The Do-able List:
1. Purchase soil conditioner. I buy pulverized pine bark to use as mulch. It has a fine texture that looks better in a native/natural garden. Last fall I stopped at a local nursery and asked the guys who load the cars if they thought they could get 20 bags of soil conditioner in my Outback...15 minutes later I came back to find they had taken on my simple question as a challenge and stuffed 31 bags of mulch into my car. I didn't ask them to remove the extra bags, but driving home was another issue.... I couldn't see out the back and I am pretty sure the car was listing, but each one of those bags of conditioner got used.
2. Mulch the beds with the soil conditioner. Hmmm...wish I had a crew.
3. Make a wish list of wildflowers I want to get at the Howe Garden/ Cheekwood Wildflower Fair. Edit the list. Ixnay on plants that need full sun, and/or moist acid soil.
4. Cut back all the ornamental grasses and the perennials....add to compost. Clean up other winter debris.
5. Divide and move the spring bulbs that aren't producing or are over crowded...I have moved them in full bloom, they are hardy fellows and you can see how they look in their new home.
6. Photograph the spring bulbs, this will make fall planting easier and I will be less likely to slice the bulbs in half. Go ahead and photograph everything. I have never done this before....why I can't tell you!
7. Find a carex/sedge/native grass to replace the lawn/weeds. There is a candidate but I am not convinced, so if anyone can recommend natives, feel free to: What do you think of this one? Juncus tenuis or Path Rush: The name sounds perfect and so does the description from Niche Gardens: "Native to the entire US and most of Canada, this is an extremely adaptable and tenacious plant. Enjoys wet areas but can grow just about anywhere. I was introduced to this plant on the harsh granite balds of the Blue Ridge, where it grows out of cracks in the rock and in the well-trodden paths, hence its common name. Fine, slender leaves of bright green grow into small dense clumps of soft foliage. Spreads by rhizomes and self-seeding, yet is not aggressive; works well beside ponds or streams; very nice in a rock garden. Invaluable as a ground cover in sun or shade, or as a step able substitute for turf grass in walking paths or between paving stones. '
8. Start on a design for the private retreat (see earlier post). I can plan the design, purchase some plants and even move plants in from other parts of the garden/yard but some of the heavy work will have to move to crew-able list.
9. Walk around the yard and assess each garden bed. Do this periodically as plants start to grow and fill in...are there holes left from plants that died, does the design work....here is where the photographs will pay off!
10. Work on acceptance and honoring my limitations: That this list is never ending....and that I have forgotten something that seems glaringly obvious, that my garden is not perfect, never will be (not that I think it should be!) and that there are some chores I can't do anymore and while that is VERY frustrating, it is necessary to accept that or risk never being able to garden again.
and,
all the rest.....
Gail
