Finally- in the dirt

I've been writing about my garden often and today- drumroll, please- I finally got the seedlings planted and the seeds scattered. Except for 2 kale seedlings which I bought and now can't find. Who steals kale?!?

Maybe this is the same person who stole a 40# bag of chicken manure compost from in front of my garage last year. I went back to the garden store to buy a replacement bag and plaintively asked, "Who steals 40# of chicken poop and why?" The store clerk replied, "It's good shit, man!" And we laughed away.

Special thanks to Tim who dug and dug and dug. Almost 85% of the garden plants I started with this spring have been given away and Tim dug up a lot of them. And kindly helped me dig the new ones in, too.

I also pulled weeds and mulched with straw. I've removed a lot of things which overgrew and replanted some of my favorites along with a few new tries. Seems odd that after nearly 8 weeks of anticipation, it's over. And honestly, it doesn't look too impressive although mulch always helps make it look finished and official. I'll post a photo soon. But you've got to smell and taste it for yourself because it's a sensual garden, not a visual one.

I still have some Mint-Who-Lived to share, Sheila, Megan, and Angela. So next time I see you, I'll dig and bring some.

Oh, and if anyone needs dill, let me know. I seem to have about 100 dills volunteering in my annual space, all I'm assuming from the seeds of 1-2 volunteers last year. Volunteer plants minister something to my soul and along with the dills I found a volunteer spiderwort today which I was about to pull as grass and I'm excited to see if it's pink or purple. My alley neighbor has pink so I'm going to ask soon for one to start in my garden.

And one yarrow bloomed hot pink! I've been wanting one but all my original starts 5 years ago bloomed white and yellow. So I tried last year and had 2 sprouts which lived but yarrows don't flower the first year. I gave away most of the yellow and white and moved the 2 mystery sprouts out into the vacated sunnier spot and lo, one is pink! Now, if only the other mystery one is peach, I'll get the red one from a neighbor...

It's good to have new adventures and be back in the dirt. And friends, it is the simple pleasures, isn't it? The volunteers and the mystery sprouts and the old favorites and the new tries and the missing kale and chicken poop and the empty waiting spaces. And wishes and dreams and nights of falling asleep imagining my sacred place. I rejoice in having a space to choose my beauty and to welcome the unexpected, too.