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Group Writing: The Earth Turned
It’s been a pretty cold May so far – though a shade warmer than what was, apparently, a cold April – at least compared to recent years. And such seeds as I have sown in pots are pretty generally only tentatively peeking out from beneath the soil – don’t I know it’s cold out there? Still, the sun shines through occasionally, and while it was doing so yesterday I went out and did a spot of digging and cultivating, which did me and the garden good.
On the windowsill (it’s a fairly big windowsill), I’ve got tagetes ‘Lemon Gem’ and a nice single French Marigold called ‘Naughty Marietta’ (I didn’t pick the name – but they’re nice Marigolds that I’ve grown before), which have germinated, and Michaelmas daisies (which are starting to) and heleniums and helichrysums (strawflowers) and things, that are, so far, shy about putting in an appearance. Par for the course, thus far, it seems.
My first dahlia tuber got potted up the other day – a variety called ‘Waltzing Matilda’ (a single or semi-double orangey-red – not my normal preference, but when a variety name makes me smile, it’s halfway to being planted). I’ve got more pots scrubbed ready for washing in the greenhouse (which is doing its impersonation of that scene from The Sword in the Stone with all the pots and dirty dishes piled high to the ceiling, and yours truly singing into the bowels of a giant pot as he works)* and my sweet peas – a lovely old red and white striped variety called ‘America’ – germinated (huzzah!), and have now been potted up three to a pot, and are starting to surface from those.
So, all in all, a bit of a mixed bag – we’re behind, but catching up fast. Or improving, at any rate. And, after all, it does you good to get out and see the turned soil (or in the case of the ground near the shrubs, more sort of aerated with a fork). And it certainly works the kinks and knots out of muscles that have sat too long, so to speak. Long May it continue.
*: It could happen. Print the legend, you know.
Published in Group Writing
Good theme for a garden. Whimsically named flowers and plants.
If it’ll happen anywhere, it’ll happen here!
I’ve got antirrhinum ‘Circus Clowns’ and Marigold ‘Jolly Jester’ currently sown as well. Seed companies may not make a fortune from me, but such money as they do is often by a nice combination of soppy names and cheerful colours. I’ve also bought an old rose (apparently from about 500 years ago or more) called Maiden’s Blush, another called Belle de Crecy (steady the longbows, lads!), and doubtless at least one or two others that would sneak in under that dispensation. Looks like I’ve been rumbled.
There exist aesthetics other than visual.
Which reminds me, I’ve got to sow another lot of helichrysums (everlasting or straw flowers) — this time ‘Eternity Mix’.
I do believe your garden just might be my favorite.
I’m inspired now to get out from in front of this computer screen, and from behind the camera, to go dig in the dirt! Happy weekend. :)
It’s, shall we say, a work in progress — and in some ways, maybe a garden is where you make it. Oddly, being a lot more relaxed about the whole thing (while retaining a sense of how it ought to be done) seems to help. There’s a wonderful old TV series from the mid-1980s called The Victorian Kitchen Garden (followed by The Victorian Flower Garden and a couple of others) — where they somewhat restore an old walled garden — that taught me a lot. It’s a shame that it’s not currently available to buy on video.
It sounds like my work here is done, and murki!
There are two major monthly Group Writing projects. One is the Quote of the Day project, now managed by @she. This is the other project, in which Ricochet members claim a day of the month to write on a proposed theme. This is an easy way to expose your writing to a general audience, with a bit of accountability and topical guidance to encourage writing for its own sake.
Stop by and sign up now for “May Day, Mayday, May Days.”
Interested in Group Writing topics that came before? See the handy compendium of monthly themes. Check out links in the Group Writing Group. You can also join the group to get a notification when a new monthly theme is posted.