Thursday evening, May 12 – With house guests and rain forecast this weekend, I needed to garden while I could. I planted ten pepper plants at Smith. If all fifteen or so bear well, we will be swimming in peppers, pickling and canning ’till we start really not liking the guy who planted so much. Also pulled some more of that Pernicious Weed I mentioned earlier and sowed the first planting of corn and butternut squash. I could fill all of Smith with corn and winter squash which is very viney and fills a space fast. Times like this I’m reminded of the Bond (Bond, James Bond) family motto, Orbis non sufficit, which means, “the world is not enough.” My version would be Horti non sufficit, which means, “the garden is not enough.” I always want more. Even three gardens doesn’t give me enough room to plant everything I’d like. Speaking of my vast garden kingdom, I then went to Jones and planted three eggplants (I’ll have a dozen planted before Memorial Day) and three more tomato plants. I now have eight tomato plants in Smith, three in Jones and three at the Lorelei. I gave three or so away, and still have four left in pots. I’m sure I’ll end up with extra pepper plants, too.
Saturday, May 14 – Started working in the Lorelei by about 5:30 a.m. under heavy, gray clouds, ominous and cozy at the same time, and worked ’till just past 7:30 as a fine mist covered me with its benediction. I finished the second Lorelei expansion, whapping hunks of sod on a brick, sifting out all the weeds I could find, squishing grubs galore, then digging in two bushels of leaf mold to lighten the soil and add organic material. I planted beans, Dragon Tongue (a red seeded wax type) and Derby (white seeded traditional green bean), both bush varieties, in the right and left third of the new bed. I’ll plant cucumbers in the middle third. This morning’s work left me completely fulfilled, with a light, satisfied feeling in my chest. To both exercise and accomplish something at the same time is what people, at least this person, are meant to do.
Sunday, May 15 – Honestly, I think I should have my head examined. I have more plants started than what I can ever hope to find room for in Jones, Smith, and the Lorelei, combined. I need a fourth garden, possibly named Rooster Balustrade the First, to hold everything I’ve started this weekend. I planted okra seeds, enough for 32 plants if they’re all successful. Those, at least, will go in the borders on the edge of our yard. Also started a third wave of dill and cilantro, two plants I think are best continually renewed. The existing cilantro is thriving, but not the dill. I don’t think dill is supposed to be difficult; it is for me. Also planted lots of flower seeds. I don’t keep track of what flowers I start in which cell. When they sprout, I just know they’re flowers. A silly, lazy thing to do, or a fun way to give myself (and my wife) little surprise gifts, mystery flowers? One day we’ll walk out the front door and there, in the Lorelei, we’ll see a bloom we weren’t expecting. Why not play little games, enliven daily living, adding even a tiny bit of mystery?
