June 16, Enchantment by Enhancement?

Enchantment by Enhancement?

Yesterday I added to my garden the last two perennials (I think I planted about 50 in all), sprinkled a few packs of wildflower seeds to fill in and added a couple of bags of bark and several bags of river stones and gravel. Then I wired up my landscape lighting and was pretty satisfied and considered myself finished except for some big rocks to put here and there and a stone bench. I sent an email to my family out west bragging about the garden I planted and actually lauded it as a woodland, cottage garden and that I'd send them pictures today. I took my camera to the back door and took a good look at my garden. I guess I've been seeing it through rose-colored glasses. I saw it as it will be when the plants fill out (you know, a visionary). In a picture it is going to look like a bunch of weeds. Plus, I still have a mound of the dead grass sod that I had dug out that is just off to the side. It was too heavy to put out in the garbage all at once. Then there is the issue of the grass along the side of the garden that has grown to about 6 inches. I have to dig that out and put in the blue stone. Our yard isn't much bigger than one you'd find as a back patio in a condo and pictures seem to make things look even smaller (have you ever caught a huge fish and somehow the pictures make it look half its size?) Perhaps one of those Photo Shop-like programs is called for in this situation, just to enhance it to how I envision it.

Peanut Gallery

The mail-order package that I have been anticipating for weeks finally came last week. It has been sitting just inside our front door for a week. I know what is in it, it is all the shellac and Waterlox that I need to continue restoring my house. Because I have been busy with my garden I haven't done a lick of work inside the house. It isn't that I dread refinishing the floors and woodwork as the reason I haven't opened the box yet, it is what to do with all those peanut-packing things. They get all over the place when you get your stuff out of the box. I have bought quite a number of things on eBay and other sale sites over the years and at first I saved all the boxes and packing materials that came with them, just in case I needed to send a package. But now the attic is filled with boxes with styrofoam peanuts. Getting rid of these styrofoam things are a pain, they static stick to everything, and you never can get them all out of the box, there are always some hiding. As many people that buy on eBay, the peanut-packing-filled attics are bound to become a national crisis.