Furlough

Furlough [fur-loh] - noun A, usually temporary, layoff from work.Yep, I had a temporary setback in my passion for plants. Just as the dog days of the summer of 2009 were wrapping up, we found out we were expecting twins. We were thrilled, but in September those twins turned into triplets and we made the decision to move. So, we moved away from our cute recently-renovated downtown victorian with the cottage garden AND moved to none other than the 'burbs: where space is cheap and, apparently, landscaping is scarce! In March we delivered our trio and life has been filled (and I do mean filled) with taking care of them (indoors) for the past 10 months.

And now its almost February and I've found myself with the worst ever case of Spring Fever. My inability to garden for the last few seasons has caught up with me and I'm dying to get out and into the dirt! Our new home sits on almost 1/2 an acre and boasts incredible, shall we say, "potential". We inherited few descent plants from the previous home owners: three nice peonies (viewable from the kitchen window) and a poorly-neglected hydrangea. This is a sad showing for 1/2 an acre. Last Fall, we hired the pros (Southern Landscape Professionals, Beard's Tree Service and Raleigh Sod and Landscapes) to come in and give us a base: tearing out the old, dead and overgrown making way for new. With our new foundation drain, sod, seed, patio, front walk and front foundation shrubs; we're ready to make it our own and add blooming shrubs, perennial beds and our beloved herb garden.

Speaking of beloved herb gardens, I drove past our old house last Spring only to find they'd torn it out. It broke my heart as it had SO many herbs in it. I'd kill for such a bounty and variety right now. Apparently the new owner is neither a gardener nor a cook. I only wish she'd called me for retrieval before she tossed!

I'm currently working on a February "to do" list to be featured in an upcoming post along with tips for fertilizing and pruning. I'll also be getting up the Winter/Spring garden event listings as well as making plans for another Trip to Granny's. In the meantime, I'll be listening to Pam Beck on Weekend Gardner on WPTF 680 and working on getting my compost tumbler back into operation!