Renewal

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I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post! 
Life happens (kids' birthdays, taking classes at NYU, taking the boys to Paris for a few days). This being springtime (supposedly) it's time for renewal so let me get this blog going again!

As you know we moved here in November so I've been focusing on all of the work inside the house. It's been a lot of work, gone are the easy days of apartment living. Now that Spring is almost here I've noticed that there is also a lot of work to be done outside! Yeap, I've been slowly discovering my new backyard. 

What I discovered were a lot of dead plants and weeds. I have grand visions of blooming cherry blossoms and roses so I decided to get to work. 

Armed with my apartment-bonsai-gardening kit I went to tackle the weeds and dried up plants that needed to be trimmed. It took me a whole afternoon to trim a couple of bushes and my hands were covered in bloody scratches!

Needless to say that I promptly went to Home Depot and shopped my heart out.
Whatever  I lacked in expertise was made up by my enthusiasm to get my garden into shape!
I really thank the Home Depot folks for answering all of my very basic questions and not laughing at me while I was still in ear shot! An hour and $200 later I left with gardening tools, seeds, and flowers.

I've been making very slow progress but it's very gratifying. I planted daffodils that have just started to bloom. I planted other flowers whose name I've already forgotten but I love to look at them from my kitchen window. My son and I even tackled the vegetable garden today and planted spinach and lettuce. 

All in all the work is worth it. I've surprised myself by how much I love getting my garden back into shape. Maybe it's because earth day is around the corner and I like participating in this way. Maybe it's because it's my very first garden. Maybe it's because I get to spend some time chatting and hanging out with my kids while I do it. This is definitely an upside to living outside of the city (not that I didn't greatly appreciate the work of the gardeners at Battery Park who made our park beautiful). Today I was moved to tears when I planted my city geranium into an outdoor pot. That geranium has been with us on our apartment window sill for over two years. When we planted in its new home today, my son said "he's been inside for a long time, he deserves to be free." Something new is really beginning.

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 13, 2009 at 4:26 PM

    Glad to see you post after a what seemed like a long absence (I was about to check in on you). Spring is my favorite time of year and I have been in the yard as well. Congrats on your new garden - you must be proud Take a photo of your back yard and send it to me. I will do likewise.

    SB

    ReplyDelete
  2. Smores for BreakfastMay 27, 2009 at 8:28 AM

    aww! I love that he said "he deserves to be free!" cute cute cute! xo

    ReplyDelete
  3. barbeeMay 28, 2009 at 9:58 PM

    I feel like I am talking when I read your post on the garden !!!! As you know , we have a little ( seems little to see , but not anymore when you have to work on It !!!! ) backyard , which actually was more in the junk yard rank . And this area has been a prority lately as the beautiful days arrived . It is also my first garden ever , and I have been enjoying so much to work on It . It's defenitly hard work , but so rewarding. It makes me feel so happy !!!
    So , let's continue to enjoy our new experience as gardeners and make our dear earth grow plants and flowers and food for our body and our minds ... : )

    ReplyDelete

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