Gratuitous flower photo, because weed photos aren't as pretty
Usually when you have guests over to your house, you pick up at least a little. All those little things you left all on the kitchen counter that have been there for the last week, you finally notice and they get put away. Well when your guest is a garden blogger, you start noticing things in your yard that need doing. My perennial border and my fruit garden are in great need of a good weeding.
My vegetable garden never gets this bad. I'm in it everyday. When I see a weed I just pluck it out. I will clean up little patches of weeds there without even thinking. It just happens. Not in my other gardens. I have to actually block out some time to clean them up. However I only do it about once a month. The other times I just overlook the little green patches sprouting up.
This morning seemed like a good time to fix my problem. I tackled the front perennial border. It was really bad so took some time. I'm not a fan of hoes. I like to pull my weeds. Hoeing is fine if you do it all the time, but if you only weed once a month, those roots need to come out of the soil. Plus I like to be in the dirt. A hoe would put me at arms length and I wouldn't enjoy it.
Yes you heard me right. I enjoy weeding. I find it very relaxing when the weather is nice. I have two ways of weeding. I can plug in my iPod and listen to stories which takes me into another world. I usually use this method if the weather is hot since I won't notice it as much. Or I just commune with my plants as I pull the weeds. I lose myself in another world this way too, but it is the world of my plants.
Tomorrow - the fruit garden weeds.
Hi Daphne!
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are pretty!
Enjoy your weeding time as you get ready for your gardening friend!
Weeding... yucky... phewy... Wyoming has the most hardy weeds that I've ever seen!
It is really boring! Some of them you can actually eat...
ReplyDeleteLovely blooms/ Tyra
Daphne, you've inspired me! I really need to get out there and weed. My veggie garden needs it too. I'm a terrible weeder- maybe it's because my mp3 broke?
ReplyDeleteHi Daphne!
ReplyDeleteI need to do the same thing- I love your iPod idea...have to try it. My knees are not so great these days so its making my fun...not so much fun.
The iPod will get my mind off the aches!
Your garen looks great!
Hi Daphne. I hope I can one day enjoy weeding like you do! Sometimes I tell my husband that we bought the weedy-est patch of dirt in the USA.
ReplyDeleteHi Daphne,
ReplyDeleteI too actually like weeding, when I have time to do it. Like cleaning, it's a good excuse to procrastinate from doing more mentally arduous tasks. It's good exercise too, as long as you don't strain your back and try sitting and kneeling and vary positions. I listen to my iPod as well. Sometimes a 30-minute weeding session turns into a 2-hour one!
I love weeding too! I name each little weed with a frustration and rip it's pretty little head off. Rather cahthardic, I'd say.
ReplyDeleteI started to tackle the weeds in the perennial borders this week as well. They were really bad, some weeds were 3' high! I am trying one of those japanese weeders this year with the razor sharp edge. It has worked great taking care of all the little weeds like clover that seem to be everywhere. I was actually enjoying the weeding too, after all the building and digging it seems like a good trade off.
ReplyDeleteToni-zone, Thanks, dianthus is one of my favorite flowers. It not only looks pretty but its clove like scent is just wafting through the garden right now. I just wish it would bloom all summer long.
ReplyDeleteTyra, well get yourself an MP3 player and listen to podcasts. My favorite shows are "Wait, Wait, Don't tell me" which is a humorous US news radio show, EscapePod which puts out a scifi short story every week and PodCastle, which is a sister of EscapePod but for fantasy stories. I listen to others but those are my favorites. All of them are free to download.
DirtDigger, yes that must be it. I do about half my weeding with my iPod. This morning I did the fruit garden and loved listening to short stories while doing it.
Susan, I often sit cross legged when I weed. That way I'm not on my knees too much. It is slower because you have to move down the row all the time but kinder on the joints.
Jackie, I feel like that some days. The weeds go to seed in my lawn all the time so they are always blowing into the borders.
Sally, I usually break my weeding up into sections. Most sections take less than an hour to weed. I do this so I don't strain anything. It isn't hard work, but if you put yourself in an awkward position and don't notice at the time it can hurt.
Ribbit, LOL I never think of it like that. I always feel sorry for the poor little plants I rip up. But I can see where you are coming from.
Dan, wow 3' high is pretty tall. I have a spot inside the veggie fence near the house that I let go to weeds all the time. Some of those get big too. I never weed that section though. If it grows, more power to them. There is one weed I kinda like. It grows to about 5' and the stalks are hard. The next year I harvest them for stakes. I haven't a clue what it is, but I only let it grow right next to the house.