Friday, April 1, 2011

Gardening Diva gives 'Chores List' to Husband

Now that the snow has melted and is in our distant past and spring makes it way into our lives, I always love what seems to be the awakening of the world around us. Winter is wonderful, but I would like to put in the order to Mother Nature that spring should begin earlier in March.  It is unfair how short our springs are in Rochester.  I would also do away with the mud!  I suppose we need to experience that ugly mud to appreciate the bright colors of spring, but haven’t we endured enough grey from our dark Rochester winters?

Now with the mud (ugh) and the first blooms appearing, Mother Nature is erupting with what will be some of her most colorful fireworks display in the year.  This is also the time when my mind starts racing – from one part of the yard to another. I search, evaluate and discover what havoc may have gone on through my winter hibernation. I make my lists on my Iphone of what seems to be the same things every year that need to be accomplished. I might as well just make them ‘repeating’ lists and save the time creating them! That’s a few more free minutes in my day.  Or my husband, Larry, would ask, “Why don’t you keep a garden journal?” Ha! Fortunately for me, I am married to a man that doesn’t always practice what he preaches; his garden journal is in his head. Compounding my visual overload is the realization that it’s planting time, now!  The bombardment of all the work to do in the yard is literally piling up and putting me into frenzy.  I want to do the plantings; that’s fun. Who wants to do the clean up?  I fret about when it will all get done and then Larry has to listen to me unloading to him as we are turning in for the evening.

But, I tell myself, let’s be practical. By spending the time now raking and putting down the granular weed preventer along with mulch where it is needed, I will have a much more enjoyable summer playing and not pulling weeds. Nobody should pull weeds anyways; it only creates more weeds and it is such a waste of time.  OK, an ounce of prevention now, will allow me the time to have fun in the gardens doing what I want to be doing – the planting, decorating and beautifying of my world!

I will admit, as for those nasty repetitive chores through the rest of the season, I am fortunate that I have my own personal horticulturist; my garden curator of our home. Larry prides himself in having our ‘outdoor home’ as beautiful as those he creates for all of our gardening friends and customers that visit the nursery.  He gauges my anxieties and tempers them with getting done what needs to be done so I can have my fun in the garden.  He takes care of me and I would say, “he has my back” in regards to our gardens.  What am I complaining about? It’ll all get done!  I have Larry…
.... Frances Grossman