Sunday, 22 October 2006 - Fall gardening chores

Dear God:

Today, I am thankful for fall gardening chores.

I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air.
~Nathaniel Hawthorne

Spring flowers are long
since gone.
Summer's bloom hangs limp
on every terrace.
The gardener's feet drag a bit
on the dusty path and
the hinge in his back
is full of creaks.
~Louise Seymour Jones

It's time to winterize the gardens. Fall fertilizer. Bulbs in the ground. A thick layer of mulch. Large doses of TLC. Last chance to get my hands really dirty.

The garden shop clerk assures me that my plants will love the bone meal fertilizer. I buy two large sacks since I have two large gardens and scores of plants to fertilize. I've already collected at least two dozen bags of raked leaves for mulch (thank you Hayden and Dominic).

While the October sun warms the neighborhood, I fertilize the plants.

1. Sprinkle a heaping tablespoon or two of bone meal around the base of each perennial.
2. Scratch the powder into the dirt surrounding the plant's main stem.
3. Move to the next plant.
4. Repeat steps 1-3.

Next, I plant bulbs - dozens of daffodils and assorted allium. The clay soil is still wet from the recent snow so the digging is easy. I don't have a plan. Never do. I simply plant the bulbs where there's enough space between shrubs. They'll surprise me when they bloom next spring and summer. In May, I'll remark to T, "So that's where I planted the daffodils."

Finally, I dump bags of leaves all over the garden. Then, I rake the mulch around the plants, being extra careful to cover the newly planted bulbs.

All done for the season. Not a tidy garden but a content one. A garden with a heart and soul. A garden that sings like a Monet painting.

The next rain shower or snow storm will settle the leaves and work the bone meal into the soil. I will prune the plants next spring.

My wish list for spring planting grows with the arrival of each seed and plant catalogue. Because of our challenging gardening environment, I will eventually divide the list into "must have" and "wishful thinking." Spring planting officially begins after the last hard freeze - typically May 15. (Sigh.) I'm already counting down the days.

For this blessing, I am grateful.

Amen.

Photo: Red Rock Canyon - aspen tree