Garden Thursday

Just lived through a couple of episodes of Manor House with the kids, as a sort of antidote to Survivor, which is now over. I think Manor House will suffice. Like Survivor, it's filled with drama, naughtiness, complacence, strenuous activity, and outright idiocy. I recognize myself here - I like knowing protocol, habit, place. Richard thinks I only see myself in the Upstairs part of this lifestyle. Doesn't everyone? Who wants to be a scullery maid? Lower Butler?

Ha.

Right.

Good one, Richard.

I don't have any garden pictures today - we've been out all day and now it's dark and I'm out of milk and worrying about my morning latté and can't be bothered traipsing around the garden snapping dark shots while there's a Potential Latté Shortage to stress about. I do have a lot of garden thoughts, though. We had quite the garden adventure today: we went on a Garden Tour with our Garden Group.

But first, I've been transplanting the fennel. Not that ornamental-mostly-for-the-fronds-and-seeds fennel - the real bulbing fennel. Looks the same at a young age, but needs far more room later on. I transplanted about 50 little plantlings all around the garden, unearthing and doing away with a brick path I know I'll regret, giving some to FDPG who will be surprised but thrilled, and leaving the rest at the top of the garden with the rogue potato plants. I have also decided to brick up the potato plants with the stray bricks I have as a result of the No Longer A Brick Path area, just to see if the bricks work well as a cage to enable the plant to create more potatoes. I will post photographs so you can see what I'm talking about.

Second, I don't know about you but I am all about the subterfuge when it comes to bugs and gardens. My father might be seeding his own but I had to buy them: stealth marigolds. I buy at least 3 six-packs each summer, to place strategically around the vegetable garden so that certain bugs won't smell certain vegetables. And if you make salves you can later use all the marigold flowers for your salves. Or be like my dad and save the seed heads to seed later. I do. I think I have enough seed heads for about 4 billion marigolds. Just wish I could remember to plant them...

I am finally figuring this green worm thing out, after - sob - losing all my blueberry blossoms to them. There might be a few blueberries this year but not many. Turns out that the BTK needs to be applied weekly during Worm Season. Sigh. Who knew that there was a Worm Season? Or that I'd be conversant with the term Worm Season? Pas moi.

Finally, at this Garden Tour I learned how to prune a fig tree. Did you know that there was a proper way to prune a fig? I didn't. Now I know. And as soon as I came home I hauled my poor maligned fig tree out of the soilless pot where it had languished all winter at the bottom of the Heap of Crap (Sheila cringes at her cruelty). Yes, I AM a torturer of fig trees. Hopefully this fig is like a labrador: friendly and tolerant of human stupidity. It had better not be like a cat or I am done for.

Another thing I discovered on our Garden Tour was that I want to grow oranges and lemons. We had them in California but I've never really thought to grow them here. After seeing one of the gardens on our tour I know it's possible because I saw them with my own opposable thumbs, err, eyes. It's possible for me, anyhow (read: Creepily Obsessed Gardener Level). We saw orange and lemon trees all over the place. Heck, we even saw paw-paws, guavas, olives, limes, and avocado trees.

This is my Next Step.

Okay, now that I've droned on about my garden, does anyone have any questions? Thoughts? No criticisms, please, because I am incredibly thin-skinned. I might cry if you tell me I should be a scullery maid. I don't like check aprons, you see. It really would kill me.