The Sport of Gardening

One of my most favorite things to do is to putz around my yard and garden. I use the term putz around, because I have yet to really claim the title of gardener. To me,  the word 'gardener' means someone who actually knows (and can remember) the name of flowers and various plants. They know cool things like the acidity of soil and the benefits of different fertilizers and pest controls. They have books about gardening on their coffee tables and always have a cute hat and pretty gardening gloves close by. They wear adorable loose fitting clothes that just scream "I am relaxed, I am a gardener", and somehow never seem to get dirty after a morning of toiling.
That is most definitely not me, not whatsoever. My gardening attire consists of one of my husband's or son's beat up t-shirts and a ball cap. I can never find a PAIR of gardening gloves, and if by some miracle I do, they are hard like cement, because of the caked mud. And I get dirty. Really dirty and most times, just outright filthy. Even if I just stop to pull a few weeds, I somehow find myself in need of a shower afterwards. My flowers and plants have learned to grow in spite of me, not because of me.

Even though the actual term 'gardener', might not suit me in the definition I have created, the love that I have for the practice is exactly the same. I find such relaxation when I am in my yard, especially in the early morning. I love the sounds of the birds and the way the early morning sun lights up my backyard. I find it both calming to be outside and yet it also fills me with a sense of purpose and motivation. So when I was told that I was going to have to be operated on and the complexity of the surgery, one of the first things that I was concerned about was my garden. Mainly, what I would be capable of doing in my garden. Would I be able to bend over (and hopefully get back up!) to snip a flower or prune a bush? Heck, would I even be able to walk around my yard?

I have such fond memories of times that I spent playing outside, while my mom "putzed" around our yard. She loved to swap cuttings of plants with neighbors and especially with my grandmother who lived in Florida. There were many trips in the car to visit Grandma that on the return trip would include a trunk full of plants and cuttings that she would then place lovingly in our yard. My son, Torrie remarked to me not so long ago, how much he used to enjoy walking around our yard with me in the early spring when he was young, looking at all of our plants that were pushing their little heads up through the soil. He once pointed out to me that the hosta looked just like asparagus, as it was starting to come up.

It has taken me a long time and a lot of muscle to nurture my yard to the shape it is in now. When we first moved into our house many years ago, the yard was very neglected. It included overgrown, nasty bushes (don't know what kind), scrub trees and out of control ground cover and poison ivy. There was once a compost area that smelled to high heaven and even a homemade fountain that was actually an old sunken tub. Really nasty. All of those things and hundreds more were removed, cleaned out, hauled away and cleared up... by me.  I have learned how to relocate plants, bushes and trees, the way someone rearranges furniture. My garden now contains and consists of mainly plants that I have split or was given clippings of. I actually have not invested very much money at all into my yard.. just muscle and love.

Unfortunately, last spring and early summer I was not able to work in my garden.  The abdominal surgery that  I had in May and the resulting infection prevented any hopes of gardening. Plants weren't trimmed, weeds weren't pulled and mulch was not put down. It is unbelievable how quickly things get can out of control if not regularly checked. Now that's profound, huh?! Understandably, I was full of ideas at the end of last year, to implement into my yard and garden this year. I even kept a small notebook with ideas and tips so that I would not forget them over the long winter.

Spring finally came this year after the winter that would never end, but unfortunately, I was looking at another surgery and I was in a boatload of pain. But I was determined to be out there. I have had to completely rethink and remodel the way I approach working in my yard. Many things are completely off limits and a big no no, such as digging with a shovel, raking, pushing a wheelbarrow, bending and pulling, etc. For a while, it looked as though there was really nothing that I could do. (That's the whiny "oh woe is me' voice in my head). But actually, I found that there is still so much that I am able to do.

I am now the "putzer and picker". I slowly walk the circumference and look and pluck and occasionally pull...shush. I am followed by the "clean up crew" - Ken. He quietly comes behind me and rakes, gathers and bundles. He basically cleans up my mess, and I love it. Himself...not so much I'm sure, but thankfully he doesn't say it. I point out to him what I would like moved or cut back and for the most part, we are in agreement. Basically, my solitary event has become a team sport, and that's just fine with me.

As my surgery date of August 5 approaches, I am in a manic like state of getting everything done in the next five weeks, that which would normally take all summer. So my big event this week is to relocate the three cubic yards of mulch which now occupies half of my driveway, to the backyard. I will show Ken which weeds need to be dug out and where I want the mulch.

Hopefully, he will not 'accidentally' knock my sweet self out with the shovel!