Gardening

Going to a nursury is always a bad idea for boyfriend and I. No matter what we promise ourselves, we always come home with at least a few plants.

Yesterday was no different. We came home with two trays of Tête-à-Tête Daffodils. There was already an assortment of bulbs peeking out of the urban fill that is our backyard, so we transplanted everybody into one, new garden in the corner.

New bulb garden (!!)

I'm not typically one for flowers, but most of these were already available and they'll keep coming back and spreading year after year. We also transplanted four Wisteria plants that we started from seed earlier this year. It was spontaneous gardening at its best.

Dwarf Daffodil - new flower since we planted yesterday (!!)

This next picture is from last summer, but will be a very important picture when all is said and growing. Before we could dig at all, we had to clear out the yard. Here's the before:

Before. (Boyfriend is excited to repurpose the grill as a planter.)

In the year that we've lived here, not once has the moped or the grill been moved, let alone used. Since last summer we have been planning our garden. From the plants that will grow in the shade of several large trees (I'm feeling good about lettuce and root veggies), to which weekends we plant and replant (we have a big posterboard calendar), to how we're going to water (I won't give that away – watering will be an epic tale of its own).

After - cleared and ready for landscaping

And that was all yesterday. Did I mention I got a sunburn too? In the shade? In early April??

Today we went to he Do-It-Yourself store for planter box supplies. We managed to squeeze four 8 foot planks into my compact sedan and hauled them home to begin building.

There was hammering...

Boyfriend did-it-himself

(If this photo was super high-res and zoomed in, you'd be able to see my knitting on the chair in the distance behind him.)

There was raking to level the yard...

I helped, honest! It's hard to be behind and in front of the camera all at once.

Just need dirt.

And two long afternoons later, there was a clean back yard with two brand new planters and a bulb garden. Ready to go and ready for spring.

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To keep me on topic and on track a bit...here's what's been on and off the needles lately:

1. Carlow - my first design submission for publication. Ever.

2. (Pretty) Wicked Thing in Wicked by CEY. Mmmm cashmere...

3. Chiton Pullover - sweater #5 in 2011.

4. Wild Strawberry in Firefly - my favorite non-wool yarn.