Every evening, through the spring and summer, I go out and water in the garden. I’m not a gardener, not really. I put pansies in the pots in the spring and swap them out for pelargoniums in the summer; those that don’t have year-round succulents. I’m partial to plants and flowers that are low-maintenance, that come up year after year, with the minimum of attention: water every evening, some weeding when it gets to the point I can’t ignore them anymore, and sunshine.
In the front garden, we have a circle of yellow-veined hostas, interspersed with some leafy plants that are bright yellow, then copper, then bright red. I admire the super efficient water-collecting shapes of the hosta leaves as the drops of water bead and run down the stems. I have another circle with 4 leafy plants that are green and stripey-red leafed, and a third circle with my miracle rosebush that started out as one of those little tea-rose plants and has since rewarded me summer after summer by going beserk with roses. 40 or more, easily, at one time, and continuing throughout the entire summer. And not just any roses, but a peachy, yellowy, pinky gorgeous rose that is the exact color the flowers I had at our wedding; the exact color of my bridesmaids’ dresses. So, they serve a double purpose. They’re beautiful, in and of themselves, AND they remind me of a very happy day. I can look at them forever. I love them so.
Under the kitchen window, we have a big bed of giant, green-leafed hostas, with some sneaky columbines that pop up every year, wild-seeded. The pots of pansies, succulents, pearl hyacinth and pelargoniums are here and there, grouped in threes. We have a dwarf Japanese cypress as well; a very slow grower, right in front of the front door. In the back, by the deck, we have a home-made wooden trellis (courtesy of Anders) which has honeysuckle growing on either side, and a big rosebush underneath it. It’s roses are darker, still orangey, but a redder shade. It grows long, very thorny limbs and sprawls roses everywhere.
When I go out to water, I open the back of the garage and fetch the big watering can, and set it on the bench while I take care of the back yard. It’s the trellis flowers and pots first, and jetting out the tiny birdbath and refilling it. Then I extend the hose around the back to the cherry tree, which is rewarding us this year with a super bumper crop of cherries as we managed to get net on it back when the flowers dropped, at just the perfect time. It’s full of ruby red deliciousness. We’ve already had one bowl and more to come every night for awhile. They’re sweet and juicy and SO good.
I water the two big tomato plants which still have flowers on them (guessing we won’t be getting actual tomatoes to eat for awhile yet) and then I squirt the big pot that was stuffed full of pretty purple pearl hyacinth flowers in the spring. After that, it’s back over to the vegetable patch to give everything a thorough watering: carrots, onions, soybeans, snap peas, and 2.5 rows of potatoes. I’ve picked a double-handful of snap peas every evening for the last couple of weeks and it keeps on giving. We’ve actually paused our HelloFresh dinner deliveries for a week (possibly more) because we need to eat up our own potatoes and stuff.
Then I water the two big pots with stonecrop and butterfly-lavender and a couple of good squirts for the curly pansies that are STILL blooming, even after the two heatwaves weeks we’ve already endured. Finally, it’s time to drag the hose out its full length, down the alley between the house and the garage and water everything in the front. The last step is filling the watering can and carrying it over to the far corner, where the hose doesn’t reach, past Clifford the Big Red Rock, to water the Korean lilac. Every other night, I also water the lilacs behind the garage. They pretty much take care of themselves, but I’m sure they’re glad for a shower once in awhile.
The sky is still light, right up until 9 pm, though now, a couple of weeks past midsummer, we can already feel the days shortening. Today was one of those perfectly blue sky summer days, not TOO hot, with a bit of a breeze. Anders starts vacation next week, though he has to work Monday morning, attending a seminar he couldn’t get out of. I have 3 more weeks before mine starts.
Good news this week on all fronts, though! We have booked and paid for Martin’s ticket home! It’s official now; he’s coming back to Sweden, moving home after 4 years away. And two nights ago, the government released vaccination permission for everyone age 18 and up, so Karin finally has an appointment for her first dose next week…AND a new job! She applied for, interviewed and got a job again at Axis, as a Marketing Coordinator for the Nordics Sales team, and she’s thrilled.
She had no help from me; they were champing at the bit to get her back (her previous stint with Axis ended abruptly when the pandemic hit and they screwed up her contract right as the company went into a hiring freeze), so she had several people recommending her. It’s a 1-year maternity-sub job, which is perfect. She had been planning to start school, finally, and had already applied, but when this opportunity came up, she couldn’t pass it by. It’s excellent experience in the field she wants to work in, and will include events and project management, so I can’t begrudge her putting off school again for another year. She has one more week off, which includes her birthday as well, before she starts work.
We’ve got a full weekend coming again, with friends and outings, but no plans tomorrow evening, for which I’m grateful. I just want to be a slug on the deck or the couch with a bowl of cherries and some ice cream to go with them. Yum yum! I wish you a lovely weekend with good weather, and good things to look forward to!