The Lambs Quarter Garden

Why Lambs Quarter? I started thinking about what to call this place and what to call my garden and I looked up botanical names and famous gardens for inspiration. I thought maybe something magical or witchy, but, that seemed to "in ya face" for me. Everyone knows what I am and all gardens are magical, aren't they? I don't want to wax philosophical on all that now, but, when I do, this will be a good place for it. Plants and magic seem to go together.
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Cardinal Newman said : "By a garden is meant mystically a place of spiritual repose, stillness, peace, refreshment, delight." Yes, but, it can also be a place of backbreaking labor, frustration and heat stroke. One must accept a garden for what it is as well as what one wants it to be. I must have at least a quarter acre, I'd guess much more, and there are lots of the weed Lambs Quarter. I guess they're a weed, since everyone tries to kill them and no one plants them...but, you can eat them and they're pretty. A weed is defined as a plant growing in an undesired location. Maybe I am in an undesired location. Maybe I am the weed. Well, this is some deep bullshit, isn't it? Anyway, I like Lambs Quarter, it's pretty when it's small and the underside is white/silver and it's slightly fuzzy and it doesn't hurt anyone. And you will never get rid of it all so you might as well enjoy it. I'm going to cook some up with butter and salt and pepper and eat it. That's my weed control for today.

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And I know I could have chosen a pretty name, but, it is not my intention to show only pretty here. This is a journey. I'm fairly sure there will be some cussing later.

You have to use your imagination

I guess you need a pretty good imagination to see this as a pretty and productive garden. I guess I have one, because I can see it. It looks like I'm growing milk jugs. Heh. They're cloches for Tomato plants. You knew that, right? The pics can be clicked to make them a little bigger. Not that anyone but me is interested in this patch right now. But, you just wait, soon it will be the envy of the neighborhood. (Cackles) Uh hu.

My flower bed in an old foundation

This was a mess, there was an old greenhouse/shed there and it was full of junk and broken glass. I couldn't get that damn foundation out, so, I planted in it. There's no soil in the front, it was built on gravel, so I added some compost and a chopped up stump and a ton of Marigold seeds I'd saved from last year. I figure Marigolds will grow in anything. Those Petunia's are silly, but, they mark it so Alissa won't walk in it..hopefully. She loves playing in the birdbath.

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In the back there's lots of nice dirt. Those aren't weeds, they're Daisy's I transplanted last fall. And a bunch of Zinna seeds. Free of course. And some Hollyhocks I found. Hmm, I'll find more stuff later. Anyway, this is the start of a flower and herb garden. I need to mow again. Sigh.

My Hydrangea

Look at this Hydrangea my mother got me, isn't that gorgeous? She has a reason for being nice to me this week. More on that later, but, I just wanted to show you the plant. I know you have to do something to the soil to keep it blue. I have to look that up.

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Okay, you have to add aluminum sulfate to keep it blue. For pink you use acid, like the stuff to feed pine trees. But, if I can't find any AS, it will be okay. Pink, white, green, whatever, they are just beautiful.