Almond Blossoms

Being a few hundred kilometers away from my garden suddenly sends me into a misty sadness. So in keeping with the original theme, here is a portion from Khalil Gibran's "The Garden of the Prophet" along with an image of Van Gogh's "Almond Blossom" painted in the final year of his life.

And he left them straightway and followed the path which led to his Garden, which was the Garden of his mother and his father, wherein they lay asleep, they and their forefathers.

And there were those who would have followed after him, seeing that it was a home-coming, and he was alone, for there was not one left of all his kin to spread the feast of welcome, after the manner of his people.

But the captain of his ship counselled them saying: "Suffer him to go upon his way. For his bread is the bread of aloneness, and in his cup is the wine of remembrance, which he would drink alone."

And his mariners held their steps, for they knew it was even as the captain of the ship had told them. And all those who gathered upon the sea-wall restrained the feet of their desire."

Only Karima went after him, a little way, yearning over his aloneness and his memories. And she spoke not, but turned and went unto her own house, and in the garden under the almond-tree she wept, yet she knew not wherefore.

Going Away...

I will be in another city for the next 8 days and oddly feel a strange sense of sadness at leaving the garden in the incapable hands of my brother. I have grown attached to it and since planting the various herbs and veggies- am constantly roaming about searching for a sign of life. Instructions have been given and hopefully the fruits of my labor will not perish in my absence. There is still much work to be done, however, and I look forward to my return when I will remove even more random wild greens and plant some colorful flowers. My cat is also excited about the future catnip currently in the works. In happier new, my town has started an organic waste collection which will ease much guilt!

Dreadful BEFORE Backyard Photos

Gardening Blues

Clearly going day by day is not going to work here. There are a number of factors including weather, having a social life, and frustration at plants dying that have stunted the development of this daily hobby. The weather of late has been a major obstacle to a flourishing garden. A few days of rain last week, followed by several day of intense heat both discouraged me from any sort of progress. I spent one day trying to uproot weeds thanks to my neighbors weed whacker, and another trying to remove random wild plants from the backyard in order to have fertile soil for the veggies I want to harvest. Most recently I purchased two tomato plants, a few pepper plants, onion and garlic bulbs, and seeds from a variety of herbs such as basil, cilantro, mint, and oregano. I even found some catnip seeds which will surely delight my cat in 4-6 weeks. Tomorrow promises to be a nice enough day so I may begin to sow my seeds!

First Days

The first step to achieving a perfect lawn is not having long, overgrown grass. In an attempt to distinguish the weeds from the grass and other random plants I have mowed the lawn for the very first time this year. My hands are sore and I needed a neighbor to start the mower, but after a long hour and a half, the lawn is done and almost looks half decent. Today is sunny, but the forecast for the next 3 days is rain, so what better time to plant grass seeds in the barren spots around the lawn? Plucking a few hundred weeds or so may also be in today's cards. Happy Monday!

Garden Initiation

Botany has never really been an interest of mine. I appreciate healthy gardens but never took the time to create one ranking gardening about as high as peeling potatoes. Why then, might you ask, am I creating this diary of a garden transformation? For one, I presently find myself in a situation with several weeks off and very few plans. Also, I'm looking to break free from a potential month of boredom and television watching. Finally, it seems like an enormous but wonderful challenge. This blog will document my efforts to achieve a botanists dream garden; full of fruits, vegetable, trees, flowers, and whatever else I can conjure up- while eliminating weeds, overgrown bushes, and whatever else can be displeasing to the eye. This is all I can say now about achieving what I think to be a perfect garden. Let's see what can happen when a gardening novice embarks on a full-time mission to turn a pathetic piece of neglected land into a plentiful Babylonian garden!