Now on to the events of Sunday.
I'm exhausted and I need a tomato sandwich immediately! Today had to be the most beautiful day in Chicago so far for 2008. After my failed attempt to garden yesterday I got an earlier start today and other than 2 mini breaks and a quick trip to the hardware store, I was outside from 9:30-4:30. That is a full days work! The 26 hedge roses were still mounded with mulch so I thought it was about time for the unveiling. What a pain in the butt this was. You should see my arms, they are seriously scratched up and yucky looking.
I removed all the mulch from the roses, pulled weeds and trash (for some reason ridiculous amounts of trash flies over my 6 foot privacy fence and into my yard), placed soaker hoses in the beds, the replaced the mulch. I know this sounds crazy but I think I've got too much mulch on the roses. I also cut the roses back more to stimulate new growth. I realize now that I never should have trimmed them before winter. I hope they'll be OK.
Here they are all ready for new growth. This took the large part of the day. After that, I WS'd about a million more containers of annuals. 
I never made it to the front yard this weekend and now there are weeds growing in the empty beds. I'm hoping to purchase foundation plants Monday or Tuesday before I go back to work. All day today I kept coming in the house for water and each time I'd think "I need a tomato sandwich!" I think after last summer I started to associate hard gardening with tons of water and tomato sandwiches. Of course it's depressing since it'll be quite some time before I have a home grown tomato but it made me wonder about you bloggers and blog readers. Do you have a particular food that you usually eat after a hard day of gardening? If so, what is it? Of course mine is tomato sandwich, but I also like to eat cold pineapple. I find that after being outside for so long that I really crave fresh fruits veggies and it's gotta be uncooked. How about you?
Wow! You've got all kinds of things going on in your yard. I glad that all your shrubs came through the winter and can't wait to see what happens next with the patio.
ReplyDeleteMake sure you don't have the mulch up against the stems of the shrub roses. There should be some breathing room. Actually, you probably don't need to mulch them up over the winter as those are quite hardy roses. I don't do anything to mine and they do really well.But the mulching will help during the summer.
What I like after gardening is a diet Coke on ice. I also like string cheese, an orange or a grapefruit. Just something cold!
After a hard sweat in the garden, I like to come home to a tall glass of chilled grape juice (must be red, not white) and a tub of halva. Ideally one whose lid has been left off for a few days to let it go a bit goo-ey.
ReplyDeleteHow specific is THAT?
We spent all day (9-7 ish, with a nap thrown in) in the yard too today. A salad and baked potato made a really really tasty lunch. I've also taken to brining out a full pitcher of cold beverage (usually water but sometimes crystal light or something) outside along with some mugs so that I don't have to go back in to get a drink... that way I don't track mud everywhere / avoid the temptation of the couch. lol!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post, Gina. What IS it about tomato sandwiches that delights us so much? Just the words (hearing them, reading them) makes me want one--and I had one for lunch!
ReplyDeleteI usually want water when I come in from gardening; straight from the tap water, no britas, thanks. We have our own well water that is cold and delicious--so much so that I don't like water most places I go, and certainly not in cities (where it needs to be Brita'd so it's drinkable, IMHO)