Friday, August 17, 2012

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Oh, plants are just so my passion, I cannot help it.  On Wednesday, I went out shopping for a few things, at the end of the day.  Found a great plant sale at a local supermarket and came home with a car full of perennials.

Well, guess what happened yesterday?  The exact same thing!  I went out shopping in the early morning .. found a great sale of colourful annuals and perennials.   Quite a few I selected for the little garden that I take care of at a cafe.  Time to add some slash of colour.

Then, I picked up some perennials that were in need of some love.  The salesperson was very helpful as she clipped away dead growth on a Tea Rose (my first ever!!!!)  and lo and behold, she discovered at least 20 new growth areas.  I’d only seen a few.  So this was a learning session for me.  She told me that removing the dead growth gives the plant more energy for new.

I am always learning about gardening, it is such a big world and love all the new items that I find.

So soon I was on my way home … car full of plants.   Mid-way home, I remembered those lovely perennial pots filled with sturdy plants, on for half price.   So, oh  my, I sought the next safe place to make a turnaround and then soon was on my way back to Home Depot.  Now, I normally don’t drive far out-of-town to buy plants, but, umm .. what could I do?  I’m under the spell of plants.

I chose a big shopping cart, marched into the store, shared a laugh with the sales clerk, put the two plant filled containers in the cart and then proceeded to head towards the area with bagged soil & manures.    I filled the remainder of the cart space with as much of these bags as I could, then slowly pushed the heavily laden cart towards the cashier.

So we had another long garden talk and then it was time to go to my car and with some creative moving around of plants, I was able to heft my most recent purchases into my little car.  And happily we chugged our way home.

Once at home, I removed all the plants, put them in containers with water to freshen them up.  Next I mixed up some bagged steer manure with some of my miracle mulch and filled 3 large Rubbermaid totes with this mix.

And then I gathered up all the things that I needed for my planting expedition at the cafe and soon was on my way.

It was a hot day.  And I was totally garbed in my anti-hornet attracting outfit: long-sleeved black shirt, black car-hearts and my trusty gumboots.  Whew.  To say that I was hot was an understatement.  However, that did not stop me for the next 3 1/2 hours to do my gardening.

I trundled my gardening supplies across the tarmac, over to the fenced patio, heaved them all over the fence and then got to work. First thing, tarp is spread on the flooring, materials & plants gathered to one side.  Then, I brought the poor, parched, dried out plant pots over to the work area.   It was a sad sight to see these, so I didn’t take any pictures.

One by one I emptied the containers of the hard, dried soil and replaced them with the refreshing new mix.   Then I arranged the plants as creatively as I could in the containers.  A thorough watering and an application to EM and they were finally looking full and happy.

I did take pictures of these and will post on my next blog.  They look a little sparse right now, but in a week or so, they will be flowering to beat the band.

As I gathered all my materials together to make a nice, tidy exit, I pondered on  my time spent there.   And anticipated the happy look on Dak’s face when he would open up the cafe this morning!  Surprises are great!  The Flower Fairy has visited!

Gardening, transforming, is so satisfying.  I know that all gardeners share this energy.  Positive, creative, satisfying!

At the end of the day, though, as I arrived back home and unloaded my car .. I realized that I did have a touch of heat stroke.  Which I haven’t experienced for years.  So I took care of myself and rested.  Realized, after I prepared supper that I wasn’t hungry, so out went that meal as I gave up trying to eat.  Rest was instinctive and so I did.  Feeling much better today.

Today, I will work in the shady areas of the garden.  Because .. I still have all those other plants to be dug into the side gardens.

Oh, happy days!