Determined To Have The Upper Hand

Arriving home last night after work, I immediately checked out the flower beds to see how many weeds had popped up after a couple days of rain. The flower beds on each side of the front porch had more weeds than I wanted to see. The bed on the side of the house did not have any weeds which I eagerly attribute to the newspaper covering the ground under a 2" layer of rich potting soil. The soil was to wet for hoeing. Hanging my head I slowly made my way into the house.

Morning came quickly. I noticed the high level of humidity and the thick fog that had rolled in overnight. I headed outdoor to see if the soil was dry enough to hoe. Being impatient I started to hoe through the soil looked wet. Turns out the soil was the perfect conditions for hoeing. Before I knew it the weeds were all gone.

Back Home

It has been three years since I started sharing my gardening woes and successes with my Garden in the Rough blog friends. In that time I moved back to the land of black dirt and generous amounts of rain and high levels of humidity. Due to the demands of a new job and the desire to spend most of my free time with dad gardening has been limited to three flower beds, potted flowers, and a raspberry bed. The time, money and work put into the gardens last year paid off this year.

After attempts to grow luscious colorful gardens in the desert with limited success, I am shocked at the fast-growing perennials growing in our Iowa flower beds. I want to rush out and buy more plants. Patience is required as I must keep the gardens manageable due to all the projects I am working on. I love looking at the plants and blooms as I walk through the wet grass.

Test Plot

I was anxious to get up this morning and head outdoors to work in the flower beds as all three are now weed-free. A big thank you to Tony for graciously digging out the fast-growing Creeping Charlie. The purple Irises are in full bloom. The climbing rose bush is completely leafed out and loaded with healthy-looking buds. I am excited to see a flower bed full of color when the Peonies open, hopefully, in time for Memorial Day Weekend.

I am determined not to let the weeds take over this year like they did last year. After lengthy and numerous conversations with self-proclaimed experts, I decided to lay down newspaper covered with rich dark black potting soil in the hopes of smothering the weeds and enriching the soil. One bed is three fourth done and looks prettier. After underestimating the number of bags of potting soil needed to cover all three beds, I headed back to the store to purchase 15 more bags of potting soil. With fingers crossed, I hope that to control the Creeping Charlie.

Spring Cleaning

After living in the desert for over three decades, I cherish rainy days. Today was the perfect day to take off from work as it was cloudy, cool, and foggy all day. By mid-afternoon, the clouds opened up and released the spring's first rain. Breathing deeply, I inhaled the smell of fresh rain and am looking forward to the one and a half-hour drive home.

Upon arriving at home, it dawned on me that rain was a curse and not a blessing, as I originally thought. The weed-free flower beds were now no longer weed-free.