Time to take counsel of what has and what has not been done. I need to do this at least once during the summer so I can plan my next moves and give myself a little pat on the back for whatever I have achieved.
Six weeks ago there was little reason to believe much of anything could be done. Last summer’s drought pretty much took me back to the starting blocks on everything. The lawn was dead with a capital D, the garden had produced absolutely zip with a capital Z, and everything else had a desolate moonscape pall hanging over it. I felt like I was walking through a science fiction movie, one filled with despair.
At the last minute, however, I relented and planted some vegetables. I aerated the dickens out of the lawn and spread grass seed. I pulled about six tons of weeds. When all else was dying last summer, they were thriving beyond all understanding. Last week I cleaned out the flowerbed, mixed in some aging compost and planted Vinca.
Then I waited. I told myself if all was for naught again, that next year I would pave the entire yard and never plant anything again. My sister in Arizona has a neighbor with a concrete lawn. He painted it green so I know it can be done.
Fast forward to now. The garden looks great. Green beans, peas, cucumbers, squash and tomatoes are going great guns. I look out over my back yard and see grass coming up where none has ventured for years. I have mowed twice and sod is building. Moreover, we’ve had five days of warm sunshine, and now it is raining again. Everything is uttering a sigh of contentment – including me.
I’m still hanging onto the phone number for the concrete company, however.