Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Oh, My Aching Back!

How many muscles do we have? I feel each and every one of mine. I went to the nursery Sunday and purchased my annuals. Good thing I went by myself because even the front seat of my car was holding plants by the time it was all said and done. And I have a Buick Rendezvous! In my defense, I did purchase two large bags of a specialty potting mix for my container plants, so those took up quite a bit of space. One thing you don't think about as you get caught up in the color and flavor of the nursery, with all of the outstanding container arrangements inviting you to try your hand at creating a unique garden spot in your own yard, is the fact that for each of those bright, fresh faced annuals a hole must be dug. By you.

After five hours in the yard Sunday afternoon, which did include a mowing of the grass as well, I could barely stand upright. Too bad my clever little kneeling pad doesn't do a thing for my back. I was feeling pretty good about my success until I looked at the tables on our deck and patio. There were still 4 or 5 flats of annuals straining to be released from their plastic constraints. And that did not include the tomato, cucumber and dill plants that require special treatment since I am attempting to grow them in containers this year. Or the 5 evergreens, 5 cotoneaster shrubs and 4 hostas my husband had picked up last weekend. I got a couple more hours in yesterday, muscles screaming in pain as I stooped and bent, and will try to finish the job today.

All of this is in preparation of the graduation parties. We will be having one for Katie's friends in two weeks and a second Memorial Day weekend for our family. Good Lord willing, both of these celebrations will take place in the back yard. Now, where is the phone number for the Pink Sisters?

1 comment:

J. M. Strother said...

Good Lord, that's a lot of annuals. The weather has been so uncooperative recently, we have to act when we can. Hope your graduation party is a huge success and you look back on all the prep with as fond memories.
~jon