Thursday 7 February 2008

gardening in my mind

I have the perfect place for a little garden plotted out.
Our house faces south-east, so this little patch would get the lovely morning light and have dappled-shade by the time the hottest part of the day came.

I'd like to put stones around it - larger stones worn smooth and round, so perhaps some from the banks of the river or a nearby lake. I'd like to be picky with the soil, raking and fussing and making it smooth for the seeds and cuttings I'd put in.

And, oh, the things I'd put in!

I have spots for:
sweet basil
chives
mint
peppergrass
lavender - masses of lavender
rosemary
summer savory
parsley

and I have to have a snarl of snapdragons. And a back row of daisies.

And perhaps in just a few places, peeping their friendly faces up, some johnny jump-ups. To remind me of other gardens in faraway places.

I've tried a vegetable garden before, and got nowhere. The deer were oh-so-fat and happy, though. So I think this year I'll try an herb garden, small and sweet, outlined by stones carried from the edges of the rushing water. I can almost see it....


In other news, it snowed today.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a remedy for deer. Human urine applied after each rain around the perimeter of the garden.
Just get hubby to whiz in a 2 litre bottle. Be kind and give him beer first:)
I swear it works.

Vanessa said...

I have an herb garden too and I miss it terribly in the winter. Buying the store fresh herbs seems somehow un-authentic.

Anonymous said...

Fresh herbs from the garden make such a difference to a meal. You could grow some on the window sill, so they are big enough to plant out when the soil warms up...............

Anonymous said...

i want a garden, too!

Jennifer (Jen on the Edge) said...

Psychicgeek: Why even bother with the bottle? Send the man out at night and have him whiz straight on the spot. :-)

As for the deer, you could try planting some veggies among the herbs. The deer will stay away from the herbs because of the smell and, by association, the veggies. Here, the deer also hate the smell of marigolds, so we plant a lot of those in our gardens.

Jeanne said...

I wish I were organized enough in my time to be able to find time to garden and enjoy it... your plans sound so great though...

angelfeet said...

Even though I love herbs, what got me excited when I read your post was the daisies. I love daisies, they're so friendly and optimistic.

Poppy B. said...

"A snarl of snapdragons." Very nice!

I just got an English major hard-on. :D

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