Maybe a Maze?

I'm really considering doing some kind of grass sculpturing in my front yard this year.    

We never put sod down in the front yard which is about half of our 1/4 acre lot.  We just water and mow the field grass that was there when we started building.  One year we let it grow a little too long for some neighbor who reported us.  Apparently the idea of a meadow wasn't their vision for the 'hood.

But this year, I'd decided to leave some patches of grass to grow to provide a natural 'fence' to the south and to leave some seed heads for over-wintering birds.  Serendipity called and left me a message about Rick Darke who is speaking at the Denver Botanical Gardens tomorrow.  "Sure, I know you won't make the drive, but at least check out his books," she said. So I found this one.  I'm inspired now to let a lot of the yard grow and just leave some paths to get to the planting areas and compost.  It just looks so sensuous.

My 'before' pictures are in the camera.  Once the mowing starts, I'll post something on whether this is an event worth tracking or just a reason for that neighbor to call the city again.

photo from rickdarke.com

What Garden Blogging is Doing for Me

It's getting me into the garden/yard more, for one thing.  My neighbors (except one) hire other people to do their gardening for them so it's not really something that brings me together with others.  Reading all these garden blogs over the winter has reminded me of all the other kindred spirits out there with virtual backyard fences to talk over.  

One day, I took a gigantic leap over to a local gardening list I unearthed in a deep search through layers of links and who knows, maybe I'll show up for some local classes.

Mostly, garden blogging has made me more mindful about what my garden needs and has taken away my excuses for not getting out there to clear out the early weeds.

Lavender and Sage

Today we have another gloomy-ish cool day, though not as wintery as in the mountains, from what I hear. I wandered around the yard noting the pansies in the ground, the new sprouts of turnips, carrots, radishes and peas that are up & dreaming up projects for the Yard Man to do before the our seasonal rush hits. Then I remembered: "Trim back the sage and lavender!" Yes, during one of my extended link-clicking adventures throughout the garden world online, I ran into a post about cutting back lavender and yes, I think sage was mentioned.

Just what I needed, a short project that will help some plants and wouldn't keep me out in the the cold too long. I appreciated the person who wrote the article (and would have credited him if I remembered who he was) and had the realization that I need to cultivate my plants more. The realization changed my viewpoint a bit from 'gardening when I feel like it' to gardening as if it really made a difference to the plants. I understood conceptually the word 'cultivate' more, as in 'fostering, caring for, being devoted to something'.

So thanks to whoever inspired me into my woody bushes got me to clear out the underbrush.