Flower Garden from Scratch

Working in the garden is an extemely rewarding exercise. It can be hard work but the payoff comes in the form of vibrant colors that adorn my yard and attract various birds, butterflies, or other insects that propagate seed. The payoff also comes from the ability to eat produce picked directly from the earth beneath my feet warmed by the summer sun. (As yet I have only dreamed of reaping this second reward). There are additional rewards for tending a garden and reaping them means dealing with pesky distractions. I will not talk, or think, of them so early in my endeavor. However when a garden has not been tended for months, ten to be exact, working it can be an overwhelming task.

Such was my situation a mere two weeks ago when I began my garden transformation to a thing of beauty from a patch of earth overrun with weeds that had become small trees. Had I made the decision to begin blogging prior to stripping the bed of the good, the bad and the ugly I would have photos to testify to its poor neglected condition. My initial photo shows the bed stripped to the bare minimum. Getting it to this state was a one woman, sunrise to sunset affair punctuated with lots of sweat and liquids to keep me hydrated. Armed with a shovel, hoe, tenacity and determination I began the process that it would have been wise to start prior to the arrival of the new spring growth . At least by the time I got the courage to tackle this job our area had received several days of rain thus I was able to remove roots from a surface willing to yield its hold. With this first stage of stripping the flower bed of weeds and healthy plants finally finished I can now plant seeds and existing plants into my flower bed.

~GG in the house