Yesterday was gray and drizzly, but Dave managed to spend quite a bit of the morning in the garden. I don't know why, but I have incredible anxiety about what he does out there. His vision and philosophies about gardening tend to differ from mine, and he loses patience with plants very quickly. Consequently, he likes to move plants around, throw them out, replace them or prune the daylights out of them. He's also not very careful about allowing native plants or volunteers to grow.
I, on the other hand, tend to be much more passive about gardening. I like allowing nature to do its thing. I like the unexpected surprises, like the forget-me-nots that magically appear every year, and I dislike any activity that might disturb them before they can mature. And my philosophy on plants is basically that you put them in the ground and leave them there. Unless something is in a drastically wrong location (i.e. a shady spot when it needs sun) you don't move it. Plants need time to establish themselves, and every time they get dug up and relocated it shocks them -- sometimes fatally.
So, anyway, yesterday -- while Dave enlarged a flower bed and moved several plants -- I basically stayed inside and tried not to think about what he might be up to. I must say, my anxiety isn't entirely realistic, because our plants have mostly proved to be pretty resilient and few of the ones that he moves actually die.
I probably need to chill.
In other news, I can't believe that I didn't mention this yesterday but on Saturday morning I FILED OUR TAXES! Woo hoo! It's always SUCH a relief to get that done. As U.S. citizens we still have to file with Uncle Sam every year, even though we live abroad, and it's still a nightmare. In the end we don't usually pay anything because there's an exemption on foreign earnings and we pay taxes here in the U.K. It's mostly just a couple of hours of unpleasant paperwork.
I spent most of yesterday reading a book called "People Who Eat Darkness," about the abduction of a young British woman in Tokyo in 2000. It's a really good book -- a riveting story -- so much so that I didn't want to put it down.
But when the rain paused in the afternoon, I managed to take Olga back to Fortune Green and the cemetery for another very damp walk. We found a second wire-and-hay contraption like the one I depicted in yesterday's post. Still very mysterious.
(Photo: Rain on a lupine leaf in the garden.)
Maybe on of your British friends can explain the wire and hay looking thing...I'm curious.
ReplyDeleteYou found another entrance to The Underworld? Go down there. You will find that gardens and parks are filled with plants that ramble and reproduce freely, establishing a natural balance and visual harmony. There is no needless horticultural manicuring in The Underworld and no garden slugs either.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I also have differing views of gardening. Years ago we solved that problem by "owning" various garden beds. I don't work in his, and he doesn't work in mine. I must admit I sometimes sneak an occasional plant in his perennial bed when he's not looking.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend who moved her plants around like someone would rearrange the furniture. Drove me crazy for some reason. I mean, BIG plants. Shrubs. Hedges.
ReplyDeleteThat photo is spectacular.
I follow your gardening philosophy. You're right plants need time to estbalish themselves and become happy with their spot.
ReplyDeleteafter two and a half days of my inactivity, Minnie had had enough and she insisted we go outside where it had warmed up considerably and she ran and ran and ran to the point I couldn't believe she wasn't exhausted.
ReplyDeleteI have to move a few things in the newest flower bed as the stuff on the outside has gotten taller than the stuff on the inside. boo. but yeah, everytime you move something it has to start all over.
Your wisdom in remaining inside and silent (?) while Dave was "pruning" the garden is admirable. Perhaps a good time for a meditation session.
ReplyDeleteYou are doing better than me tax-wise. I still have mine to do. I had better get with it. Every year I say I'm going to do them early and every year I procrastinate. I just hate doing it.
ReplyDeleteYou two have opposing gardening styles, yes! I garden like you do. Luckily, in this area, my husband keeps out of it unless I ask for help. In other areas we butt heads. After nearly forty years together we can laugh about it. Mostly :)
ReplyDeleteThe Prof doesn't know his weeds from his flowers
ReplyDeleteThat's a really nice picture!
ReplyDeleteAs for the gardening neurosis, I have completely given up. Instead I shower praise and occasionally mow the lawn. His thumb is just so much greener than mine - he needs to think that.
I meet with my accountant to sign off on my taxes tonight. Such a relief every time!
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