Gardening makes everything better!
Last week, last Saturday to be exact, we got it into our heads to work on the backyard a bit. When we first moved into this place the teeny tiny yard was a mess, and not just a weedy one. There were old 5 gallon buckets and milk cartons by the dozen, random broken bits of fencing and anything else the scrappy tenants before us though they could use to support vines, bits of rubble, and lots and lots of broken glass. The old tenants were a bunch of young hippies, of the patchouli-smelling kind. They worked at the local coop and tried to grow their own food. They kept a compost bin and compost pile, they amended and cleared the soil in one corner of the yard at least. But they did it all with no sense of cleanliness, order, or style. Nothing offends me more than ugliness.
I grew up Catholic, but if someone asked me to define my religion, I'd have to call myself an aestheticist; not that that's a real religion or anything, but it is as close as I can muster.
So last year I cleared and defined the space, laying a thick layer of cardboard and mulch over any area that was not meant for growing plants or food. It was fine as a temporary fix, but really, thick mulch is not terribly pleasant as a garden surface. A year later I raked away all the mulch ( the cardboard had long since disintegrated) revealing a rich black-brown soil. I threw more composted manure on this newly cleared 10x12' patch and prepped it to receive a lawn. We got sod from the nursery and laid it in. I love sod. I love how instantly it transforms a space. I love how the clean green is the perfect negative space for the riot that will be the rest of the garden. I know that the way sod is grown is not sustainable, but I also know that with a dog and child, I never would have been able to be successful with seed.
The next day in a spurt of backyard enthusiasm, we went to the Home Despot and got a bar-b-cue. I was thrilled to find that they had reed fencing. I was going to bit the bullet and order it from Gardener's Supply company, but the shipping cost being almost as high as the cost of the fencing itself kept me from doing it. I'm so glad I didn't. I got enough reed fencing to screen the neighbors for less than half of what it would have cost me to order. hypersteve & I installed it in a couple of hours, set up the bar-b-cue, and called over a few friends. Having people we love in the cozy backyard made us happier than anything else we've experienced in this apartment. It actually started to feel a little like home.
I'm writing this from Steve's computer, but the next time I get to my laptop I'll have to post before and after pictures.
As if that wasn't enough garden goodness, I volunteered at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Thursday ( a regular thing that I started a couple of weeks ago). For nearly three hours I mulched a large garden bed - the asteraceae bed for anyone who'd interested. That involved throwing forkfuls of fresh much from the V truck to the garden. I got an amazing workout out of it. My arms felt good and tired afterwards and I could feel my abdominals. It's a good thing too since I've done almost no exercise this pregnancy. I can do stuff like that for hours and not get tired. A few years ago when I worked for the Parks Department and did it for several hours a day I was in great shape. My arms and back were better defined than I had ever seen them. I'd rather spend hours gardening any day, than have to go to the gym. Not that I don't like the gym, I actually enjoy it a lot, but it's nothing like gardening. When I pulled off my jeans later bits of mulch tumbled to the floor. You know I've had a great day when that happens.
So despite the turmoil of this week, spending time getting dirty has kept me mostly sane. The warmth and the sun didn't hurt either.
I grew up Catholic, but if someone asked me to define my religion, I'd have to call myself an aestheticist; not that that's a real religion or anything, but it is as close as I can muster.
So last year I cleared and defined the space, laying a thick layer of cardboard and mulch over any area that was not meant for growing plants or food. It was fine as a temporary fix, but really, thick mulch is not terribly pleasant as a garden surface. A year later I raked away all the mulch ( the cardboard had long since disintegrated) revealing a rich black-brown soil. I threw more composted manure on this newly cleared 10x12' patch and prepped it to receive a lawn. We got sod from the nursery and laid it in. I love sod. I love how instantly it transforms a space. I love how the clean green is the perfect negative space for the riot that will be the rest of the garden. I know that the way sod is grown is not sustainable, but I also know that with a dog and child, I never would have been able to be successful with seed.
The next day in a spurt of backyard enthusiasm, we went to the Home Despot and got a bar-b-cue. I was thrilled to find that they had reed fencing. I was going to bit the bullet and order it from Gardener's Supply company, but the shipping cost being almost as high as the cost of the fencing itself kept me from doing it. I'm so glad I didn't. I got enough reed fencing to screen the neighbors for less than half of what it would have cost me to order. hypersteve & I installed it in a couple of hours, set up the bar-b-cue, and called over a few friends. Having people we love in the cozy backyard made us happier than anything else we've experienced in this apartment. It actually started to feel a little like home.
I'm writing this from Steve's computer, but the next time I get to my laptop I'll have to post before and after pictures.
As if that wasn't enough garden goodness, I volunteered at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Thursday ( a regular thing that I started a couple of weeks ago). For nearly three hours I mulched a large garden bed - the asteraceae bed for anyone who'd interested. That involved throwing forkfuls of fresh much from the V truck to the garden. I got an amazing workout out of it. My arms felt good and tired afterwards and I could feel my abdominals. It's a good thing too since I've done almost no exercise this pregnancy. I can do stuff like that for hours and not get tired. A few years ago when I worked for the Parks Department and did it for several hours a day I was in great shape. My arms and back were better defined than I had ever seen them. I'd rather spend hours gardening any day, than have to go to the gym. Not that I don't like the gym, I actually enjoy it a lot, but it's nothing like gardening. When I pulled off my jeans later bits of mulch tumbled to the floor. You know I've had a great day when that happens.
So despite the turmoil of this week, spending time getting dirty has kept me mostly sane. The warmth and the sun didn't hurt either.