Memories of June

June, beng one of the most busy gardening months of the year, found me too busy painting the old [circa. 1870's] house of mine to give proper attention to my gardens.... so July is proving to be a 'catch up' month for me.

I have 2 large Mock Orange bushes that came with the house when I bought it nearly 2 years ago. Their blossoms peaked during the 3rd week of June, and the ground underneath them slowly turn to a lush carpet of white when the pleasantly sweet smelling flowers lose their petals. I have found seedlings of these bushes scattered about the yard and collect them to share and to plant.

I never finished rototilling my newly dug vegetable garden (an increased rectangular area from last year, approx. 20' x 7'... so all that is growing in the older section is oregano, sage, thyme and some bushes that I pulled out of the front yard earlier this spring that were nearly dead from a harsh winter and accompanying road salt... I also have 2 small Quaking Aspen trees that i had found and planted in the rich soil.... I will share one with 'Aspen' and keep one for myself!

Dreams of having a pumpkin patch this Fall have disolved into the reality that there is a critical lack of hours in one's day to combine working full time during the day repairing computers, running a computer consulting business at night, painting an old, 2 story house single handedly and attempting some pretty agressive landscaping projects all at once. I sense the cold winds of Winter sneaking up behind me and I try to move faster, hoping to complete everything before the ground freezes.... an odd thing to think about on July 7th!