One by one, things are getting done. With the help of two granddaughters — OK, they mainly did the work, I just supervised — the rest of the planting was done last Saturday. The huge box of canna bulbs were carried up from the basement and out to the flower bed.
Then, spade in hand, little by little, they dug up the flower bed and planted the canna bulbs. Meanwhile, I was cleaning out the old potting soil from the planters on the deck and adding it to the canna bed. Next, I put new potting soil in the pots. By then they were done planting, and so they helped me plant herb seeds in the planters.
In past years I planted peppers and tomatoes in pots, and I have grown a mixture of herb pots in the past, but this year, I am growing full pots. Well, trying to at least; they haven’t come up as yet. I decided to do this change because, the past couple of years, I haven’t been successful in growing flowers and have had to replant. This might not work either, but I won’t know if I don’t try.
Next, we went to the flower bed on the west side of the house. Again the granddaughters applied the spade, and raked the bed smooth. In there, I only planted zinnia and cosmo seeds. The freeze happened so fast last fall that I never did get to dig up the gladiola bulbs. Usually this bed was overplanted, so it might work out better this way.
In planting this bed, I did get a little down and dirty, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. Then the next battle was getting back up again. It sure was fun to get my hands in the sweet soil.
The only thing left to plant are some morning glory seeds. There are a few stray planters that haven’t been touched as yet, and these seeds will go there, just as soon as I get the time. Of course, it is best to pick a windy day, to try to avoid the mosquitoes that are numerous and large enough to swarm and fairly carry a person away.
I am fortunate that I don’t swell up with bumps from a bite, but that constant buzzing around the head can drive me to distraction.
Another thing I can put the stamp of done on is my latest wedding quilt. Again, I called for help, and my quilting friends showed up to help me hand stitch the binding on the back of the quilt. We met at church, where I put three large tables together, so the quilt could lay flat. Then we each plied needle and thread to a corner and started binding.
The time went by so fast, as we shared stories of quilts we recently made, or ones from long ago. We talked about recipes, shared coffee and snacks, and just had fun. Country school stories were shared, as well as modern day school. By the time most had to leave, there were only two small areas that needed stitching, so I took it home and now it is finished.
It may not have been quite like an old-fashioned quilting bee, but it was close enough. Now that two major things are done, I can now look toward the next big thing.
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