ARTISTS THERAPY

I have spent the last two days working along side my husband in our gardens. We went to the gardening centre early yesterday morning and picked up a yard of triple mix and 5 bags of sheep manure. We cleaned, trimmed and weeded the front garden and as we were working we heard cheeping coming from one of our low spreading juniper bushes and soon had a frantic male robin fluttering all around and after a few minutes he flew off. We quickly topped that area of the garden with fresh soil and manure and moved to another section. I divided a large hosta placing some of it near a Mountbatten juniper and bridal wreath shrub. Then lifted the stone bird bath so we could level it and clean it out well before adding some fresh water. We were soon out of soil and manure. My husband made a second trip to the gardening centre and while he was gone I decided to lift a clump of white Iris that were too close to the house and split them. I watered in the transplants  and I hope they will like their new placement in the garden. Both of us went in and had long showers. Clothes went directly to the wash.

This morning we were aching and paining, showing our age I guess. When we were twenty gardening seemed so much easier. Today, we planned on working in our upper back yard gardens. Cleaning , trimming and some transplanting. We used the triple mix that was left from the last trip to the garden centre yesterday to fill wholes from were we dug wild roses that had "run a muck" so to speak. Then we fertilized. Lastly, I went into the far back gardens near the creek. Soon, the siberian Iris will bloom along the edge of the creek. I looked for our Mallard Ducks that have been coming to nest and raise their young in the marshes in the creek but they must have taken the young ones to the canal already. The song birds were all around me though as I worked on cleaning out the grass garden true therapy for an artist. After working all day in the garden, I am pleasantly tired and looking forward to a hot shower and a simple dinner of farm fresh eggs, smoked sausage and vegetables and a lovely cup of green tea.