I hadn't planned to spend my afternoon working in the yard. But when Mother Nature gives you a 70-degree day in January and a generous neighbor gives you a fistful of plants that need to go in the ground...well, you have to change your plans.
It all started this morning. I was rolling the trash barrel back from the curb when my neighbors hollered at me. Want some cast iron plants? These are the same neighbors who generously fixed me up with a wheelbarrow full of iris last spring...they're much more dedicated to digging up and dividing plants than I am, although now that I've typed that, I can think of many plants in my yard that would ever need such care.
Hesitating for a moment, I finally responded that I didn't even know what a cast iron plantwas and they quickly began to point out these lush, long-leafed plants growing in their landscape. They're indestructable, they assured me...stick them in the ground and they practically take care of themselves. My kind of plant. And when I protested that I wasn't sure I'd have time to plant them today, they said that wouldn't be a problem. You can't kill them, they claimed.
So this is what they fixed me up with. When I said I'd go get a bucket, they responded with No, bring a wheelbarrow and they heaped it full. While I'm not discounting their generosity, I think they were also motivated by the fact that they didn't have to replant them.
About half of them found a home in the ground this afternoon. At the neighbor's suggestion, I'm planting them around a live oak tree in the flower bed where the birdbath lives. They're fairly shallow-rooted so planting them isn't hard; I just had to move some lava rock first in order to get down to the dirt. And we'll hope they're right about them being indestructible because the other half are still in the wheelbarrow. Fortunately, Mother Nature is giving them a nice overnight soaking.
Planting anything in January is a rare treat but it felt pretty good to have a little dirt under my fingernails. That's the beauty of plans when you're retired...they're always subject to change.
I'm jealous that you got to garden in January, but that wheelbarrow looked like it contained a lot of work for one day. I think we are all counting the days until spring, especially with the arrival of new seed catalogs.
Posted by: Janet | January 18, 2012 at 06:34 PM