Blog of a Newly Minted Housewife

Getting my hands dirty

We've had a rainy couple of weeks here in Portland. In some ways it's been good for me. The rain and gray skies are perfect for staying inside and curling up with a good book, or watching a long-put-off video.

On the other hand, the rain and gray skies are perfect for sitting on my butt and not getting much done. The floors still haven't been mopped, I am finally doing the laundry today, and there are days when I wonder if I'll make a good housewife after all.

But then there are good days like yesterday, when the weather was dry and I was able to actually tick projects off my list. Although perhaps not as important as laundry, getting some color into the yard was tops on my list. The front yard was professionally landscaped with low-water-need plants several years ago, but it is BORING. Lots and lots of green, a couple of Japanese maples for color, and that was it. There are several of the plants we aren't happy with and want to rip out, but we haven't developed an overall plan yet. So, I knew if I put a lot of stuff into the ground now, it might just have to come out in a month or two. Luckily, one of the main plants - a big gray thing - was actually dead when we moved in. And it was in a pot! So, I ripped it out, filled the pot with a bag of potting soil, and filled it with some colorful plants. Most of these are annuals that will only last a couple of months anyway, and the rest are perennials that will most likely find a place in the permanent plan.

The backyard was a little more tricky. The plants here, while no more exciting, are more densely planted. Then there is the problem of this giant ivy-covered telephone pole smack in the middle of the lawn. It definitely has to go, but it's little island was the only place to add some color without a lot of removal of plants that might or might not have a place in my yard (as opposed to the yard that we have now, which is still very much imprinted with the personality of the previous owners, including a plethora of wooden birdhouses stuck here and there, including in the middle of the hedge.)

These annuals are actually left-overs from what I bought for the front flowerpot. I knew I was buying too much, but I wanted to be able to pick and choose what went in that pot. Everything else went back here. But now I find the space isn't full. Guess I need to go buy a few more plants! ;-)

On the not-so-happy side of things, we discovered our shed has termites and needs to come down. We wanted to take it out anyway - it half covers the bathroom window! - but now the process is accelerated. We also have a carpenter ant nest in the front, so spraying is in order and will happen next week. And I spent the morning researching fencing contractors on Angie's List, which I've been finding very helpful for finding reliable contractors.

The pest inspector recommended trimming back the plants in front of the house so that the house can "breathe." My dad is visiting, and he helped me with the new electric hedge trimmers (Yea! for new toys!), then took over. Together we started a little spate of massive pruning which led to the removal of three hated juniper-type bushes across the front of the house. Next week, I will probably plant a rose bush in one of the holes.

Speaking of roses, this pretty one is along our back patio. It's a climber, supposedly, and I've gotten a few pricks trying to tie it back to the trellis. It's was the one bit of color in the back after the azaleas faded and before I planted the annuals yesterday.

It felt incredibly good to be out in the yard doing yesterday, especially getting my hands in the dirt and planting things. I've missed that more than I realized, and now I have an itch to get out there and do more. Aside from the primitive good feelings of dirt under fingernails, it is the concreteness of the end result that I really appreciate. At the end of the day, it is extremely gratifying to be able to look at something and see how you made it different from what it was a few hours ago.

Doing laundry and cleaning toilets just don't have the same sense of accomplishment, and sometimes cooking is frustrating when the result of an hour's work is gone in mere minutes. But with gardening? The results can be seen and touched and sometimes eaten for an entire season, or even for years to come.

Posted by Karen at June 1, 2006 10:31 AM