If you're lazy like me, you left your terracotta pots outside all winter and they most likely cracked.  Cracked and wired sounds like a whole different blog! Well, I couldn't part with some of those cracked pots but I also couldn't risk them falling apart and seeing dirt

Yeah garden before and afters!  I've spent allot of time and considerable effort transforming a highly dumpy lot of land into a place you might not feel like you need a tetanus to walk around in. When I look back at these before pictures I wince and I'm not sure I could do this whole process again.  Aside from some compost and watering, a little weeding and dividing now and again, my garden is finally pretty low maintenance.  I'm not going to lie, it took years of work...getting down and dirty and allot of Advil! Come take a look.

I love outdoor teak because it's practically indestructible and when left to weather takes on a really cool gray patina.  These chairs however weathered a little too much for my taste and the person selling them for just $70 for four arm chairs and a bench! I felt like I was stealing them.  All they needed was some sanding to give them a fresh look.  Which brings me to the other great thing about teak, no matter how old, it can be either washed or sanded (depending on how weathered it is) and look brand new again.  I sanded and was happy with the color and texture I got.  If you want a richer color, outdoor teak can be oiled after washing or sanding with tung or mineral oil.

There are all sorts of enchanted things and places. My little mascot even takes a moment to enjoy the enchantment.


These inexpensive finch feeding socks really do attract finches and they are so bright and yellow, they are most definitely enchanting.

I can't think of a way to garden that doesn't include some type of journaling. Journaling is not only helpful and practical, it can be rewarding as well. For me, gardening is a reflection of life. Life, like gardening, is full of contradictions and so gardening reminds me that life is beautiful, messy, strong, fragile, hard work, rewarding, infinite and fleeting.

The Practical Journal

Whether you have sprawling gardens, a small vegetable bed or just a lawn and some shrubs, journaling can save you time, money and aggravation. It doesn't have to be fancy, it could be typed, kept on a computer, some scribe on a calender or in a notebook but to be of any use there are things you will want to include no matter how it's kept.

The When: Date everything! This will save you tons of time and money in years to come. Jot down things like when the first lawn mow of the season was, when shrubs and trees leaf out, when perennials pop out of the ground. You'll be prepared the following year with the mower or it may save you from ripping out a shrub in May you think is dead when it doesn't leaf out until June.

The What: Record what you plant and where and what products you use. Rip the tags from the plants and staple or clip them in the journal and write down next to it when and where it was planted. Write down the names of fertilizers and products you use and how they perform. Then, if a certain plant thrives, you'll have no problem finding the name if you want to buy more or if a particular plant is having a problem, you'll have quick and easy access to the name to find a solution.


The How Much: This is by far the best and easiest way to save money in the garden. Record how much compost you use, how much fertilizer, how much mulch. Make notes about how much you think you will need in the following year. If you bought 10 bags of mulch and only needed 5...unless you have a super memory, journaling is really the only way you will remember that next year.

The Inspirational Journal

My journal is a mixture of the practical and inspirational and it's messy! Next to garden tags its sprinkled with thoughts about how gardening affected me, helped me or hurt me... whatever it may have been, how it mirrored life for me. It's also filled with magazine photos, ideas and plans for the future...but most of all it records a journey, not to a place but to a state of mind.

My little garden bird mascot looks much happier with green back in the garden. Now comes all the back breaking work for me!
If you garden, then your schedule this time of year looks similar to mine. Hopefully, you got a chance on one of the sort of nice days to do a cleanup. This week, garden beds get edged and 1/2 inch layer of composted manure (this is good for any planting bed or vegetable garden...even the lawn! Amend that soil!). Roses will get their first of many helpings of fertilizer (I use an organic mix made for roses) and my lavender bed will get a good dose of lime.

Mulch can wait, spring is wet and cool so there's no need for it. Plus, mulching too heavily now can prevent seedlings and some perennials from coming through. I usually do a thorough weeding at the beginning of June, then mulch.

One thing I never forget to do this time of year is stop and change my perspective. Most of the beautiful things that happen in the garden in early spring (like perennials popping through the ground) demand an observant eye and a close up view. I know the neighbors think I'm nuts on my hands and knees...but it's really cool to look at things that way!

Yes indeed, I have had it right about now with working in the garden and welcome a killing cold streak. Sounds odd because I do love gardening, but gardening is allot of work and commitment and I'm glad I live in an area where I don't have to do it year round. Plus, I had my share of big garden projects this year. Allot of relocating, renovating beds and doing battle ripping out monster shrubs...so I'm spent. Thankfully though, the garden in the fall asks for little but still has allot to give. Hydrangeas, pictured below turn amazing colors when left on the bush. My roses keep going through November. Sedum 'Autumn Joy' ('Herbstfreude') and Monkshood (Aconitum delphinifolium) .