Like a cat lady, but with plants.

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As spring approaches, I've begun working the garden in earnest. Of course, with a garden the size of ours, there is lots of work to be done. Almost half of our entire yard is devoted to growing medicinal plants and herbs, garden foods, wildflowers, and rare and native plants. During the growing season I spend nearly all of my free time working around the house. There's constant weeding, watering, raking and trimming. The very large compost bins we just built must be turned once a month. Brick walkways need dug-up, weeded and reset. Rain barrels should be emptied. Then, there's the grapevine, which needs delicate pruning, training, not to mention picking. Out of all the work that I do the most enjoyable is transplanting wildflowers into our garden.

There's just something about sneaking out someplace (perhaps somewhere you shouldn't be) and covertly up-rooting a precious flower (very gently, of course). Then, back at home, finding that perfect spot, setting the flower in the dirt and encouraging it to grow. To me, plants are what cats are to some people. I'm like a cat lady, but with plants.


I know of a patch of grape hyacinth that bloom in the yard of an abandoned house. They're delicious looking purple flowers with a light fragrance. They won't bloom for a few more weeks, so if I get them a good start in my garden, I bet they will flower this year. As I entered the yard, I notice a rabbit grazing near the hyacinth (they've already put up their leaves). I took off my shoes so I wouldn't make as much noise as I got close to the little guy. I walked-up behind a pine tree, then popped out right behind the bunny. He didn't run away, so I slunk right by him. The bunny watched me as I took a little spade and cut a hole around a large patch of onion-like leaves. As I pulled a clump of sod and leaves out of the lawn, a large white bulb broke off and fell. Hyacinth, like most late winter/early spring flowers, have bulbs a few inches under ground that store energy after the leaves wither in summer. I threw the little bunny the bulb as a treat for being so cute, but I'm not sure that he'd actually eat it because the bulbs are poisonous.

Well, those hyacinth went right into the garden next to the star-of-Bethlehem that I transplanted a few days ago. And, today it's raining, which will make those flowers very happy, and gives me a break from garden work this evening. Smile emoticon.

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