don't usually mind (but could someone visit when it looks really nice?). One thing on my list is to buy more peat moss; I put it around my tomatoes and am amazed that there were no weeds! I'm also going to try to feed my plants on a regular basis; I have several products! I don't always see other gardeners tending their gardens, but they can be assured that I appreciate and know the work involved. And when I see you bending at the waist (we know we shouldn't), I'll have a grin on my face; I know the position well.

Rosemary

I was going to use Simple Pleasures as the name of my blog, but it was already taken. I guess that automatically gives me a category for inside my blog, and perhaps that's as it should be. It may give me more flexibility. I have a potted, rather wild-looking rosemary plant on a shelf in my bathroom. I never mind bumping into it while opening the window or adjusting the shade. I'll even rub the leaves sometimes and pass my hand across my face--mmmmmm!! The other day I put a sprig into a key envelope (the little manilla ones) and added it to a card for someone else. This is aromatherapy at its simplest!