When we moved in to my parent's rental house last summer, I was aghast at the condition of the yard. Weeds were five feet tall, and everything was overgrown and looking so janky. I vowed then to always keep the gardens and flower beds looking tidy and beautiful.
Ahem
In my defense, in Western Washington it gets dark at 4:30 pm from late October until mid-February so I leave the house and return in the dark. I don't get a chance to see the results of my lazy ways until the weekends which are always so busy getting ready for the next week that weeding drops to the bottom of my priority list.
A few weekends ago, I was washing dishes and looked out the window to see that my garlic bed was totally covered in weeds. Thinking they had totally smoothered the garlic that I planted last October, I was resolved to kick my own ass for letting that seed garlic be wasted.
Then I started wedding.
When my parent's moved out of this house in 2007, I believe my father decided to carpet bomb the property with bulbs. They are EVERYWHERE and I can't keep up with them. Despite clearing the garlic bed of bulbs last fall, many were still coming up with the garlic. How do you know the difference between a tulip bulb and a garlic start?
If you accidentally pull up a garlic start, it smells like garlic and makes you yell "fuck". That's how you know.
After about an hour and some very very cold hands later, the bed was pretty clear, and I set my sights on the kale plants.
Perhaps I will stop scoffing at the idea of mulch?
This area under the kitchen window is scheduled for a remodel in the next month or so.
Those bushes will be removed and replaced with blueberries. When we moved in last year, my motto for the garden was "if I can't eat you or you don't attract a gaggle of honey bees, your ass is gone". After about 4.3 billion hours of weeding and pulling things out of the wilderness that was the garden beds, I looked at these bushes and thought "you may stay. For now". Their eviction notice has been served, and they will be gonzo in a few short weeks.Labels: Garden
