Every spring I look out my kitchen window at a barren, boring garden consisting of empty pots that were left out from the season before, twiggy rose bushes that sort of show promise and a smattering of green shoots that will eventually turn into leafy hostas, daylilies and peonies. Oh, and I have about 5 remaining tulips that the squirrels haven’t managed to dig up in the 15 years since I planted a slew of bulbs. I look out at those sturdy tulips with admiration and love, and wish desperately that I had gone through with my plan to plant more in the autumn. It’s such a pick-me-up to see something colourful in the garden in early spring (queue the cloying background music).
(This photo was taken at the tulip festival near Agassiz in May)
Each October, the prime time to plant bulbs, I’ve procrastinated just a bit too long and have missed out on the chance to add to the lonely handful of blooms that decorate my sad backyard. Well, not this time! I made the trek out to Art Knapp’s Plantland on Saturday and filled my boots with hundreds of tulip bulbs in shades of pink, blues, purples and a splash of yellow, hid the Visa slip in the bottom of the bag and planned my garden attack for Sunday.
Cut to: right now… I’ve just finished hacking up my thumb with a needle to get out the rosebush thorn that has been stuck in there for, oh, about 6 hours. I may need to amputate. My arms and back are aching from all the pulling and digging, weeding, chopping and bending over I had to do! Yes, I did say bending over was painful! It’s not funny! I’m sore and stiff and my hands are raw and I hurt! I’ve written many a post here about the benefits of healthy outdoor living and reconnoitering with nature , but if I ever say anything again regarding the joy of gardening you have permission to call bullshit on me. I’m so over it! I just want to look at it, not get stuck in the mud over it! What do I have that I can use to barter for a good gardener? There’s an idea! I’ll have to think on it some more but I have a feeling that’s gonna be the way I roll from now on. Either that or “downtown condo with a concrete patio…here I come!”
Maybe if I hadn’t ignored my yard for so long it wouldn’t be treating me so roughly now? Just a thought. I’m pleased to report I did finish everything I wanted to do: I got the beds in the backyard that are visible from my kitchen window totally bulbed to the brim. By the time I made it to the front yard I was losing steam and I had to rely on my husband Gavin to help finish the job. He’s like that guy in Pulp Fiction that gets called to clean up the, ah, crime scene..he doesn’t complain, gets to work and expects a good payoff for his time. We make a good team.
All the pretty garden books I have call what I/we did today ‘putting the garden to bed’. Such a sweet, soft, lyrically beautiful term for what is basically a major pain in the a$$! I’m sorry! Did l’il ol’ moi just say that? I think I better have me a long soak in a hot tub before I say what’s really on my mind. And squirrels beware ~ I counted those bulbs and if any are missing… your scrawny butts are mine!
A little painting of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival Tulip Town fields. Work in progress… : )
Goddess Tara
Jacquie Janzen Yee
Tracy Westerholm
Bonnie Johnson
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Oh,Jake, I love when you write from the forefront of your mind like that!!! You crack me up so early in the morning, I can hardly wait to see you at the office this morning!! I love your sense of haha ! I can’t wait till spring because I KNOW it will have been worth it! I know a Handsome Landscaper if you need one ! hee hee. No really…I think I will go out after seeing you and buy some bulbs too because really, although you made it sound difficult, I know you had a smile on your face doing it!!! Patience is well worth the wait when it comes to Mother Nature !! Damn and Bullshit in the same post!!! I like it !!! Lmao !!
PS…I LOVE both pictures you added, too. You’re an inspiring woman !! T xo
Hi Jacquie, that was such a true post about working in the garden and what a pain in the a__ it can truly be but next Spring when those tulips pop up you will have forgotten about it all. Loved the hiding of the visa slip part…Fred has no clue how much $$$ I spend at the nursery
but then again he has a garage full of toys and he keeps adding to his collection. We bought our home 4 years ago and when he comments on a particular perennial like the incredible “black eyed Susan display” I tell him yes, the previous owner she planted all sorts of surprises in this yard 
I cannot plant bulbs as my Golden Retriever eats them up so I will have to await pictures of your display.
Have a great day! Kathryn
love this!
Oh Jacquie, can I EVER relate. That made me laugh out loud all the way through. I could totally picture you at the end of the day with your hair askew, dirt streaks on your face and bleeding thumb. I’ve shared that same look often.
The bad memories of “putting your garden to bed” will fade soon and by Spring you will be glad for the effort.
Little trick…I dig the visa bill in with a bulb…it’s good for the soil and marriage.
Thanks for the chuckle…Every year I say the same – yet it never happens. Thank for reminding me why! It will be beautiful in the spring!
The visa bill in with the bulb… that is pretty funny
and what a great idea for any type of visa bill that no one needs to know about.
You ladies sure know how to take a topic and run with it!!! I hear there’re lots of benefits to mulching with receipts so I may have to try it! I justify my seemingly frivolous expenditures by compromising elsewhere, like buying my hair colouring kits at Liquidation World…highlights for $5.88! LOL!
I love how Kathryn gives credit to the previous owners for her floral display! That’s priceless!
Women, we have no secrets here! : )
Great post Jacquie, it made me laugh. I remember so many years ago the joy I got out of gardening – well that just isn’t the case anymore. It is just alot of work and the bending over and back hurting drives me crazy. With all your tulips in the garden this year we can just come to your back yard and not have to make our spring trek to La Connor or Agassiz for photos.
I’ve always envied people who truly enjoy gardening. Don’t understand them. But do envy them.
I love to garden, it’s like meditation for me. Mother Nature is truly amazing. I could garden all day if I had the time.
I used to be like that. Before I went back to work. While at home with the kids, I loved planting, digging, etc. Now I think…what the heck was I thinking, and why do I have so many gardens, flowers, etc. I still enjoy when I do get out there, but it’s about the time now. I don’t have the time, therefore, it’s just another chore. Next year perhaps I can’t learn to love it again. It is very rewarding!
I do agree with you Janet, you need time otherwise it does feel like a chore. I let my garden really go this year and then panicked a couple of weeks ago so whipped it into shape pretty quick but didn’t enjoy it as much as when I just took my time for sure. I do think I will plant some bulbs this fall, Jacquie inspired me to do that…well see if I actually make the trip to the Garden shop, purple and whites are my favorites!!
Janet, I know exactly when I lost interest in keeping up the garden…when I went back to work, too! I just didn’t have time to devote to it on my days off as the kids needed my attention more.
Now I simply stick to a few big pots on my front deck (if I remember to water them they look fairly nice) and call it a day. : )