Back in the Garden

When you are away from your garden for even the smallest amount of time, compared to being away from a loved one, days seem like months. The garden I left was not the garden I came back to. As expected the most significant change is in the amount and size of weeds. The garden left was clean; the garden now arrived has more weeds than vegetables. So the chore on the first day back is to pull all the weeds and make sure everything is in good health.

The asparagus ferns became taller than me from less than a foot high when I left. Now that asparagus season is past, tall thin stalks with soft and fuzzy extensions wave high above the strawberries and rhubarb. The bed where the tomatoes are growing are full of opportunistic weeds and grasses that need to be yanked. Soon the tomatoes will cover the area so the weeds will be curtailed. The strawberries need little weeding as their thick growth chokes the opportunity for any other plant.

As I mentioned in a prior post, the strawberries have started to come in so the weeding is to select the ripest strawberries of the day. Dandelions are past in the lawn and any flowers were either picked by Charlotte or distributed by wind (or Charlotte). Now the plantains have started to spread their leaves killing anything beneath them. They need to be pulled in the next few days or before they flower.

What I notice the most is the lushness of the garden. As it rained during most of my absence, all the greenery has filled in and the back ground is thick as would be a tropical jungle. The forsythia has long dropped its yellow flowers and is sprouting gangly, unruly shoots much like adolescent hair styles. The hostas have spread out in gigantic proportions. The roses have budded out and are starting to bloom. It is difficult to see through or past any of the plants.

But this is typical of the garden on the cusp of summer. Everything is poised to grow and flower in the months ahead.