First Quilting, Now Gardening. Have I Lost My Mind?

I would like to share with you yet another thing I totally suck at. I mean just when you thought there couldn't possibly be anything else, let me reassure you. I have zero talent for gardening. As I said in my last post, I'd prefer to go to prison. Keep in mind, with the exception of two short stints in houses, I was basically raised in apartments (Read: No Gardening). My mom really likes to move, and I suppose it was easier for my parents to move from place to place when they didn't have to worry about selling and buying homes. The first two homes Gerald and I owned (Mt. Vernon and Billings) had small, manageable yards, well fairly manageable. Gerald hates all yard work and couldn't care less what the yard looks like, so it's always been just I dealing with it. While neither yard looked wonderful, both were small enough that, with minimal effort, I could make them sort of acceptable.

Until we moved here. Yikes! These former owners were seriously into gardening. They planted all kinds of cra....stuff. The one and only thing I appreciate is the huge raspberry bush along the side of the house because I love fresh raspberries. The peach tree, strawberry plants, roses, daisies, other foliage I don't recognize, and relentless weeds all mixed in.....not so much. And the very worst thing about this yard is this ridiculous island garden right in the front. Whose bright idea was that? Surely they could have just planted grass that I could mow. But no, instead there's this large, curvy, circular island thing with a peach tree, another tree of some sort, a patch of daisies, and millions of weeds.

At least that's how it used to look. Right up until this past weekend. I wish I had taken a "before" picture, so you could see it, but I didn't think to do that, so you'll have to use your imagination. Okay, are you imagining? Now multiply whatever you are thinking by 100, and maybe you'll have an idea how bad it was. Shulamith and I were determined to do something about it before this coming weekend when we're hosting her baby shower (two months late) and a brunch following Swen's blessing the next day. So we enlisted the help of the only master gardeners we know, Matt's parents Dawn and Todd. Dawn explained all the stuff I needed to buy: Two different bottles of chemicals--Ground Clear and Round Up; plastic border that goes around the inside of the island; yards of mesh liner to keep weeds from coming back; and bark for over the top. Got it! But not only did Dawn explain what to do; she also spent a good two hours helping us dig up weeds in 100 degree heat! No one, not even Dawn, could possibly enjoy this, but she did it anyway.

The following day, Shulamith and I spent hours digging up the remaining weeds. We were two tired girls.

 

At that point, it was time to put the plastic barrier around the perimeter of the island and cut and lay the mesh weed blocker. Finally, we could pour the bark, and Shulamith could use her creative talent (of which I have none!) to place the large rocks back on top of it all. And here is the finished product:

Was this worth it? I'm not sure I can answer that question, at least not unequivocally either way. It was so hard and so not fun. Perhaps the better question is "First quilting, now gardening. Have I lost my mind?"