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Old 01-05-2003, 06:44 PM
J. Fleming
 
Posts: n/a
Default What to do.... *grin*

"Susan H. Simko" wrote:

Anyone else sitting with catalogs and stuff surrounding them in the
evenings plotting out what they're going to do this spring? *grin*


Aaaaah, my favorite time of year--the dreaming season. For ten years now
I've been working on my five acres. I started with four acres of trees, a
few siberian irises and azaleas and now have eleven flower beds and a 50 x
60' vegetable garden and about three and a half acres of trees (much thinned
after the ice storm, of course).

Even though I don't particularly like them, I admit that I plant mums
because they are excellent cut flowers for the office and my daddy always
taught me to share the garden bounty. I only pull up the poison ivy (I'm
finally winning!), baby sweetgums and the ever present honeysuckle. Each
year I faithfully divide and transplant and now have more than just "garden
bones" with the last of the hardscape going in (paths through the woods and
a new bridge crossing the stream).

Each year our office has a massive plant exchange on Earth Day and so I get
new things for only a trade-in of what I have an abundance of myself. Thus
gardening is fairly inexpensive when I can resist the seed catalogs and
nurseries. I've also found out that this group is very giving and people
here love to share what they have.

I share my hostas with the deer that frequent our neighborhood and they have
left my two new Japanese maples alone. Though my pet ducks did a number on
my newly started ivy cuttings and a some pansies, while the goats decided
that my three rosebushes were quite delicious when I let them out while I
fixed their gate last weekend. My ponies continue to contribute an
excellent amount of free compost material and there is plenty to share if
people would like some.

My four birdfeeders need filling nearly every day now with so many winter
visitors. I spied a couple of brown-headed nuthatches shyly picking up
seeds. I've always had bluebirds that stay year-round, but this year they
discovered the woodpecker mix in my squirrel-proof feeder and make quite a
show of eating in the mid-morning sun (available at Family Home and Garden
and worth every penny!). I originally bought the mix for the woodpeckers,
and now have flickers, downy, piliated, red-headed and yellow-bellied ones
that feast each day. Of course the huge flock of bluebirds are spoiled with
the meal worms I put in four places when I feed my domestic critters every
morning. For those of you that don't know about it, Fitch's Lumber in
Carborro sells bluebird boxes for $5 at this time of year and I encourage
all of you to get some if you haven't. I have bluebirds that take turns
with my six houses with the chickadees, nuthatches, titmice and Carolina
wren's--which help with garden insect cleanup each year.

I noticed that my daffodils are sprouting, so it is time to rake off the
leaves and put down fresh mulch and find some spare time to plant those last
couple of bags of bulbs I couldn't resists buying on sale. sigh A
gardener's work is never done!

Bye for now,

Judi