The List

This time of year, it is easy to suffer from gardening burnout. There are a million things to do, and they all seem to either all need to be done at once, or done yesterday. As I spend time gardening, making my rounds of the greenhouses and garden stores and talk to fellow garden enthusiasts, a dozen good blog ideas come. And, somewhere, under the sun and dirt…they go. There just isn’t enough time! And with the beautiful summer weather we’ve had all through May, there is no excuse to put it off, and a LOT of watering to do.

My life is dominated by The List. This past weekend, it grew faster than I could cross things off as I walked around the property and noticed more things that needed to be done. Why is it that a half dozen 15 minute projects take 3 hours to complete? A) travel time. B) collateral projects. Tim had his own projects, finishing up the side yard where the trees were cut, and staging supplies for the next project… a compost “bin”. We were both soon over heated, over sunned and filthy. But, we did manage several hours of relaxing on the porch. So, in this blog, I’m just going to share my List with you.

First, there is the Shopping List. This contains all the supplies I will need, as well as all the Annuals and occasionally Perennials for replacement. I frequent 4 greenhouses, and if time allows, manage two more. Each one has its own speciality, and I make sub lists of The List to try to keep return trips to a minimum. Even so, I will stop at least twice at each one. For one thing, this stuff won’t all fit in the trunk of my car. Heck, it won’t all fit in the bed of the truck!

Annuals

28 Geraniums
16 Marigolds
2 Packs Wave Petunias
3 Packs Petunias
12 Sweet Alysum
8 Sweet Potato Vines
4 Calibrocha/Petunia baskets
10 of something (?) to go under split rail fence

Vegetables (Because I didn’t start any in the house this year)

3 Tomatoes
8 Sweet Peppers
4 Eggplants

Supplies

1 Peat Moss (Large)
1 Vermiculite/Perlite
1 Greensand
1 Iron Phosphate (Sluggo)
1 Diatomaceous Earth (In case they don’t eat the Sluggo)
1 Neptune Fertilizer
2 Epsom Salts



And then the To Do List. Each morning this starts with

1. Water

2. Thin Lettuce. The lettuce is growing exceptionally well, and this year I am going to thin it. I pick 1 or 2 big bouquets of lettuce babies, and cut the roots off. Then I rinse them, shake them off, and put them in a Ziploc bag for latter on.

Plant Geraniums
Plant Marigolds
Plant both whiskey barrels
Grow Through supports on Black Eyed Susans (other perennials have already been done)
Stem Supports on Irises
Trim back Tulips
Cut flowers off Rhubarb (AGAIN!)
Re-hill potatoes (Growing fast)
Take bricks back to pile
Weed strawberries
Add compost to north end of bed #1
Plant Cukes and Zukes
Pot up azalea bush (the myrtle is drowning it)
Mix Soil (involves laborious sifting of compost)
Plant combination pots
Hang shades in garden shed
Cut shade cloth for cold frame
Wash the garden shed doors
Find a home for unwanted perennials (sitting in pots against the house)
Scotchguard Porch Cushions


I only got four and a half of these things done, between all the watering and thinning! And weeding! If I had a nickel for every ash seedling I’ve pulled in the past month, I could take you all out for dinner.

One trunk load of Geraniums

Tonight's harvest meal: Fresh salad with baby radishes

It's hard to chose a photo of the garden because by the time I get around to blogging, it has changed so much that the photo looks pitiful!

Tim's tree project.  Nine blue spruce.  Our excavator is pleased and says he knows in 20 years Tim will cut them down and he will get to haul off the stumps and bring top dirt.  He says it's Job Security.

It just seems at this time of year, before it all gets established, it is a big burden to keep it all alive.  There are seedlings to harden off, things to fertilise, and water water everywhere.  Water the trees, water the tiger lillies we moved, water the pots, water the newly planted geraniums.  When you've spent all this money, effort and TIME, you worry about water all the time!  I just need a few raining days, or at least some seasonable weather instead of record breaking temperatures to catch my breath.