The Inconstant Gardener

These are the last of my tulips to open.  All the daffodils and earlier tulips are faded or gone.  Some of my neighbors have tons of bright yellow tulips just opening.  I have to look into that and see about extending the time of some early color in my yard too.  This is my first spring season in the yard on my own in many years.  I still haven't adjusted from gardening in the milder, wet climate of Seattle to gardening in this semi-arid spot in SE Washington. 

I'm slowly replacing water hungry annuals and shrubs with drought tolerant perennials.  I shamelessly snoop in the neighbors yards as I walk to see what works and what doesn't.  Tiny violets pop through the grass in the spring.  Most of my neighbors try to get rid of the violets but I think they are charming, I look forward to seeing them.  We have the same joyful dandelions as Seattle but there's also a weed with thorns that comes up everywhere like a tiny ground cover along the streets and vacant lots.  Its thorns will go right through a rubber flip flop and the effect on bare feet is brutal.  Having spent most of my life's summers barefoot this was a painful shock.

I found someone to prune and shape a couple of trees in my yard.  They've become huge over the last 10 years and are eating my roof, or least plugging the gutters and giving the moss a nice place to grow.  An arborist has to be a cheaper solution than a new roof. 

My chosen task for the end of this week is to cut all the dead stuff out of the roses which after last winter are mostly dead stuff.  I've filled two 96 gallon cans so far.  I wore gloves but forgot about my arms which are now dotted and striped with scratches and punctures, the roses fought back like a mad tabby.  The front garden still needs more work and its new little lavender plants haven't arrived yet.  What is arriving is the rain, again, so I am cutting this short and rushing back out get two tomato plants in the wreck of the vegetable garden before they die.  I can clean out enough space to get them going.  I'm finding that in spite of frequent breaks for water and unkinking my back I still like gardening. All this fresh air and sunshine must be healthy, right?