Ahoy, gentle readers! Been a while since I posted, so I thought I’d bring you up to date.
The writing continues apace. I’ve written a buncha new poems and the feeling is growing ever stronger that I’m approaching the beginning of the end. But strangely, I’m not letting up on the research – rereading books to make sure I’ve gleaned every bit of the Magdalene’s life and significance I might want to write about. Is it really coming to an end? Gosh! What a thought.
Aaaaand, I’ve put in a container garden! I know, right?! Haven’t done anything horticultural for decades, and now this! You can blame some magazines my choir director gave me featuring backyard gardens that were, well, enchanted kingdoms! Even their gardening sheds looked sublime! I could never do anything on that scale, but I found myself thinking, “I’ve got a shed I could decorate. I’ve got a spade and trowel somewhere around here…maybe a few containers by the shed, filled with some shade lovers…?” The Mister muttered something about hiding the magazines next time. Oh bosh!
Anyhoo, I dusted off some old containers, kinda broken-down they were, but I figured I could hide the cracks and chips when the flowers grew in. The Mister graciously purchased some topsoil for my project which I mixed with some compost from our backyard composter.
Next, what to plant?
Our parish nurse, who just happens to be an avid gardener and a dear friend, suggested coleus, begonias and impatiens for colour, and maybe a fern or two for background. Right! Off to Canadian Tire to purchase said beauties – coleus (both red and variegated), begonias (mixed colours), and some beautiful ferns named lamiastrum (dark green sprinkled with silver pixie dust…at least that’s what they told me at the store.) But alas, no impatiens. They said they should be getting them in some time soon, but I was afraid this sudden urge to green up my thumbs (and blacken my nails) might vanish if I waited too long, so I decided to make do with what I had, and as luck would have it, I didn’t need the impatiens. The begonias sufficed nicely.
I planted the garden with surprising speed and dexterity, but realized I needed two more lamiastrums (lamiastra?) for the sake of symmetry. The Mister to the rescue again. I was working on preparing the last of boxes when he returned, jumped out of the car and announced, “I’ve got impatience!”
“I keep telling ya to slow down and smell the roses, there Pa.”
He handed me a bag. “No, impatience!”
And there of course, was a lovely little four pack of budding plants, just enough to fill the boxes.
“No, Pa! Impatiens! Impatiens!”
“Well then, plant the darn things! What are you waiting for?”
To avoid getting into a “Who’s on first?” routine, I did as I was bidden.
In my next post, I’ll tell ya about my adventures with storms and squirrels.
Til then!
2 Comments