Gardening with Greggo: March 2011

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

In my post written on March 23 (http://greggosgarden.blogspot.com/2011/03/why-women-like-straws.html), I explained why women like straws. This is a continuation of that story which wrapped up at the end of spring break on Saturday. My wonderful bride was a stalwart, working hard and putting up with my perfectionism and dry comments. You're awesome.

Saturday March 26 8 a.m

On the way to the compost facility, whoops forgot
the pitchfork again.

Arrived at Compost Facility


Slingin!

Unloading and unloading. Cindy hard at work.

Dump, fill and spread.

Flags represent potato placement

Compost placement-looks good.

Went back later and picked up a load of wood chips for mulching the meadow garden. Very satisfied with overall results.

The Light Fantastic

When I was a young and impressionable college student my friends and I would travel on some kind of hiking trip during summer break before school started in the fall. What amazed me then and now is the beautiful view of nature one can observe early in the morning. One of my favorite places to awaken in the morning was at a campground near the Grand Tetons, the view was spectacular as you can see from the photo below. Wow. The use of light in the landscape has had a lot of discussion by landscape designers and architects. I know this isn't a new concept but I think with all the new varieties available in the gardening world, back lighting can really spice up views of the garden almost alike spotlighting on a drama stage. Ornamental grasses, woolly leaved plants, fall views of plants, can all contribute to the design palette.


Grand Tetons, Wyoming. Photo courtesy of Wayne Busch and s outheastclimbing.com

Miscanthus, Carex, Pyrus and the Garden Fairy

Miscanthus and Rye


Iberis sempervirens - Evergreen Candytuft

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Why Women Like Straws

Ahh Sonic.

Tales of wonder and amusement about things that women like. I guess. As some of you may know, I had shoulder surgery on valentines day, which has basically caused me to be handicapped when it comes to spring gardening activities. As I like to say, I've never met a garden project I haven't liked. Ha.

Anyways my wonderful bride of 30 years, Cindy, is home for spring break as she is a public school vocal music teacher. She will not allow me to perform physical activity with my right arm/shoulder. So she has volunteered for sainthood (ie. helping me in the garden). She talked a friend from church on Sunday and his two teenage sons to help cleanup leaves,turn our compost pile and also to load extra cleanup material in our utility trailer. (thank you Wittes) She told me she would go to the city compost facility and unload our debris and load up compost for our beds. Yipeee. So begins our journey to the realms of marital bliss.

March 22, Tuesday, 7:45 a.m.

Time to go! Mollie load up! My daily companion during recovery. She definitely likes going to the compost facility, to find some dead animal to waller on. I think that's an Oklahoma term, waller.

Kinda like fixin-to.


Mollie the mulcher dog.


Cindy screams "Hey your not suppose to be doing that!"

Greg you forgot the pitchfork, dipstick.


Hey, can we get some coffee?

8:00 a.m.

Wisdom from the coffee shop. Since the compost facility doesn't open til 9, we decided to go eat breakfast.

This is when I learned something I hadn't learned in 30 years of marriage: why women like straws.

Ready for this? Drum roll please! Women like straws because if you don't use a straw and drink from the cup your lipstick comes off! Amazing, huh! Who would of thunk it. World changing.

"Hey, Greg we still got a few more minutes til the facility opens lets got to the gift shop".

9:00 a.m

Arrive at the compost facility and it hasn't opened yet and won't open until 12:00, whoops sorry honey I must have read the opening hours wrong. So we wander back towards home. "Can we get a sonic?" says my bride. Sure. We do the sonic thing and my wandering brain things of other "projects" we could be doing. Eureka, I need more stone. So hows this for marital bliss, Cindy gets her straw and I get my rock.