Friday, March 30, 2012

Gardening and Writing

It's been a rough last two weeks - OK, maybe more like three weeks.  I haven't written a word except for the two or three posts here.  And I feel very unhappy about it.  There's something about the creative process that makes me feel more like me.

I haven't been writing, but we did some work in the garden - by this I mean I told my kids where to put the planters on the deck.  I taught them how to turn soil in the raised garden in the yard and how to transplant strawberry plants since my back is hurting again.  They did a great job with no complaints.  I'll post pictures later.   

I know when most people think of gardens they think flowers.  Not me.  I think vegetables fruit - we bought a cherry tree, but apparently I need to buy another so they can make babies together.  We planted lots of vegetables from seed - carrots, a variety of herbs, spinach, chard, and magic beans (pintos, black, navy, great northern, and chili beans).  My little guy is hoping for a really huge beanstalk.  Me too.

We just need to wait a few weeks to plant tomatoes, eggplant, green beans, squash, zucchini, and lots of peppers. 

I'm usually disappointed with container gardens.  I always have an image in my mind of how pretty it will be, but it never matches my vision.  This year it all looks great.  The only problem we ran into was the price at the garden store for new containers, garden fencing, a plant table, and a really cute bird bath with a planter under it.

Even though this gardening work was creative and fun, it wasn't as good as writing.  Not even close.  So today or tomorrow, as soon as my mind clears up from lack of sleep, I'm going to dive back in. 

Thanks so much for your support and for listening to me whine for the last few weeks.   

17 comments:

  1. Hey blogger buddy! Sometimes we need to rant a little!

    But I loved reading your news about your garden. Right now, we mostly have berry bushes.

    Hang in there. The writing time will come back to you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our strawberries from last year did great, but no one ate them (except the lawn monsters) so we transplanted them to strawberry vases - the kind with holes on the sides for plants. They are pretty and are blossoming after only a week.

      Thanks for the support. I can see a glimmer of light on the horizon.... Hopefully I'll be back to writing next week.

      Delete
  2. Hopefully you don't get any frost or anything to ruin the plants.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are all the kind that can handle it. I think. Pretty sure. If not, I have more seeds.

      Delete
  3. I'm sorry you've been struggling, I know how frustrating that is. I hope you will be able to dive in and get back to your writing. Your garden sounds wonderful and I'm looking forward to seeing your pics!

    Take care and have a good weekend coming up, hugs to you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm sorry, Tonja. At least you got to do something creative. I'd prefer a vegetable garden as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The vegetables are amazingly more tasty when you grow them yourself organically.

      Delete
  5. That is a really cute bird bath! My kids like helping with the vegetable garden, too. They seem to be more interested in eating the veggies if they helped plant them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My little one is not at all interested in eating them. But he likes watering them a lot. I'm not sure if this first round is going to survive the drowning they got today.

      Delete
  6. I hope you get back to your writing soon! I feel a lot more like me when I'm writing, too. And were I to bypass my hatred of gardening, it would only be for veggies. I mean we have some bulbs and stuff, and I bother to weed once or twice a year, but to really garden? I better get to eat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. I have flowers in the garden around the house but only the low-maintenance ones have survived. I don't think I'd do all the work just for flowers. There's nothing better than going out back to get a basket of vegetables to cook for dinner.

      Delete
  7. I hope you get the beanstalk you deserve!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cute planter/birdbath! I hope your container garden does well. Interesting to know about the cherry tree. Does that have to be another cherry tree, or will a different fruit tree work, too?

    I hope you get back to writing soon. I know how frustrating that can be.

    Shannon at The Warrior Muse, co-host of the 2012 #atozchallenge! Twitter: @AprilA2Z

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't realize when I bought it that it needed a mate. Apparently it needs another similar cherry tree but not necessarily identical. I wonder if it creates new kinds of fruit that way when they merge? It sounds like we'll be waiting three years to find out. The kids named it Norbert.

      Delete
  9. My wife hates being inside when the weather is nice... I think she's put more hours in working on her garden/flowerbeds than any fully employed person ever did.

    Of course, I stay inside and write, so it works out.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow, lucky to have a garden , not possible in bird sized apartments. My maternal grandparents had, what we call a Bungalow with mango and coconut trees, vegetables mostly rather than flowers but that's a long time ago.
    Enjoy the break, the creative juices will flow again.
    Have a great week ahead.

    ReplyDelete